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China Tests Anti-Satellite Weapon, Unnerving U.S.
By WILLIAM J. BROAD and DAVID E. SANGER
Published: January 18, 2007
China successfully carried out its first test of an anti-satellite weapon last week, signaling Beijing’s resolve to play a major role in military space activities and bringing expressions of concern from Washington and other capitals, the Bush administration said today.
Only two nations — Russia and the United States — have previously destroyed spacecraft in anti-satellite tests, most recently when Washington did so in the mid 1980s.
“This is the first real escalation in the weaponization of space that we’ve seen in 20 years,” said Jonathan McDowell, a Harvard astronomer who tracks rocket launchings and space activity. “It ends a long period of restraint.”
The White House said the United States and other nations had “expressed our concern regarding this action to the Chinese.” Despite its protest, the Bush administration has long resisted a global treaty banning such tests because it says it needs freedom of action in space.
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華盛頓郵報頭條:
Chinese Satellite Test Draws Sharp Protest From Other Nations
By Marc Kaufman and Dafna Linzer
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, January 18, 2007; 4:54 PM
The Chinese military used a ground-based missile to hit and destroy one of its aging satellites orbiting more than 500 miles in space last week, an apparent test of anti-satellite technology that raised concerns about a possible arms race in space and drew sharp protests from other space-faring nations.
The satellite-destroying test is believed to be the first of its kind in two decades by any nation, and experts say it dramatically illustrates Chinese capabilities in space and their willingness to face the certainty of broad international criticism.
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The Chinese test, which was first reported online by the magazine Aviation Week and Space Technology, comes at a time of heightened tensions between the United States and China regarding space. China is leading an effort in the United Nations to set up an international conference that would address what many consider to be an imminent space arms race. The United States, however, has been the one space-faring nation to oppose the idea, arguing that it wasn't needed because there is no arms race in space.
The Bush administration also released a National Space Policy last fall that strongly asserted an American right to defend itself in space against any actions it considered hostile.
By WILLIAM J. BROAD and DAVID E. SANGER
Published: January 18, 2007
China successfully carried out its first test of an anti-satellite weapon last week, signaling Beijing’s resolve to play a major role in military space activities and bringing expressions of concern from Washington and other capitals, the Bush administration said today.
Only two nations — Russia and the United States — have previously destroyed spacecraft in anti-satellite tests, most recently when Washington did so in the mid 1980s.
“This is the first real escalation in the weaponization of space that we’ve seen in 20 years,” said Jonathan McDowell, a Harvard astronomer who tracks rocket launchings and space activity. “It ends a long period of restraint.”
The White House said the United States and other nations had “expressed our concern regarding this action to the Chinese.” Despite its protest, the Bush administration has long resisted a global treaty banning such tests because it says it needs freedom of action in space.
....................
華盛頓郵報頭條:
Chinese Satellite Test Draws Sharp Protest From Other Nations
By Marc Kaufman and Dafna Linzer
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, January 18, 2007; 4:54 PM
The Chinese military used a ground-based missile to hit and destroy one of its aging satellites orbiting more than 500 miles in space last week, an apparent test of anti-satellite technology that raised concerns about a possible arms race in space and drew sharp protests from other space-faring nations.
The satellite-destroying test is believed to be the first of its kind in two decades by any nation, and experts say it dramatically illustrates Chinese capabilities in space and their willingness to face the certainty of broad international criticism.
..........
The Chinese test, which was first reported online by the magazine Aviation Week and Space Technology, comes at a time of heightened tensions between the United States and China regarding space. China is leading an effort in the United Nations to set up an international conference that would address what many consider to be an imminent space arms race. The United States, however, has been the one space-faring nation to oppose the idea, arguing that it wasn't needed because there is no arms race in space.
The Bush administration also released a National Space Policy last fall that strongly asserted an American right to defend itself in space against any actions it considered hostile.
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