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Old 01-19-2007, 03:17 PM   #5
MaggieL
in the Hour of Scampering
 
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Jeffersonville PA (15 mi NW of Philadelphia)
Posts: 4,060
Quote:
Originally Posted by yesman065 View Post
We have had the capability since the 80's its just that we didn't know they could do it till last week!
I don't think anybody familar with space tech doubted for a moment that the Chinese could hit an orbiting sat with a kinetic killer if they wanted to badly enough. Apparently they wanted to: slightly modified one of their MRBMs and played Duck Hunt.

The tech we tested in the 1980s (developed in response to a 1977 USAF Space Systems Command RFP) did essentially the same thing, but could be accomplished with a missile launched from a modified F-15. This approach has the advantage of not needing to wait for the target sat's orbit to pass conveniently over your launch site as was the case for the Chinese kill...just fly the F-15 to rendezvous with a conveniant intercept launch window, and off you go.

Informed speculation is that they did this to try to force open negotiations on a space weapons treaty, like the one our resident LaRouchian tw is espousing.
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