China confirms ASAT test
Posted: Tue, Jan 23, 2007, 6:56 AM ET (1156 GMT)
The Chinese government finally confirmed Tuesday that the country destroyed one of its own satellites with an anti-satellite weapon earlier this month, nearly a week after the test was first reported. A spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry admitted that China conducted the ASAT test on January 11, destroying an aging Chinese polar-orbiting weather satellite, but said that the country still supported the "peaceful development of outer space". Officials also confirmed the test Monday in discussions with US officials. Chinese officials had previously declined to comment on the test, which was first publicly reported on the evening of January 17 by Aviation Week magazine, and confirmed the following day by the Bush Administration. The test was sharply criticized worldwide, in part for creating a cloud of debris that could jeopardize other satellites in similar orbits.
The Chinese government finally confirmed Tuesday that the country destroyed one of its own satellites with an anti-satellite weapon earlier this month, nearly a week after the test was first reported. A spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry admitted that China conducted the ASAT test on January 11, destroying an aging Chinese polar-orbiting weather satellite, but said that the country still supported the "peaceful development of outer space". Officials also confirmed the test Monday in discussions with US officials. Chinese officials had previously declined to comment on the test, which was first publicly reported on the evening of January 17 by Aviation Week magazine, and confirmed the following day by the Bush Administration. The test was sharply criticized worldwide, in part for creating a cloud of debris that could jeopardize other satellites in similar orbits.
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