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,"
White House spokesman Tony Snow said.
Several U.S. allies, including Canada and Australia, have also
registered protests, and the Japanese government said it was
worrisome.
"Naturally, we are concerned about it from the viewpoint of
security as well as peaceful use of space," said Yashuhisa
Shiozaki, chief cabinet secretary. He said Japan has asked the
Chinese government for an explanation.
Britain has complained about lack of consultation before the test
and potential damage from the debris it left behind, The Associated
Press reported.
The United States has been able to bring down satellites with
missiles since the mid-1980s, according to a history of ASAT
programs posted on the Union of Concerned Scientists Web site. In
its own test, the U.S. military knocked a satellite out of orbit in
1985.
