It seems that the Chinese government isn't happy getting Hong Kong back from the Brits - they also want to take on the US over it's Star Wars defence system.
China owns a number of satellites, a number of which are getting towards the end of their useful life. They decided to test their anti-satellite missiles by destroying one of their own ageing weather satellites, which - considering the issue that there is with space junk already - is just stupid unless the missile can vaporise the entire satellite. On top of this, Dubya is now making doo doo in his pants as this shows that China is capable of destroying US military satellites - something that has not been done since 1985 when the US tried a similar test, thanks to the then wobbly finger of Ronald's (Got A) Ray-Gun.
Sure, China may have the right to destroy their own property, but it would be common courtesy to inform people that this is going to happen and see if there is valid concern about the means in which they intend to do this BEFORE they actually turn a satellite into a million pieces of space debris.
Speaking of space debris, why is the Shuttle replacement going to be dumping MORE junk in space than the current Shuttles do? This is ridiculous and will only make space travel in near Earth orbit even more dangerous than it already is. I suppose it is only going to make it more important that they release a new Space Plough to clean up all the crap we left up there, and at whatever price they see fit to release this at!
Sometimes (well, more often than not) I wonder about the value of instant gratification over long term benefits.
Regards,
The Outspoken Wookie
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