“I think it’s entirely possible they could catch up and surpass us,absolutely,” Armagno told a conference organised by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Sydney.
“The progress they’ve made is stunning – stunningly fast.”
Armagno said American intelligence analysts now conceded China had moved much faster to dominate space than they predicted just a few years ago.
“Why are they doing this?” she asked. “I think they see space as an advantage. I think they see space as our Achilles heel.”
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Former US presidentDonald Trump created the Space Force as the sixth branch of the US military in 2019,a move aimed partly at better competing with China in the emerging 21st-century space race.
Beijing has alarmed Western governments by seeking to develop technology to mine asteroids and minor planets for natural resources.