ASAT program of China China ' s Anti - Satellite ( ASAT ) Program has been under development since 1964 . The ASAT program has since been moved from Program 640 to Program 863 , the General Armaments Department and the State Administration for Science , Technology and Industry for National Defense ( SASTIND , formerly known as COSTIND ) . Since its inception , the ASAT program has made progress on the development of three ASAT capable Systems : Direct Fire , Directed Energy , and Micro - Satellites . Tests of these systems have either been directly acknowledged by the PRC , or reported on as ASAT capable . History . China has worked on technologies applicable to Anti - Satellite ( ASAT ) weaponry since the 1964 . For much of the 1960s and 1970s the majority of funding and development of ASAT capabilities were run through Program 640 . The initial purpose of Program 640 was to develop anti - ballistic missiles and SAM sites , but in 1970 Program 640 began an ASAT program . The program ' s progress was hampered by the effects of the Cultural Revolution , because many of the prominent scientists associated with the program were among those purged by the younger generation . A review of the scholarly articles from China in the 1970s demonstrates that one prominent scientist wrote the majority of information regarding ASAT systems . In 1980 , Program 640 was abandoned . The projects under Program 640 were not publicized until 1986 , when Program 863 was introduced as the PRC ' s newest technological research and development program . Program 863 has since been closely tied to the operations of the General Armaments Department ' s Project 921 and COSTIND ( now known as SASTIND ) of the People ' s Liberation Army . Systems . Three kinds of ASAT systems have been under development and / or active tests by the PRC . The systems are not acknowledged by the PRC as being strictly ASAT , but they are capable of destroying or disabling a satellite . Direct Fire Systems . A Direct Fire System refers to the instrumentalities required for a land or vehicle based missile to strike a satellite . A Direct Fire System is a kinetic kill system designed to physically destroy or damage a satellite , instead of electronically disrupting its orbit or mission . The PRC demonstrated its ability to launch a land - based kinetic kill vehicle into a satellite when it fired a SC - 19 missile into an aging Fengyun series satellite and destroyed it on January 11 , 2007 . No known tests of a " vehicle - based " Direct Fire System have occurred , but it has been reported that the new Jin - class submarine will have the ability to launch the SC - 19 or a similar type of missile . Directed Energy Weapons . A Directed Energy Weapon is a high powered laser or microwave weapon designed to either disrupt or electrically damage a satellite . It is not yet considered a kinetic kill system because Directed Energy Weapons cannot physically destroy a satellite . These weapons are part of the PRC ' s New Concept Weapons program . One Directed Energy Weapon , a high powered laser , has been under development since 1995 and was tested on orbiting US satellites in 2006 . Micro - satellites . A Micro - satellite is defined as any object orbiting the earth that has a mass greater than 10 kg and less than 500 kg . This includes man made satellites and natural satellites , like debris . While man made micro - satellites are primarily peaceful , they are easily weaponized . Because of a satellite ’ s high relative velocity to another satellite , any collision would destroy both satellites , and micro - satellites have the advantage of being cheaper , more maneuverable and harder to track . In 2001 , a Chinese newspaper stated that the PRC was testing a parasitic micro - satellite that could latch onto another satellite and destroy it on command . While no evidence has been found to demonstrate the development of such a parasite system , in 2008 the BX - 1 micro - satellite released by the PRC passed dangerously close to the International Space Station at a relative speed which would have destroyed both objects had they collided . This close call raised awareness of the PRC ' s ability to use micro - satellites as a kinetic kill ASAT system . Associated Government Organizations and Personnel . General Armaments Department . The General Armaments Department ( GAD ) of the PRC , established in 1998 , has three major responsibilities . The first is to develop , maintain , and distribute all weapon systems in the PLA . The second is to manage the nation ’ s nuclear program . The third is to oversee all space programs . The GAD has authority over all weapons development programs , including ASAT weapons . It also is responsible for space related activities , such as Project 921 ( the manned spaceflight program ) and the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre . Every ASAT program developed by the PRC must be developed and tested by the GAD . The GAD also includes the development branch of SASTIND , and oversees the operations of Program 863 . Chen Bingde . General Chen Bingde was the Director of the GAD in 2007 during the first successful test of the Chinese Direct Fire ASAT System . Being the head of all of the PRC ' s military involvement in space , Bingde would have overseen the development of the SC - 19 and authorized its