Star Wars: The Beginning?
By Nigel Kelly
By Nigel Kelly
Last week, the press was abuzz over the events concerning a U.S. spy satellite in a deteriorating orbit and the government’s plan to destroy it by firing a missile. On Wednesday, February 21st at 3:26am, the spy satellite, drastically out of control and carrying a deadly fuel, was shot down by the USS Lake Eerie. The debris rained down through the atmosphere and burned upon reentry.
The satellite, ten tons of the United States’ top secret technologies, lost power soon after entering orbit and has lost altitude steadily ever since. If left to its own, the satellite would probably not burn up completely in the atmosphere all the way and land anywhere, showering lethal fragments of wreckage capable of causing millions of dollars in damage. Also, if recovered by potential enemies, confidential technologies could be studied and put to use against the United States. It is good news that this dangerous object did not have the opportunity to harm anybody or anything. Or is it?
Last month, China knocked out an aging weather satellite with a kinetic kill missile. This action showed that China has the power to bring any modern country to its knees, thus sparking much controversy over the security of space and the valuable satellites that lurk in it. Technically, China has the ability to cripple the United States infrastructure by destroying its communications satellites. That means there will be no satellite TV, and no communication between the brass in the White House and the troops overseas. Opposition to this drastic action came unilaterally across the world. The only problem is…China wasn’t the first country to do this. Ours was. Way back in 1985, the United States flaunted its ability of space dominance by shooting one of its own aging satellites.
So is this recent spy satellite instance merely a coincidence? Many believe that the humane reasons that the United States gave for shooting down this satellite are not entirely accurate. Some even believe that the US was sending a message to China saying "We still have the capability to destroy space infrastructure and we’re not afraid to use it".
China, a country on the verge of becoming a superpower, was one of the many countries opposing the spy-satellite takedown. But last month they did practically the same thing. A little hypocrisy there I think? The whole issue has caused an international outcry against the abuse of space. If this does turn into a war, it’ll be way over our heads. Literally.
The satellite, ten tons of the United States’ top secret technologies, lost power soon after entering orbit and has lost altitude steadily ever since. If left to its own, the satellite would probably not burn up completely in the atmosphere all the way and land anywhere, showering lethal fragments of wreckage capable of causing millions of dollars in damage. Also, if recovered by potential enemies, confidential technologies could be studied and put to use against the United States. It is good news that this dangerous object did not have the opportunity to harm anybody or anything. Or is it?
Last month, China knocked out an aging weather satellite with a kinetic kill missile. This action showed that China has the power to bring any modern country to its knees, thus sparking much controversy over the security of space and the valuable satellites that lurk in it. Technically, China has the ability to cripple the United States infrastructure by destroying its communications satellites. That means there will be no satellite TV, and no communication between the brass in the White House and the troops overseas. Opposition to this drastic action came unilaterally across the world. The only problem is…China wasn’t the first country to do this. Ours was. Way back in 1985, the United States flaunted its ability of space dominance by shooting one of its own aging satellites.
So is this recent spy satellite instance merely a coincidence? Many believe that the humane reasons that the United States gave for shooting down this satellite are not entirely accurate. Some even believe that the US was sending a message to China saying "We still have the capability to destroy space infrastructure and we’re not afraid to use it".
China, a country on the verge of becoming a superpower, was one of the many countries opposing the spy-satellite takedown. But last month they did practically the same thing. A little hypocrisy there I think? The whole issue has caused an international outcry against the abuse of space. If this does turn into a war, it’ll be way over our heads. Literally.
