Space In The News
VOA reports:
The U.S. government has asked China to clarify its intentions following the successful test of an anti-satellite weapon last week, that was reported this week by the publication Aviation Week and Space Technology. The State Department has also expressed concern about the space debris that resulted from the missile hit on an old Chinese satellite, saying it could endanger people in space and on the ground. Voice Of America's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.
Time reports:
It's springtime for anti-satellite missiles - again - now that China has fired a missile into space and destroyed an aging weather satellite orbiting 500 miles above the earth. The James Bond-style exercise left a several-hundred- meter-wide cloud of scrap metal floating around in space. Some of the debris could pose a threat to spacecraft passing through the region, scientists say, and will remain a problem for hundreds of years to come. And there will be repercussions on Earth, too.
The Jerusalem Post reports:
Criticizing China's test of an anti-satellite weapon, the State Department said Friday "modern life as we know it" depends on the security of space-based technology.
At the White House on Friday, deputy press secretary Dana Perino said Chinese officials had not yet responded to US inquiries.
The United States is concerned about China's latest feat, and so they should be. Go back several years when the US was flapping about 'Star Wars' - I'm sure China shivered at the thought of such technology possibly aimed at their homeland.
The shoe is now on the other foot and you and I are the ones who can only sit back and hope for the best. Poor old George Bush - when the shit hits the fan in Washington, it really hits the fan.
I'm off to the bookstore now to find a copy of 'Chinese For Dummies' - it could be an important language to learn before long.
Just a quick message to any Chinese government types who might be reading this - if you guys blow up the satellite that handles the wife's viewing of 'The Young And The Restless' you are in big trouble. You don't want her to get mad at you!
