U.S. Says It Blocked China's Move To Buy Imaging Firm

摘要

The U.S. State Department recently blocked an attempt by China to buy a fully functional European satellite imaging constellation because the spacecraft contained U.S. technology, according to a newly released government report. The report, prepared by the U.S. State and Defense departments at the behest of Congress, did not identify the constellation, but a very likely suspect is the RapidEye system operated by a German venture that went bankrupt last year and eventually was purchased by a Canadian company. The RapidEye constellation consists of five medium-resolution Earth imaging satellites built by an industry team led by MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates of Canada and Surrey Satellite Technology of the United Kingdom.