China’s space effort seen in new light

by DIG THE HEAVY | January 23, 2007 at 07:33 pm

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SHANGHAI, China - China has sent men into
orbit and launched dozens of satellites, but its test of a
satellite-killing weapon is shaking up perceptions about where the
Chinese space program is headed.

The
test, confirmed by Beijing on Tuesday after nearly a two-week silence,
has drawn criticism from the U.S. and Japan, and touched off fears of
an arms race in space.........

The Chinese test “was an overtly military, very provocative event that cannot be spun any other way,” said Rob Hewson, the London-based editor of Jane’s Air-Launched Weapons. “So a bald assessment of that is that it’s a big fat challenge.”