China satellite launch sparks fears over potential space weapons

China’s recent satellite launch is sparking fears from some experts who say it can be used as a weapon possible capable of grabbing hold of and crushing American satellites.

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, the crewed spaceship Shenzhou-13, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, is launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gobi Desert, Oct. 16, 2021.  ((Li Gang/Xinhua via AP)) The crewed spaceship Shenzhou-13, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, is launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gobi Desert, Oct. 16, 2021. ((Chinatopix Via AP)) In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, screen image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center in Beijing, China, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021 shows three Chinese astronauts, from left, Ye Guangfu, Zhai Zhigang and Wang Yaping waving after entering the space station core module Tianhe. China's Shenzhou-13 spacecraft carrying three Chinese astronauts on Saturday docked at its space station, kicking off a record-setting six-month stay as the country moves toward completing the new orbiting outpost. Chinese characters,  left, read "Platform Camera B."  ((Tian Dingyu/Xinhua via AP)) In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, screen image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center in Beijing, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021 shows a view from the Tianhe space station as the Shenzhou-13 prepares to dock. China's Shenzhou-13 spacecraft carrying three Chinese astronauts on Saturday docked at its space station, kicking off a record-setting six-month stay as the country moves toward completing the new orbiting outpost.  ((Tian Dingyu/Xinhua via AP)) In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, the crewed spaceship Shenzhou-13, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, is launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gobi Desert, Oct. 16, 2021.  ((Li Gang/Xinhua via AP))

During a Senate committee hearing in April, U.S. Air Force Gen. James Dickinson, commander of the U.S. Space Command, said spacecraft like Shijian-21 are being utilized as part of the Chinese effort to seek "space superiority through space and space-attack systems." An earlier model, the Shijian-17 satellite, which was launched in 2016, also was equipped with a robotic arm that could be used to grapple other spacecraft, Dickinson testified. 

"One notable object is the Shijian-17, a Chinese satellite with a robotic arm," Dickinson testified. "Space-based robotic arm technology could be used in a future system for grappling other satellites."