Space Arms Race? China's missile test worries World governments
In January 2007 China carried out a ballistic missile test, the target was a satellite in space and the missile was launched from Earth.
An aging Chinese Feng Yun weather satellite (pictured right) orbiting 537 miles (865 km) above the Earth was destroyed by a anti-satellite missile system that China have been developing. It was confirmed by US National Security officials on Thursday that China did indeed conduct the test, probably on the 11th of January, the missile was fired from the Xichang Space Centre in southern China. China is also supposedly developing laser based weapons for destroying satellites from Earth, but it was a more traditional ballistic missile that was tested. Blowing up a satellite in space produces a lot of debris, American Aviation Week and Space Technology said that the debris could be in an orbit used by many other satellites, potentially damaging them. So why do nations want to be able to shoot down a satellite? Because they can then potentially shoot down satellites belonging to other nations in times of war. The US Armed Forces use satellites for much of their communications, and to constantly monitor their enemies' movements during conflict, China's new military potential is causing them great concern. This is not the first time a missile test in space has happened, but it has only been done by two other nations - the United States, and Russia (Soviet Union at the time), in the 1980's. Both showed at the time their ability to shoot down their own satellites with ground-based missiles, but China's first test of this kind is the first for 20 years. Will we see the USA performing similar weapons tests in the future? A space arms race could be upon us. Links: BBC - Concern over China's missile test BBC - China test sparks space arms fears Email this story to a friend  Add this link to:            
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