China, Russia, and the United States in Low Earth Orbit

Field Definitions

Country of Origin: The country that commissioned and currently operates the system; it can be China, Russia, USA, or All.

Operator Sector: The type of entity that operates the system.

• Military: The operator of the asset is the military.
• Government: The operator of the asset is a nonarmed, civil branch of a country’s government.
• Commercial: The operator of the asset is a commercial entity.
• All.

Location: Where the system physically exists.

• Earth: Includes ground-, sea-, and air-based systems.
• Space: Anywhere in space.
• Unknown: One unknown and unnamed system was described by U.S. intelligence without providing additional details.
• All.

Platform: Category for each location.

For earth systems:

• Air-Based System: A space-affecting system whose main components are air based or air launched.
• Ground System: A system whose main components are terrestrial; it could be mobile or fixed and might be used on a ship.

For space systems:

• Research and Experimentation: A system that is launched into orbit with the explicit purpose of testing a novel capability or conducting scientific research, often to no specified means or end.
• Satellite Systems: An independent, singular orbital asset that performs a specific set of tasks, or a group of satellites performing parallel tasks for the same operator but not necessarily in communication with each other.
• Unknown.
• All.

Primary Function: This describes the primary design purpose for the system.

• Communications: The system’s primary function is transmitting data.
• Deep Space Observation: A system designed to observe objects beyond the solar system for scientific understanding.
• Directed Energy: A system designed to damage or destroy satellites through the use of high-power directed energy, often lasers.
• Electronic Warfare: A system designed to jam electromagnetic signals or destroy components that emit electromagnetic signals; this is a form of directed-energy system.
• Earth Observation: One or more satellites that use camera, video, or other remote sensing abilities to capture data from the earth’s surface (e.g., weather, human-made structures). Most, if not all, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities fall into this category.
• Kinetic ASAT: Kinetic antisatellite weapon (ASAT); a weapon designed to destroy a target through physical impact.
• Positioning, Navigation, Timing: Space ability that allows users on earth to navigate the planet’s surface.
• Robotics: A system with maneuverability to conduct operations in physical contact with another satellite; its declared primary functions are repair, maintenance, on-orbit servicing, and debris removal, although the same technology can be used as a kinetic ASAT.
• Space Plane: A reusable orbital vehicle that can be crewed or uncrewed and launch from either the ground or an aerial launch vehicle.
• Space Situational Awareness: One or more assets that can detect, identify, and track both natural and human-made objects in space.
• Space Station: A crewed platform with long-term human life support that is not designed to be returned to the earth.
• All.
• Null.
• Unknown.

Systems as of: The year of the system’s most recent known change in status.

System is: Most recent known status.

• Operational: The system is ready to be employed for mission execution.
• Announced: The system’s concept was made public.
• Expected: The system is in development with a planned initial operation date .
• First test: The system was used for an initial experimental application.
• Unknown.
• All.

Field Definitions

Shade by: The user can show one of three shading schemes:

• Country of Origin: The chart categorizes systems by the country that commissioned and currently operates it: China, Russia, or USA.
• Status: The chart categorizes systems by whether they are operational or in development.
• All.

Payload Capacity: The maximum payload weight (in kilograms) that each launch system can deploy into LEO.