deployment on January 11 , 2007 . Shortly after the system ’ s success , Bingde was promoted to Chief of the General Staff . Chang Wanquan . General Chang Wanquan was promoted to the position of Director of the GAD after General Chen Bingde accepted the position of Chief of the General Staff . Wanquan has been in charge of development and tests of the PRC ' s ASAT since mid - 2007 . SASTIND . The State Administration for Science , Technology and Industry for National Defense ( SASTIND , formerly known as COSTIND ) is the scientific branch of the PRC ' s military and was absorbed into the GAD when it was formed in 1998 . The institution has changed over the years , and continues to change , but there are five major responsibilities within their jurisdiction . Since ASAT technology is considered a tool of national defense , SASTIND is responsible for the development of ASAT programs , and all matters regarding policy recommendations , safety regulations , organization and the projects ’ global images . Zhang Yunchuan . Zhang Yunchuan was director of SASTIND from 2003 - 2007 . He received his degree from Harbin Military Engineering Institute , and spent most of his political career as a governor . Shortly after the successful ASAT test in 2007 he was promoted to Chairmen of the People Provisional Congress . Zhang Qingwei . Zhang Qingwei followed Yunchuan as director of SASTIND from 2007 - 2009 . He received a master ' s degree in Engineering and has spent most of his career working on the manned space flight program . Chen Qiufa . Chen Qiufa replaced Qingwei as director of SASTIND in 2009 . He has served in a leadership role at SASTIND since the first Direct Fire ASAT test in 2005 , and he was also promoted in 2007 after the successful SC - 19 test . Operations . All operations listed here have either been acknowledged by the PRC , or reported by a foreign government . 2006 – Directed Energy . In 2006 , the United States government reported that the PRC had marked US observation satellites with a high power laser . No significant damage to the satellites was reported , which indicates that the laser was not aimed at the optical lenses of the satellites . If the laser had been directed at the optical lens of the satellites , then the satellites would have either “ gone blind ” for a short period of time or lost their sight completely . Direct Fire incidents . Failed Attempts . There were two failed attempts made by the PRC to use a Direct Fire ASAT weapon . The first was on July 7 , 2005 and the missile did not get close to the satellite . The second was on February 6 , 2006 and the missile got close enough to the satellite for observers to question whether a near miss was the PRC ' s intent . 2007 – SC - 19 . " From Main Article : 2007 Chinese anti - satellite missile test " The 2007 Chinese anti - satellite missile test was conducted by China on January 11 , 2007 . A Chinese weather satellite — the FY - 1C polar orbit satellite of the Fengyun series , at an altitude of , with a mass of 750 kg — was destroyed by a kinetic kill vehicle traveling with a speed of 8 km / s in the opposite direction ( see " Head - on engagement " ) . It was launched with a multistage solid - fuel missile from Xichang Satellite Launch Center or nearby . " Aviation Week & Space Technology " magazine first reported the test . The report was confirmed on January 18 , 2007 by a United States National Security Council ( NSC ) spokesman . At first the Chinese government did not publicly confirm whether or not the test had occurred ; but on January 23 , 2007 , the Chinese Foreign Ministry officially confirmed that a test had been conducted . China claims it formally notified the U . S . , Japan and other countries about the test in advance . The Chinese claim is consistent with a sharp rise in queries from American sites concerning FY - 1C on at least one space - related Web site starting about 24 hours before the actual intercept . 2008 – BX - 1 . In September 2008 , the PRC sent two men into space on the Shenzhou - 7 . During their time in orbit the astronauts released the BX - 1 micro - satellite . Within 4 hours of its release the micro - satellite flew within 27 miles of the International Space Station at a relative speed of 17 , 000 mph . The International Space Station will move if anything gets within 1 , 000 miles of its position , and the micro - satellite was well within this range and dangerously close to the Station . A collision between the BX - 1 and the Station would have destroyed both objects and been fatal to the astronauts aboard the Station . The BX - 1 did not strike the Station , but demonstrated China ' s ability to develop and deploy a micro - satellite with ASAT capabilities . 2010 – SC - 19 . On January 11 , 2010 the PRC directed another SC - 19 missile at a moving target and destroyed it . This time the target was a CSS - X - 11 medium - range ballistic missile launched from Shuangchengzi Space and Missile Center . While using the same systems as the January 11 , 2007 test , it is not clear what the function of the 2010 test was . This test is considered to be a continuation of the PRC ’ s ASAT testing because it employed the SC - 19 system , but because the target was a missile and not a satellite the test may have been directed towards re - purposing the SC - 19 missile as an ABM .