The military-industrial scientific research system of the academic master.

A little earlier.

Beijing.

Command hall of the manned space command and control center.

According to the plan, China did not arrange any manned space launch missions throughout 2006.

But today, this place is filled with dense crowds of people, just like when Shenzhou V and VI were launched.

Because there were not enough seats for decision-makers in the last row, a lot of chairs were added temporarily.

In one of the windows on the big screen in front, a picture of CCTV America broadcasting ABC programs was being played.

The UARS satellite was about to leave the Sea of ​​Okhotsk when the Standard Missile 3 was launched.

Therefore, the collision location of the two is basically located in the north of the center of the Pacific Ocean.

In fact, after the South Pacific Tracking and Control Station was cancelled for some reason, China no longer had fixed aerospace tracking and control resources in the entire Pacific region.

Although the navy had taken over a batch of new equipment in 2006, it still mainly operated in near-shore areas.

Even the navigation training in the Western Pacific is a major operation that requires the headquarters' involvement and often requires preparation a month or even longer in advance.

As for letting the Yuanwang survey ship track the fleet alone...

It’s definitely not a big deal.

Therefore, even the National Aeronautics and Space Administration needs to watch the broadcast footage from ABC News to learn about the interception in the first place.

At this moment, the orbital diagram of the earth's surface on the big screen was empty in the background.

Even the well-informed host of the international news channel sounded a little hesitant:

"According to the ABC studio guest, the kinetic interceptor has now successfully hit the target satellite..."

"After the collision, the main structures of the two objects will fall into the atmosphere in a very short time. Most of them will be burned in the process. The few that are larger in size and not burned are scheduled to fall into the Pacific Ocean. There is no possibility that they will pose a threat to humans on the ground..."

Except for the voices of the host and the translator, the scene was completely silent.

Compared to the spectators, the people sitting in this hall know better what this anti-satellite test will mean if it is successful.

After a while, Qiao Chenqing, who was sitting in the last row, leaned over slightly and asked Zhou Pingjian, the new chief designer of the manned space program:

"This interception...should have been successful?"

The nature of the direct-ascent anti-satellite mission is too special. It is neither like missile air defense nor like space launch. No one on the scene can say that they are professionally matched.

Including Zhou Pingjian.

He is currently working on the docking technology of spacecraft between the space station and the spacecraft. Although it seems that the two objects collide in outer space, the specific operation is fundamentally different from the Standard 3 approach.

I can only give an answer as accurate as possible within the scope of my own research:

"At least the collision should be real... The Americans have no need and no way to lie about this."

Zhou Pingjian paused for a moment, and shifted his gaze from the news broadcast to the measurement and control screen next to it:

"As for the interception effect... the spacecraft has a cycle of operation. Our domestic tracking and control station can observe the target satellite at the latest one hour later, while the European Space Agency and the Russian Federal Space Agency will be earlier. We should be able to make an assessment soon."

Hearing this answer, Qiao Chenqing shook his head with a hint of helplessness.

Perhaps for the aerospace field, the aftereffects of kinetic collisions are a topic that is very worthy of study.

However, from a military perspective, there is no doubt that the threat of missile defense systems is already looming over everyone's heads.

Although this thing has the word "defense" in its name, it actually appears as an air defense system.

But it may actually affect the strategic balance.

On the other side of Qiao Chenqing, Jing Zhiyuan, the head of the Second Artillery Corps, lowered his head and looked thoughtful, as if he was thinking about something in his mind.

"Lao Jing, what do you think?"

After a delay of about half a second, the latter raised his head, but his eyes were still fixed on the screen in front of him:

"I am calculating, based on a 2:1 interception rate, if we consider the enemy's broad perspective, how many additional missile units do we need to maintain an effective threat to targets within the first island chain?"

Before the other party could speak again, he continued to ask and answer his own questions:

"According to a rough estimate, the size of the conventional missile force needs to be expanded to at least three times its current size, and it must be fully staffed!"

If Chang Haonan heard this, he would probably burst out laughing.

After the missile force was reorganized from an independent branch (Second Artillery Force) to a military branch (Rocket Force), its size was more than three times that of 2006.

But it can only be said that the military thinking in the early 21st century was still conservative.

Qiao Chenqing immediately showed an expression of being unable to hold back.

Although military spending has been increasing at a double-digit rate every year, it is still limited.

If the Second Artillery expands three times in size, others will have to live a hard life:

"I think it is more important to improve quality than simply expand the number... Last month, Comrade Chang Haonan mentioned that both air-breathing hypersonic missiles that fly entirely within the atmosphere and gliding hypersonic missiles that fly at the edge of the atmosphere for most of the flight can effectively break through missile defense systems."

