The Chinese military used a ground-based missile to hit and destroy one of its aging satellites orbiting more than 500 miles in space last week. The test of anti-satellite technology, first reported online by Aviation week and Space Technology, raised concerns about a possible arms race in space and drew sharp protests from other space-faring nations.
The destruction of the Chinese satellite created a large "debris cloud" that can seriously damage other satellites in nearby orbit, and possibly even spaceships passing through the region on their way to the moon or beyond. Both the United States and the former Soviet Union tested anti-satellite technology in the 1980s, and the United States shot down one of its orbiting satellites in 1985. Partially as a result of the debris problem, both sides stopped the practice.
Australia and Canada have already lodged protests against the Chinese test and that Britain, South Korea and Japan were expected to follow suit. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) called for an international agreement to ban the development, testing, and deployment of space weapons and anti-satellite systems (Source: .Marc Kaufman and Dafna Linzer, Washington Post, Jan 18, 2007).