People's Liberation Army Aerospace Force

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People's Liberation Army Aerospace Force
中国人民解放军军事航天部队
Founded19 April 2024;6 months ago (2024-04-19)
CountryFlag of the People's Republic of China.svg  People's Republic of China
AllegianceFlag of the Chinese Communist Party.svg Chinese Communist Party
Type Space force
Role Space warfare
Part ofPeople's Liberation Army Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  People's Liberation Army
Commanders
Commander Lieutenant General Hao Weizhong  [ zh ]
Political Commissar Lieutenant General Chen Hui

The People's Liberation Army Aerospace Force is an arm of the People's Liberation Army. It was established on 19 April 2024. [1] It is one of two independent space forces in the world.

Contents

History

The PLA Aerospace Force was established on 19 April 2024, severed from the simultaneously disestablished Strategic Support Force. [2] [3] The PLAASF consolidates all the PLA's space-based C4ISR systems, as well as administering all the existing launch sites, and all other military satellites and space assets.

The China Daily referred to it as the People's Liberation Army Space Force before its official English name was released. [4] [1]

Organization

The PLAASF is headquartered in the Haidian District of Beijing.

Central staff sections include:

Subordinate Units

Launch Centers

  • Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (中国酒泉卫星发射中心), MUCD: unit 63600 (a.k.a. Dongfeng Base or Dongfeng Aerospace City). Located in Dongfeng Town in the Ejin Banner of the Alxa League of Inner Mongolia, Jiuqian was one of the first aerospace launch facilities ever constructed in China. It is the main base for testing and launching the Long March series of rockets, as well as other missiles, various test satellites meant for low and medium orbits, application satellites, and crewed spacecraft. The base is also responsible for the main spacecraft recovery location.
  • Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center (中国太原卫星发射中心): Stationed in Kelan County of Xinzhou City in Shanxi Province, the launch base was constructed in March 1967 under Project 3201 as a response to the breakdown of Sino-Soviet relations. The base was constructed deep in the mountains and deliberately misnamed as part of the Chinese strategy of "backing-up, concealment, and dispersion". The site mostly served as a nuclear missile site and as a detachment of Jiuqian until it was made an independent unit in January 1976. The launch center was opened to international commercial launches in the 1990s with its launch of two U.S. Iridium satellites into orbit.
  • Xichang Satellite Launch Center (西昌卫星发射中心) MUCD: Unit 63790. Headquartered on the Hangtian North Road of Xichang City in Sichuan Province. As of 2022 it also remotely controlled the Wenchang Aerospace Launch Site in Hainan Province.

Control Centers

Testing, Development, and Training Centers

  • Luoyang Electronic Equipment Test Center (中国洛阳电子装备试验中心), MUCD: unit 63880. Located at Luoyang in the Henan Province, Base 33 serves as the metrology and instrument measurement center of the PLAASF. It also conducts astronomical mapping and surveying. This base used to be one of the most restricted bases in China and was off limits to foreigners until the 1980s.
  • Astronaut Center of China (中国航天员科研训练中心) aka ACC: located at the Beijing Aerospace City, it is the main training and research center for the Chinese space program's astronauts.
  • Astronaut Corps (中国人民解放军航天员大队): headquartered at Beijing Aerospace City, it is a directly subordinated military unit of the Aerospace Force. As of 2018 it had selected and trained 42 astronauts, and was in the process of training a third batch, which will include civilians.
  • People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force's Aerospace Engineering University (中国人民解放军战略支援部队航天工程大学): not clear what the new name will be after the April 2024 reform.

Equipment

The PLAASF controls all of China's military satellites, as a well as the BeiDou satellite navigation system. [11] This space force is estimated by the Military Balance 2024 [12] to be around 245 satellites, plus perhaps some dual-use civilian satellites.

As is common in all countries with significant space forces, exact data on China's military satellites' functions is hard to come by. The generic "Yaogan" name is used for military satellites, and only sometimes is the actual military designation released (like the "Jianbing" series). Often, launches are disguised and receive civilian designators, at least for a period.

In counter-sat functions, while as of 2024 the PLAASF does control three possible ASAT satellites, it is unlikely it has command of the SC-19 anti-satellite missiles under the PLARF control.

