China Hones Satellite Killing Arsenal!

West slams China's satellite-killer test
Jim Wolf
Reuters
Friday, 19 January 2007

"An ageing Chinese weather satellite would have been blasted into
40,000 pieces, roughly half of which would stay in orbit for more than
a decade (Image: iStockphoto)
Australia, the US and Canada have voiced concerns to China over the
first known satellite-killing test in space in more than 20 years, the
White House says.

"The US believes China's development and testing of such weapons is
inconsistent with the spirit of cooperation that both countries aspire
to in the civil space area," says a US National Security Council
spokesperson.

"We and other countries have expressed our concern regarding this
action to the Chinese."

Using a ground-based medium-range ballistic missile, the test knocked
out an ageing Chinese weather satellite about 865 kilometres above the
Earth on 11 January, the spokesperson says.

It did this through "kinetic impact", or slamming into it.

Canada and Australia have joined in voicing concern, he says. The UK,
South Korea and Japan are expected to follow suit, an administration
official adds."

http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/s...9751.htm?space


Double-A

Double-A Junk in low orbit is hazardous to the Hubble,and the shuttles.
If NASA technology can only go round and round they should at best find
a higher safer orbit. Bert