China and Russia cry foul after over satellite

[BurtWorm]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article3408155.ece


A single SM-3 Missile launches from the U.S. Navy AEGIS cruiser (US Navy/AP)

From Times Online
February 21, 2008



David Byers and Jane Macartney of The Times, in Beijing


America's decision to destroy a defunct spy satellite orbiting Earth by firing a missile into outer space provoked a diplomatic row today, with both China and Russia accusing the US of having carried out a covert weapons test.

...

Moscow and Beijing complained that the missile strike smacked of hypocrisy as the US had rejected a joint attempt by the two countries from banning weapons in outer space only a month ago.

...

US defence officials say their case is different because Washington, unlike Beijing, informed the public and world leaders before firing their missile. They also have insisted the only concern driving the US decision to shoot down the satellite was that the 1,000-pound fuel tank could survive largely intact and release toxic gas.

The Pentagon also denied suggestions they wanted to destroy the satellite to prevent part of the classified spacecraft from falling into the hands of rival powers.

Jeremy Close, a spokesman for Astrium, Europe's biggest defence firm, which employs 3,000 people in the UK, said: "If part of the satellite was to fall intact to the ground, or partially intact, it might yield valuable information about the type of cryptography used by the satellite to communicate with the ground.

"It would be a political coup for an unfriendly country to the US to get hold of that technology from falling debris."

[slackmaster]

1. "Covert"?

:rofl:

[snappyturtle]

2. hmmm....................n/t

[Eurobabe]

3. WTF is going on right now, did that lunar eclipse

unleash some noxious gasses on the world today? All hell is breaking lose!

[Submariner]

4. Covert?

More like "IN YOUR FACE"

[theoldman]

5. The Chinese and Russians would have laughed if we would

not have succeeded. Anyone with common sense knows that every country would like to have a space weapon.

[BurtWorm]

6. Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Union of Concerned Scientists question need to blast satellite

I received this in an e-mail from the Institute for Public Accuracy:


ALICE SLATER,
http://www.wagingpeace.org
Slater is director of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. She said
today: "Right now Bush is trampling on the Chinese-Russian U.N.
initiative to ban weapons in space. ... We should be demanding of all
the candidates that they take a position on banning weapons in space..."

STEPHEN YOUNG, [e-mail]
LAURA GREGO, [e-mail],
http://www.ucsusa.org/global_security/space_weapons
Young, a senior analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists, said
today: "The public rationale that the satellite shoot-down was done for
safety reasons doesn't really hold up to scrutiny."
Grego, an astrophysicist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said
today: "If the Pentagon demonstrates that its missile defense systems
can destroy satellites, it will be very difficult to convince other
countries that they shouldn't develop a similar anti-satellite
capability. Moreover, concern that the United States has this offensive
capability deployed around the world will likely complicate relations
with Russia and China."
UCS noted in a statement: "Not only has the United States failed to
lead efforts to prevent the development, deployment and use of
anti-satellite systems, it has for many years opposed international
efforts to do so, Grego pointed out. Just last week the Bush
administration rejected a draft treaty presented at the U.N. Conference
on Disarmament that would ban space weapons and prohibit attacking
satellites from the ground or space."
http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/us-attempt-to-shoot-down-0098.html

[lovuian]

7. weapons test Russia and China got a good look at

the US ability to take out their satellites

[WinkyDink]

8. And how do we even KNOW it was about to fall to earth?