China Successfully Tests Space Weapon

I now believe the next generation satellites will contain some sort of self protection that can counter an attack.

Paul

Agreed, Paul. Did you hear about the FedEx Cargo jet that now has an anti-missile system? It's cool stuff.

"U.S. officials have expressed concern over the test. "

And well they should.

Our reliance on satellites for so much of our military needs (smart bombs using GPS, communications of all kinds, etc etc) without viable back-ups, leaves us vulnerable to potential adversaries and even solar flares. They (satellites) are not easily defended, and launching more is no solution if they would only be disabled again.

Is this the basis for the script for Bruce Willis' next film?

This is a significant development in that it puts America's fleet of B-2 bombers at risk. These planes are designed to acess the U.S. military's strategic and tactical relay satellites (MILSTAR) for navigation, communication, and targeting purposes.

China, like Iran, has much to gain from the U.S. quamire in Iraq. Like all great empires, America's financial resources are limited. The dollars we spend on house-to-house fighting in Bagdad are funds we can't spend on next-generation weaponry. There's always an opportunity cost when you spend blood and treasure.

I wonder what Sunny, Michael, and Mikhail thought about the inverted comet tail they might have seen?? Wouldn't that just about make you fill your space suit! Looking down through the window at the earth to see is spit out a rocket pointed into space.

I highly doubt they even saw the rocket, but there are many many many satalites orbiting the earth below 500+ miles. (Including the ISS at it's meager ~200 mile alt.) NASA is tracking all of these that are large enouigh to be detected, but even a marble sized satalite could wreak havvock on the ISS if they collided. Hence they track everything they can so that we don't launch a rocket or shuttle into something like a GPS sattelite. Reporters drill the NASA officials at press briefings if the littlest peice of anything floats out out of the shuttle cargo bay. The latest golf ball chip off the ISS was scruitinized pre stroke to assure that the ball would safely leave the vacinity of the ISS. Now there are a bazilion little projectials going who knows where from this satalite that was obliterated. Don't forget that unmaintained satalites' orbits typically decay with time and they end up falling to earths atmosphere, the ISS orbit happens to be between that of the late Chinese satalite and the atmosphere.

I cannot comprehend the ammount of volume there is between earth surface and 500mile alt, so I guess I don't know what I'm talking about. Once upon a time people thought that the land west of the Mississippi would never be fully occupied...

I like to think that international space exploration is a good way to give us common "ground." I know that is a nieve thought and it seams that a little craft circling the earth isn't worth much comparied to religion and territory. :(

I don't intend to make little of the importance of our DoD's satalite constelations by only talking about space exploration craft. Then again, we could ask the chicken or the egg question about those two couldn't we?

Not only a danger of debris from China's test to our birds, but to any shuttle launch. After we successfully tested in 1985 from a high altitude F-15 launch, we stopped because of the debris it created.

This is the result of the Clinton Administration giving away ballistic missile technology. It has come back to bite us......! Treason comes to mind here, and should have been charged as soon as it happened.

Please support your assertion, Guest. I'd like to know what proof you have to offer.

http://www.cnn.com/US/9905/24/cox.report.02/

http://www.alamo-girl.com/0026.htm

Just do a search for Clinton gives away ballistic missile technology to China. It is that wide spread and known.

Thanks for the links, Guest. I hope you'll register with CR4 so that we can communicate more regularly. You have some valuable insights to offer.

With regard to the first link, I agree with the author's assessment that the Clinton administration should be criticized for "how slowly it reacted when word of the espionage surfaced." In the interest of non-partisanship, though, I would also note that Los Alamos National Laboratories (LANL) still leaks like a sieve even after 6+ years of George W. Bush's tenure. How do we fix this problem? Any ideas?

The second article is troubling. Transfers of sensitive technology to potential adversaries is just plain dumb. Still, I don't like the language of "Clinton gave away". Defense contractors made millions, and no one in Washington, D.C. does anything for free. During the 1990s, politicians and CEOs had dollar signs in their eyes whenever they looked at China. I don't want to digress (too much) since this is an engineering forum, but I feel equally cheated by Democrats and Republicans when it comes to China and a major recipient of Chinese arms sales - Iran. I expect we'll hear more abut Iran's Chinese-made Silkworm missiles in the days to come.

Best Regards,

Moose

Moose, completed my registration as requested.

Thank you, TLGEngrCo. Glad to have you onboard, sir. Nice to have a fellow Bay State resident around these parts, too.