Monday, December 08, 2014

China Formally Requests Access to US Air Force Space Tracking & Collision Data

China has taken the unprecedented step of asking Air Force Space Command to share information about possible satellite and satellite debris collisions. The United States had been sharing so-called conjunction warnings with China through the State Department but no one knew if China actually paid any attention because the data was never acknowleged.

Then, quite recently, the head of Air Force Space Command Gen. John Hyten got a formal request from the Chinese to share the information directly. “The Chinese have asked to get data straight from our operations center to their operations center without going through State,” Hyten said during a Capitol Hill breakfast. How significant is this, I asked after we ate. “To me, it’s a big deal.”

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