Name of ClassChineseSystemTypeOrbitNumber in ServiceNotes
SatNav: 45 Satellites
BeiDou 2-M北斗二号-M BDS-2 Navigation MEO 3 [12]
BeiDou 2-G北斗二号-G BDS-2 Navigation GEO 5 [12]
BeiDou 2-IGSO北斗二号-IGSO BDS-2 Navigation IGSO 7 [12]
BeiDou 3-M北斗三号-M BDS-3 Navigation MEO 24 [12]
BeiDou 3-G北斗三号-G BDS-3 Navigation GEO 3 [12]
BeiDou 3-I北斗三号-I BDS-3 NavigationIGSO3 [12]
Communications: 11 Satellites
Shentong 1神通-1 MilCom MEO 2 [12]
Shentong 2神通-2 MilCom MEO 4 [12] Shentong 2-5 launched as SinoSat2E as a secrecy measure
Fenghuo 1烽火-1 MilCom GEO 2 [12] Launched as SinoSat 22/A as a secrecy measure
Fenghuo 2烽火-2A/C/D/E MilCom GEO 4 [12] Launched as SinoSat 1A/C/D/E as a secrecy measure
Meteorology/Oceanography: 8 Satellites
Yunhai-1云海一号YHSAtmospheric Observation SSO 2 [12] Mixed military and civilian use
Yunhai-2 云海二号YHSAtmospheric observation (GNSS-RO) SSO 6 [12]
Reconnaissance: 92 Satellites
Jianbing-5 (Yaogan-1)尖兵五号 (遥感1号)

JB-5

ISR -SAR LEO 2 [12]
Jianbing-6 (Yaogan-2)尖兵六号(遥感2号)

JB-6

ISR - IMINT LEO [11] 4 [12]
Jianbing-7 (Yaogan-6)尖兵七号(遥感6号)JB-7 ISR - IMINT LEO [11] 4 [12] Very high resolution
Jianbing-9 (Yaogan-8)尖兵九号(遥感8号)

JB-9

ISR - IMINT LEO [11] 5 [12] Medium resolution
Jianbing-10尖兵十号/

JB-10

ISR - IMINT LEO 3 [12] Decimeter resolution
Jianbing-11/12尖兵十一号/十二号


ISR - IMINT LEO 3 [12]
Jianbing-16尖兵十六 LEO 3 [12]
LKW ISR - IMINT LEO 4 [12] Optoelectronic
Tianhui-1/2天绘一号/天绘二号 Cartography LEO [11] 10 [12] Stereoscopic Multispectral and Radar Imaging
Yaogan-29遥感29号 Space Surveillance LEO [12] 5 [12]
Yaogan-34遥感34号 ISR - IMINT LEO [11] 4 [12] High resolution optical/radar
Yaogan-35遥感35号 Space Surveillance LEO [11] 15 [12]
Yaogan-36遥感36号 ISR - IMINT LEO [11] 15 Optoelectronic
Yaogan-39遥感39号 LEO 12 [12]
Yaogan-40遥感40号 LEO 3 [12]
ELINT/SIGINT: 81 Satellites
Chuangxing-5 (Yaogan-30)创新五号(遥感30号)CX-5 ELINT LEO 30 [12] Launched in triplets
Jianbing-8J尖兵八号JB-8 ELINT LEO 15 [12] Maritime Surveillance
Qianshao-3前哨三号 SIGINT GEO 3 [12] Part of TJS program
Shijian-6实践六号SJ-6 ELINT SSO 10 [12] Launched in pairs
Shijian-11实践十一号SJ-11 Launch Warning SSO 7 [12] IRST
Yaogan-31遥感31号 ELINT LEO 12 [12]
Yaogan-32遥感32号 ELINT LEO 4 [12]
Early Warning: 5 Satellites
Huoyan-1火眼一号HY-1 Early Warning GEO [11] 5 [12] Part of TJS program
Rendezvous and Proximity Operations: 3 Satellites
Shijian 17实践十七号 Debris clean up GEO 1Possible Countersat capabilities
Shijian 21实践二十一号 GEO 1
Shijian 23实践二十三号 GEO 1

Personnel

Commander

Political Commissar

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