China plans to arm Tiangong space station with self-defence bots: scientist

Sun Zhibin says robotic thruster could latch onto unidentified object approaching critical Chinese space infrastructure and push it away. — SCMP

China is developing a rapid-response space defence system to intercept suspicious spacecraft and push them away, according to a senior scientist.

If an unidentified object approaches China’s Tiangong space station or other critical space infrastructure, a small robotic thruster could be deployed to latch onto the intruder and push it to a safer distance, said Sun Zhibin of the National Space Science Centre in Beijing.