antisatellite
1
9.1
- adjective
- /ˌæntiˈsætəˌlaɪt/
- Specialized
- Vice President Dick Cheney has said that the "antisatellite test and China's continued fast-paced military buildup are not consistent with China's stated goal of a peaceful rise."
- antisatellite missile
Examples
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Recent advances in technology have led to the development of antisatellite systems that can target enemy satellites in orbit.
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Concerns arise over nations enhancing their antisatellite capabilities, potentially leading to increased tensions in space conflicts.
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The United States still talks tough about China's arms buildup (which is intended to intimidate Taiwan), expanding defense budget, and drive for an antisatellite capability.
Academic text (2007) -
Moreover, Beijing's use of an antisatellite missile this past January to shoot down an old weather satellite in low orbit announced China's entry into the age of space warfare and its potential ability to disrupt satellites critical to U.S. military operations in Asia.
Academic text (2007) -
In recent years, the Chinese military has shown that it can neutralize or destroy satellites in low-Earth orbit (where most satellites are located) by launching antisatellite ballistic missiles or firing ground-based lasers.
Academic text (2009) -
The military test demonstrated an effective antisatellite weapon capable of disabling orbital reconnaissance satellites.
Synonyms
1
9.9
Describes weapons or systems that destroy satellites in space
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word antisatellite comes from anti- meaning 'against' and satellite meaning 'an object that goes around a planet', and you can see anti- in words like antivirus. So an antisatellite system is literally 'against' satellites, which is why it means weapons or technology made to destroy or disable them.