Chinese Test Anti-Satellite Weapon
U. S. intelligence agencies believe China performed a successful anti-satellite (asat) weapons test at more than 500 mi. altitude Jan. 11 destroying an aging Chinese weather satellite target with a kinetic kill vehicle launched on board a ballistic missile.
The Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, NASA and other government organizations have a full court press underway to obtain data on the alleged test, Aviation Week & Space Technology will report in its Jan. 22 issue.
If the test is verified it will signify a major new Chinese military capability. ...
Allahpundit has lots of links and reactions here.
For what it's worth:
- The satellite the ChiComs knocked down was at an alitude of “more than 500 miles.”
Not saying the ChiCom test isn’t bad news, just that it could be worse.
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Greg Tinti has more here.
*** CNN: U.S. official: Chinese test missile obliterates satellite
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- China last week successfully used a missile to destroy an orbiting satellite, U.S. government officials told CNN on Thursday, in a test that could undermine relations with the West and pose a threat to satellites important to the U.S. military.
According to a spokesman for the National Security Council, the ground-based, medium-range ballistic missile knocked an old Chinese weather satellite from its orbit about 537 miles above Earth. The missile carried a "kill vehicle" and destroyed the satellite by ramming it.
The test took place on January 11.
Aviation Week and Space Technology first reported the test: "Details emerging from space sources indicate that the Chinese Feng Yun 1C (FY-1C) polar orbit weather satellite launched in 1999 was attacked by an asat (anti-satellite) system launched from or near the Xichang Space Center."
A U.S. official, who would not agree to be identified, said the event was the first successful test of the missile after three failures.
The official said that U.S. "space tracking sensors" confirmed that the satellite is no longer in orbit and that the collision produced "hundreds of pieces of debris," that also are being tracked.
The United States logged a formal diplomatic protest.
"We are aware of it and we are concerned, and we made it known," said White House spokesman Tony Snow.
Several U.S. allies, including Canada and Australia, also have registered protests.
Under a space policy authorized by President Bush in August, the United States asserts a right to "freedom of action in space" and says it will "deter others from either impeding those rights or developing capabilities intended to do so."
The policy includes the right to "deny, if necessary, adversaries the use of space capabilities hostile to U.S. national interests." ...
You might note in passing that apparently no-one at CNN understands it's a big step from shooting down a weather satellite to shooting down a GPS satellite (See my numbers above.)
*** Raising The Stakes In Space
Ed Morrissey
Russia and China have pushed for a ban on weapons in space for the past few years, but the Bush administration has resisted it while the US develops its missile shield program. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US alone retained the ready capability of attacking and destroying satellites in orbit, and no one had actually attempted it in 20 years. That period came to an end yesterday, when the Chinese successfully hit and destroyed one of their older weather satellites, demonstrating clearly that they could do the same to our critical military reconnaissance satellites:
[...]
The action brought immediate protest, and not just from the United States. Japan called for an explanation through its diplomatic missions of the test, and Australia warned against a weapons race in space.
Does China intend on striking our sensitive military satellites? Perhaps not. This seems more like a pressure tactic by Beijing to get the US to change policy on space weapons. Last October, the Bush administration reiterated its stance on the issue, claiming that America needed a free hand in space for research and development, and specifically refused to eschew the kind of test the Chinese conducted yesterday. Now that China has demonstrated its capability to successfully launch the same kind of mission, the Chinese probably hope that the US will reconsider its position.
However, the test itself could prove troublesome for all of the satellites currently orbiting the Earth. The explosion left a lot of debris and apparently accelerated their movement in space. Satellites are remarkably delicate instruments, and having them peppered with shrapnel could knock several of them out of commission. The Chinese used a blunt instrument for its attack, and the fallout could continue for years and force the expensive replacement of other satellites, and some owners might not be able to afford the cost. Will the Chinese offer to bear the cost of replacement over the twenty-five years or more that the debris will stay in orbit? ...
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