When China and Russia shake hands on banning weapons in space, what does it mean to the U.S.? How does U.S. respond to it? From Time:
In a week in which Russia and China called for a treaty banning weapons in space, the Pentagon has announced it has orders from President Bush to shoot down a secret spy satellite — but the satellite in question is an American vessel, and its being targeted for destruction before it tumbles back to Earth next month and potentially spews a deadly chemical.
The U.S. hasn’t tried shooting a satellite since President Reagan’s heyday, in 1985 (it succeeded). And Washington complained loudly, early last year, after China successfully completed its first such test, blasting one of its own old weather satellites to bits. “The U.S. believes China’s development and testing of such weapons is inconsistent with the spirit of cooperation that both countries aspire to in the civil space area,” National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said at the time. “We and other countries have expressed our concern regarding this action to the Chinese.”
See also The New York Times report: Missile Defense Future May Turn on Success of Mission to Destroy Satellite
