China uses a modified Soviet capsule for their space program. So I suppose that they could dock with the international space station.
Suppose China sent some guys up and they forcefully took over the ISS?
What could we do?
Stop trading with China?
Send up a team of Space Marines? I doubt they could do much.
Is the ISS considered US soil?
Stop sending supplies. That ought to put a limit on how long they can comandeer the ISS. I don’t belive China’s space program is to the level of being able to send supplies/astronauts up on a regular basis as is the case with Russia and the US. In a few more years, it could be more difficult.
What could they possibly gain from this?
What ever it is we gain from having the space station up there.
Why not? If they could take it from us, we could take it from them.
Anyway, I’m guessing the response would be somewhat similar to what we’d do if the Chinese forcibly boarded a US aircraft carrier. I’m guessing it’ll involve shootin’ people.
Or tossing their asses out the door.
First of all, it’s extreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeemely unlikely. Right on the same level as “Hey, what if China decided to lob a nuclear missile at some random world capital just for the hell of it?”
However, if we consider the situation where somehow the leaders of China were all doing crack on the same night and they just happened to have a space craft in orbit and they just happened to be armed and they gave the order to take the ISS by force, presumeably booting its current crew out the airlock …
I’m relatively certain both the US and Russia (plus any other nations who may happen to have someone there at the time) would consider it an act of war.
I agree. That thing is a money pit. We should thank the Chinese if they were so inclined to take it over.
I’m thinking they take it with the element of suprise. We wouldn’t have that. Perhaps they want their own space station to set up a manufactory in space for a Mars mission. Rather than build their own space station, they take this one.
Yes, it’s very unlikely but what could be done.
Maybe even charge them rent?
Sudden, unrestricted nuke warfare.
I’m with KanicBird*. I say we nuke 'em from orbit; it’s the only option.
*Now there’s something I never thought I’d hear myself say…
But how we gonna do that if they control the space station?
Don’t bother us with details! We are big picture people…
-XT
Wait two months, watch it deorbit.
It may happen anyhow.
Sorry…couldn’t resist…it’s a tag-line from * Aliens*
The scenerio is wildly improbably, but to point out some of the obvious difficulties:
Or we could always send James Bond to retake it, hopefully without blowing too much stuff up in the process. 