Re: Kiss your GPS units goodbye.. China destroys Satellite with missile

On 18 Jan 2007 17:07:30 -0800, "LunaTick" <chuckadams05@xxxxxxx> wrote:

I think GPS satellites are safe from this particular (no pun intended) weapon.

According to a spokesman for the National Security Council, the
ground-based, medium-range ballistic missile knocked an old Chinese
weather satellite from its orbit about 537 miles above Earth. The
missile carried a "kill vehicle" and destroyed the satellite by ramming
it.

GPS satellites are a lot higher than that, approx 12,000 miles.

Under a space policy authorized by President Bush in August, the United
States asserts a right to "freedom of action in space" and says it will
"deter others from either impeding those rights or developing
capabilities intended to do so."

So, the US can militarize space and expect nobody else to follow suit? How
quaintly naiive.

Low Earth-orbit satellites have become indispensable for U.S. military
communications, GPS navigation for smart bombs and troops, and for
real-time surveillance. The Chinese test highlights the satellites'
vulnerability.

More disinformation from the gutter press. GPS satellites are in MEO, not LEO,
and are unaffected by these missiles.

"The thing that is surprising and disturbing is that [the Chinese] have
chosen this moment to demonstrate a military capability that can only
be aimed at the United States," he said.

Eh? Are the USA and China the only countries in the world with LEO satellites?


.

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