U.S. official: Chinese test missile obliterates satellite

last SG · 2007-01-22T09:41:28+00:00

Its the US that is the only country constantly rejecting the ban on outer space testing in the past decades. Its the US that is the only country insisting...

coolant SG

HIGHLIGHTS:

>Chinese use a missile to ram and destroy an old, orbiting satellite
>Experts: China now may have ability to knock out U.S. GPS and spy satellites
> Washington issues formal diplomatic protest

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. (Watch why the U.S. has protested the missile strike )

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."

Low Earth-orbit satellites have become indispensable for U.S. military communications, GPS navigation for smart bombs and troops, and for real-time surveillance. The Chinese test highlights the satellites' vulnerability.

"If we, for instance, got into a conflict over Taiwan, one of the first things they'd probably do would be to shoot down all of our lower Earth-orbit spy satellites, putting out our eyes," said John Pike of globalsecurity.org, a Web site that compiles information on worldwide security issues.

"The thing that is surprising and disturbing is that [the Chinese] have chosen this moment to demonstrate a military capability that can only be aimed at the United States," he said.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/01/18/china.missile/index.html

ditzy SG

Wow, they are good. Laughing

tankee1981 SG

I find it weird that US protests when PRC conduct military tests but the world is supposed to keep quiet when US conducts military tests. I mean it is a country's soverign right to develop miliatry defence. Very Happy

ditzy SG

Hiyah, they only make noise when their country's interest is at stake. Laughing I tell you, if those 3 american passengers weren't on that doomed adamair flight, USA won't even give a flying fcuk.

coolant SG

How it works:

Ito_^ SG

wah lau. litter the space. must fine em! Mad

SingaporeMacross SG

Imagine making the taiknauts wear the yellow CWO vests... Rolling Eyes

lionnoisy SG

another may disappear.
Expensive new U.S. spy satellite not working: sources,By Andrea Shalal-Esa - Exclusive Thu Jan 11,2007 4:40 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. officials are unable to communicate with an expensive experimental U.S. spy satellite launched last year by the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), a defense official and another source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.
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Efforts are continuing to reestablish communication with the classified satellite, which cost hundreds of millions of dollars, but "the prognosis is not great at this point," said the defense official, who asked not to be identified.

"They have not yet declared it a total loss. There are still some additional steps that can be taken to restore communication," the official added, noting some satellites had been recovered in similar situations in the past.

The official said the problems were substantial and involved multiple systems, adding that U.S. officials were working to reestablish contact with the satellite because of the importance of the new technology it was meant to test and demonstrate.

The other source said the satellite had been described to him as "a comprehensive failure."

There was no suggestion by either of the sources that the satellite had been purposely damaged as part of a terrorist attack. Another government official said he had no information about any attacks on U.S. satellites.

The National Reconnaissance Office, which designs, builds and operates reconnaissance satellites for the U.S. military and intelligence communities, had no comment.

Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer with the Harvard- Smithsonian Center For Astrophysics, said the satellite in question could be a classified NRO satellite launched into space on December 14 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, which did not appear to be part of any "existing pattern."

The NRO satellite identified only as L-21 was the first ever launched by the newly merged rocket launch units of Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp..

The new joint venture announced the successful launch of the satellite, but neither the company nor the NRO gave any details about the satellite's mission.
McDowell said the satellite was mysterious to satellite watchers because it was in a low orbit of about 220 miles, or 350 kilometers, above the Earth and had not made any move to change its orbital position.

"This is definitely a setback for the NRO, which has had an aggressive technology development program over the past few years," McDowell said. "It adds to the problems that the NRO is having transitioning to its next generation of satellites."

The
Pentagon has revamped nearly all its space programs in recent years due to cost overruns, technical issues and schedule delays, but space officials say they have made "significant progress" to get those programs back on track.

Several classified NRO programs, including the Future Imagery Architecture program run by Boeing, have required infusions of several billions of dollars.

Mishaps and satellite failures happen occasionally. In August 1998, an NRO satellite estimated to cost over $1 billion was destroyed when the Lockheed Titan 4A rocket launching it into space exploded some 20,000 feet above the Atlantic.

One industry official said temporary communications lapses occurred occasionally, but a lasting loss of communication with a satellite, as suggested in this case, was rare.

Officials at Boeing, Lockheed and Northrop Grumman Corp., which all produce national security satellites for the U.S. government, declined comment given the classified nature of the NRO satellite.

Orbital Sciences Corp., another smaller satellite manufacturer, could not immediately be reached for comment.

2.this news altered by this news in Chinese

SingaporeTyrannosaur SG

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."

That's the problem you see, they don't seriously expect other nations to take this lying down. Such a policy is in a sense, a lazy's man way of trying to stave off a space race when it has already started. It is quite obvious that this is exactly the kind of thing that China will plan to do if it intends to be a military force to be reckoned with, and I doubt passing policies that say "this is my playground and you are not allowed in it" will really pay off, if anything it encourages the Yanks to be lazy about it.

LazerLordz SG

We can’t avoid it. Militarisation of space is inevitable.

hisoka SG

maybe they willl bomb china Confused

Ito_^ SG

http://www.space.com/spacewatch/space_junk.html

dangerous sia.. one speck of paint will blow someone's head off. Laughing

CM06 SG

We should watch China's Build up with care.

Not that they are evil or USA is good. BUt it could start another "COLD WAR " Era. Except replace Russia with China. No wonder DOOMS day clock has moved closer to 12 midnight.

China, very zhai! It's a If i cant have a toy like yours...i will make sure you dont have that toy either...situation.

coolant SG

Relevant talk:

China fires Laser to disable US spy eyes

MohamedF SG

US is self proclaimed Owner of the cosmos so that's why the KPKB...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15312116/

beavan SG

it feels like another space race all over again

furb SG

I was wondering are other countries allowed to depoly satellite (E.g. spy satellite) in space and pass through US? Question

OldAhPek SG

as usual
US is always the first to kpkb.

China is now the 3rd Nation to has the capability to shoot down a satellite.

And US is one of them.
Something is downright wrong with AngMoh mentality.

beavan SG

so when a war starts it’s going to rain satelites. and we’ll not be able to put satelites up there until the debris are all cleared.