China mulls satellite network to rival US

The fruitless search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 has spurred China to consider launching a global network of surveillance satellites that could rival or surpass US satellite capabilities.

The plan could see more than 50 observation satellites in orbit within two years, The South China Morning Post reports.

Internal support for the plan was driven by China's frustration over the search for the missing MH370, a Boeing 777 that was carrying mainly Chinese passengers on a scheduled flight to Beijing when it disappeared on March 8.

Foreign satellites have been unable to locate the crash debris believed to be floating somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean.

If we had a global monitoring network today, we wouldn't be searching in the dark," Professor Chi Tianhe, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, told the newspaper.

China's current arsenal of surveillance satellites are a state secret, though most are believed to be hovering over China and the surrounding region.

There are currently around 150 satellites in orbit above the planet devoted to observation, remote-sensing and spying, according to the US-based Union of Concerned Scientists.

Hundreds of other communications satellites also exist.

Source: The South China Morning Post

Author: Erin Tennant, Approving editor: Martin Zavan