Chinese Tourist Faces Federal Charges After Drone Flight Near NASA Launch Pads
China ‘spy ships’ also appear to be intercepting U.S. military communications off American coasts.
A Chinese tourist is facing federal charges after authorities say he flew a drone into the restricted airspace around NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, capturing video near launch pads that support America’s most iconic space missions.
A Chinese man faces arraignment on two federal crimes after he flew a drone in restricted airspace above NASA’s Kennedy Space Center — encroaching within 1.56 miles of the Artemis-based pad 39B, a court affidavit said.
The evening of July 25, KSC police responded to Playalinda Beach Access #8 at Canaveral National Seashore and saw Xiaodong He operating the drone, the affidavit said. The drone had flown for 12 minutes and 24 seconds and recorded four videos, reaching a maximum altitude of 231 feet and capturing footage of KSC pads 39A and 39B, the Atlantic Ocean, Playalinda Beach, the Indian River Lagoon and North Kennedy Parkway.
He was accompanied by three family members, and one told police they were vacationing in the United States and flew the drone to capture scenery, the affidavit said. The Federal Aviation Administration has designated a restricted national defense airspace above KSC. All unmanned aircraft are prohibited, except when approved by NASA and the FAA.
The tourist says he didn’t know flying a drone near the launch pads was illegal.
The defendant is charged with violating national defense airspace restrictions and operating an aircraft without the required airman certification. He is scheduled to appear in court again Sept. 18.
According to court documents, the tourist told investigators he did not know drones were prohibited in the area and offered to delete the videos recorded during the flight.
Federal prosecutors nonetheless moved forward with the charges.
A conviction on the alleged offenses could carry penalties including fines and up to one year in jail.
Fun fact: Five “No Drone Zone” road signs are posted on Kennedy Space Center property.
In an era when Beijing-linked actors are accused of targeting U.S. technology, research, and critical infrastructure, “I didn’t know” is not an especially reassuring defense.
As I recently noted in examining China’s three-front war on American AI, America’s technological edge is already under sustained pressure from theft, espionage, and sabotage. Therefore, I am highly skeptical of the “tourism defense” when a Chinese “visitor” decides to use drones to “capture scenery” that includes our space assets.
To round out the news of China’s continued espionage efforts in the country, I want to share that China’s state-owned shipping giant COSCO was recently found using concealed equipment on board its ships to spy on military communications near American coastlines.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the U.S. assessment of the Chinese program, said COSCO has a decades-long intelligence-collection partnership with Beijing. The arrangement allows China to collect communication signals from vessels and aircraft operating across Europe, North America and Asia, they said.
The advanced equipment aboard the ships is intended to enable China to gather information about “military communications technologies and encryption developments,” one of the officials said.
The effort also allows Beijing to monitor key shipping lanes and maritime routes crucial for trade and military navigation, the official added.
COSCO did not respond to a request for comment, while China’s embassy in Washington rejected the U.S. claims.
It must be noted that President Donald Trump is set to host Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington on September 24, with trade, artificial intelligence, Taiwan, and other security disputes expected to be part of the ambitious agenda.
If Trump needs a timely reminder that “trust but verify” should govern relations with Beijing, a drone buzzing NASA launch pads and reports of concealed surveillance equipment aboard Chinese state-owned ships should provide it.
The summit may feature diplomatic pageantry, but America cannot protect its important technological and military assets by ignoring the Chinese trifecta of espionage, theft, and sabotage that appears to be its foundational business support strategy.
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Comments
I am sure he had no idea what he was doing. /sarc
“The tourist says he didn’t know flying a drone near the launch pads was illegal.”
Me, I want to hear that he didn’t know you need a certification to fly the drone.
His drone was modified or not a commercial off-the-shelf drone. Drone control software checks for flight restrictions, and won’t allow a drone to fly into restricted airspace. People have had their drones forced to the ground by new FAA-declared restrictions, like Air Force One coming in on an unsheduled trip.
