A US plan to shoot down one of its own satellites re-ignites US-China tension over peace in space. From AP:
China said Sunday it was concerned about U.S. military plans to shoot down a damaged spy satellite that is hurtling toward Earth with 1,000 pounds of toxic fuel.
The U.S. military has said it hopes to smash the satellite as soon as next week — just before it enters Earth’s atmosphere — with a single missile fired from a Navy cruiser in the northern Pacific Ocean…
U.S. diplomats around the world have been instructed to inform governments that the operation is meant to protect people from the satellite’s blazing descent and the toxic fuel it is carrying. The diplomats were told to distinguish the upcoming attempt to destroy the satellite from China’s much criticized test last year, when it used a missile to destroy a defunct weather satellite.
See also AFP’s report: US satellite shoot-down part of space ‘arms race’: Russia
