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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