Looking at current restrictions, he flew through half a dozen overlapping restrictions.
If they didn’t shoot down the drone, then they aren’t going to get the point across.
Getting easier every day.
I wouldn’t get too frisky with their intel ships. We have a few of our own.
Ours are commissioned ships of the United States Navy and clearly identified as such. Theirs are purportedly civilian ships with military-grade eavesdropping equipment. Spies, by definition.
Shades of Soviet “fishing trawlers”. There’s a photo of one of them that had been pulled out of the water for work — it had torpedo tubes below the waterline.
Dad and I went deep sea fishing out of Port Canaveral in ’85 or ’86. Got to see a US sub tied up near the entrance to the port, and while were out fishing a couple of Tomcats flew by. From radio chatter Dad heard the jets were sent out to say hello to a Soviet trawler.
Sources online say the trawler photo to which you are referring was a “one off” test vehicle.
Google AI says:
Yes, a small number of specialized Soviet auxiliary and experimental vessels built on trawler hulls—such as variants of the Project 1823/1824 Muna-class—were fitted with submerged torpedo tubes.
Standard commercial fishing trawlers did not carry torpedo tubes…
not tough to hide a tube.
Then again, Google AI says the Founders were black, female, and Korean.
I’m a fair student of the cold war and a New Englander. If the Soviets had deployed such trawlers, I think I would know about it. I can’t find any references that say they were deployed and I’ve never heard of it. I’ll consult with my retired USCG skipper HS buddy. I’m not holding my breath. If he comes back negative, I’ll just let this stand.
Do you know for a fact that we aren’t gathering signal intelligence of any kind from civilian ships or planes? I don’t, Accusations of that have been made for years,
We have signal intelligence places everywhere. We also collect it from space. A few passive Chinese or Russian ships don’t bother me. That’s part of the game. Active interference is another m.atter,
Just looking for a place to have the baby!!!
“tourist”
Let’s see …
What would the PRC do if the situation was reversed?
We all know the answer to that question.
Dumbass, Spy. or Dumbass-Spy?
Who cares? A year fighting the case followed by a one-year sentence will improve his English reading comprehension amazingly. I would speculate that he would be refused bail while awaiting trial, as a flight risk.
Every non Citizen and non lawful permanent resident (green card) should carry the presumption they are at a higher risk of flight. They could potentially overcome that presumption but at minimum they should be required to post a higher bond, surrender passport, maintain ankle monitor and be confined to home.
“facing charges…” Should have faced them by now and be in prison.
I’m a licensed drone pilot from this area. Never take nor use a drone on federal property like Playalinda Beach. One, because it’s forbidden/unauthorized and two the nude beach goers from lots 10-13 would not be too happy with their pictures taken! 😁
The excuse is not credible. Anyone visiting a foreign country who is unfamiliar with its laws will make the mistake of believing what is legal in his home country is legal in the foreign country. Therefore, it is also more likely than not that a foreign traveler will think what is illegal in his home country is also illegal in the country He’s visiting. (That’s not a typo, it’s a pun.) He should have thought videoing space launch facilities here is illegal, as it is in China. He would almost certainly not have presumed otherwise just because he’s visiting the “land of the free.”
Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Book him Dano.
Not surprisingly he’s apparently ignorant of Chinese law as well
“Aerial imaging restrictions on sensitive zones
China’s PIPL (Personal Information Protection Law, 2021) and national security laws create a layer of restriction that does not exist in most countries. Aerial photography or video of military installations, government buildings, border areas, and designated “sensitive zones” can trigger criminal charges, not just fines. There is no published master list of every sensitive zone. Some are marked on maps. Some are not.
https://dronesgator.com/drone-laws-in-china
Execute him for espionage and send his head in a box to Pooh. Of course that won’t do anything
Weird, when I’m on vacation I like going to national parks and other places of interest. Taking pictures of launch pads just isn’t my thing I guess.