In a cable sent to all U.S. embassies abroad, diplomats were told to draw a clear distinction between the upcoming attempt and last year's test by China of a missile specifically designed to take out satellites, which was criticized by the United States and other countries.
"This particular action is different than any actions that, for example, the Chinese may have taken in testing an anti-satellite weapon," McCormack told reporters. "The missions are quite different and the technical aspects of the missions are quite different."
Other than intent, he said the key difference is that the Pentagon's planned shoot-down will be done at a much lower altitude than that of the Chinese, whose 2007 destruction of a satellite left a large debris field in orbit. The U.S. plan, it is hoped, will leave little in the way of debris that could complicate efforts to place future satellites in orbit.
U.S. officials said the satellite is carrying fuel called hydrazine that could injure or even kill people who are near it when it hits the ground. That reason alone, they said, persuaded President Bush to order the shoot-down.
For my own part, I believe this is an anti-satellite test in retaliation for the test by the Chinese. It is amazing that this hydrazine fuel that has been used many, many times comes up as an issue in this situation, and that we have no other solution than blowing the satellite to pieces.
No comments:
Post a Comment