U.S. State Department: China Tested Anti-satellite Weapon
By Mike Gruss | Jul. 28, 2014
WASHINGTON — The United States claims China conducted a “non-destructive” test of an anti-satellite missile July 23 and called for China to end the development of such capabilities.
“We call on China to refrain from destabilizing actions — such as the continued development and testing of destructive anti-satellite systems — that threaten the long term security and sustainability of the outer space environment, on which all nations depend,” the State Department said in a July 25 email to SpaceNews. “The United States continuously looks to ensure its space systems are safe and resilient against emerging space threats.”
A State Department spokesman said the United States has “a high confidence” in its assessment that the test took place.
China state-run news agency, Xinhua, reported July 24 that the military had announced a successful missile intercept test. The test “achieved the preset goal,” China’s Ministry of National Defense said on its website, according to Xinhua.
In January 2007, China deliberately destroyed one of its defunct weather satellites known as Fengyun-1C using a ground-based, medium-range ballistic missile. The action, which was widely condemned internationally, left a cloud of potentially hazardous debris in a heavily used belt of Earth orbit.
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