Champagne Supernova in the Sky

There are a few details about the upcoming U.S. attempt to knock the failed satellite US 193 out of the sky (well space actually) that I found interesting.

• China used a ballistic missile to knock one of their failed weather satellites out of space – it was 500 miles above Earth. 
• Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Liu Jianchao said Sunday that Beijing is closely watching the situation and may take what he called “preventive measures.” He did not elaborate.
• For years (even decades – since the Reagan era) Americans have been dreaming of and attempting to create some kind of space defence system. I think the first-dreamt version involved satellites shooting lasers at incoming missiles. Since, more realistic versions have been tested – missiles that are fired from Earth to intercept incoming threats, lasers that are mounted on planes that can be used to destroy whatever it is up there that needs to be destroyed. The main problem is, billions (if not trillions) of dollars in defence contracts have been handed out, and there still is no viable plan of defence.
• After China’s successful knock-down, pressure is on the US to show the rest of the world that they too can dominate the skies.
• The Outer Space Treaty, in force since 1967, bans only nuclear arms and other weapons of mass destruction in space.
• Bush last year adopted a new space strategy, which some say is highly unilateralist. The policy declares freedom of action by the United States, giving Washington the right to bar from space, if necessary, any country hostile to US interests and to reject any treaty forbidding arms in space. (Taken from this site)

It all adds up to the launch of a satellite for the purposes of knocking it down to reassert aerial dominance, or at least to tell the Chinese, “We can do that too.”

~ by aggrodude on February 18, 2008.