China ASAT Story Gets Stranger Every Day

U.S. Tries to Interpret Chinas Silence Over Test, NY Times

“Bush administration officials said that they had been unable to get even the most basic diplomatic response from China after their detection of a successful test to destroy a satellite 10 days ago, and that they were uncertain whether Chinas top leaders, including President Hu Jintao, were fully aware of the test or the reaction it would engender.”

US officials cite concerns about China test debris, Reuters

“Trash from China’s satellite-killing missile test has spread widely in space, creating a debris cloud that could jeopardize spy satellites and commercial imagery satellites in low orbits around Earth, U.S. officials said on Monday. Even the manned International Space Station is vulnerable to being hit by some of the thousands of pieces of trash created when China slammed a ground-based medium-range ballistic missile into an aging Chinese weather satellite about 537 miles (865 km) above Earth on Jan. 11, the officials said.”