Jing Zhiyuan just calculated casually out of professional habit, not really planning to ask for a three-fold increase in his army. He smiled and said:

"Heh... Old Joe, you're playing tricks on me..."

Qiao Chenqing then started to cry poor:

"I can't help it... Actually, I personally don't mind it, but the troops below are anxious. Just two days ago, the last batch of J-6 fighters on combat duty in the Air Force were retired from active service..."

After some interaction, the slightly depressing atmosphere became a lot more relaxed.

But joking aside, we still have to deal with the current situation head-on.

Qiao Chenqing sighed lightly, his expression returning to seriousness:

"I have to say... on the technical level, the Americans still have a lot of good stuff in their hands..."

Of course it is not convenient to say this in public, but now everyone around me is my own people and there is nothing to hide.

Just two years ago, China verified the feasibility of using air defense missiles to intercept short-range ballistic missiles.

The double-cone warhead test conducted last summer has proven that it is basically impossible to effectively intercept ballistic targets with terminal speeds exceeding Mach 5 using existing air defense weapons.

In addition to new concept hypersonic weapons, these naturally also include traditional medium-range missiles.

"That's true."

Li Zhongyi, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly interrupted:

"As for this direct increase in hit accuracy, it is still difficult for us to achieve it at least at this stage. Therefore, in order to ensure the hit rate, Kinetic Energy 1 still uses a fragmentation warhead with a larger killing range. Not only is it easy to produce more unnecessary space fragments, but it cannot be directly used for anti-missile defense."

Compared to fragile satellites, the warhead of a ballistic missile is a more rugged target.

In order to ensure the shooting height, the anti-satellite fragmentation warhead is very small and often cannot cause fatal damage.

Apart from the evil method of nuclear warhead anti-missile, only a sufficiently violent kinetic impact can ensure complete destruction.

The other two people's attention was drawn to him at the same time.

"Comrade Zhongyi, we still have to rely on you in the field of equipment development."

Jing Zhiyuan tried to keep the atmosphere relatively relaxed:

"The road ahead is long and arduous..."

"..."

At this moment, Qiao Chenqing raised his hand to check the time, and then glanced at the broadcast on the big screen which was still going on:

"Almost twenty minutes have passed..."

This sentence was a bit incoherent, and the people around were a little slow to react.

"I mean, even though we can't see the interception, the US should be able to draw a final conclusion... but why haven't there been any relevant reports yet?"

Qiao Chenqing frowned slightly:

"It feels like I'm deliberately stalling for time..."

In an instant, an idea flashed through Li Zhongyi's mind:

"Wait a moment……"

He quickly sat up straight and said in a slightly lowered voice;

"Some time ago, the hypersonic weapons project team submitted a report saying that the US interception is likely to produce large space debris that is enough to seriously threaten the safety of spacecraft in orbit. However, the report was not very certain, so it was not officially reported before..."

This statement was made publicly at the press conference, and of course everyone knows it.

However, talking big in public opinion is one thing, and actual understanding is another.

The emphasis on the issue of space debris at that time was mainly to leave room for related tests in the future.

Zhou Pingjian touched his chin:

"It is inevitable that a kinetic collision of this magnitude will produce some space debris, but you mentioned large space junk..."

He raised his head involuntarily and checked the measurement and control situation.

But it has only been more than ten minutes since the collision, so of course there will be no new results:

"That depends on how big it is and what orbit it is in... I can only say that from a probability perspective, the density and threat of space junk are not as outrageous as the outside world exaggerates..."

Li Zhongyi was also a little unsure, so he had to talk about something else:

"No matter what, this test by the Americans is not all bad for us... At least the test plan for Kinetic Energy 1 can be made more targeted, and the public opinion storm it causes will be much smaller."

"Speaking of Kinetic Energy 1, what are your specific preparations..."

Qiao Qingchen originally wanted to ask when CASIC was going to conduct the test.

But before he could finish, a staff member in light blue work clothes came trotting up from the back door behind them.

The messy footsteps made everyone turn around.

Zhou Pingjian showed a somewhat unhappy expression.

In such an occasion, it was really embarrassing that his subordinates were so impatient:

However, the next second, he completely forgot about this emotion.

"According to a report released by Moscow, astronauts on the International Space Station just now visually spotted a huge solar panel flying past the space station about 2-3 kilometers away."

"It has been determined that the source of the solar panels is the UARS satellite that was just shot down!"