China's 11 January shooting of a satellite with a ground-to-space medium-range ballistic missile sparked concern worldwide about space debris and about the threat of a reinvigorated space arms race. The destruction of the Feng Yun-1C, an 850-kg retired weather satellite, marked China's first successful test of an anti-satellite weapon. Ironically, the test came just weeks before China was to host the 25th meeting of the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee.
According to NASA's orbital debris program estimates, the collision scattered more than 35 000 shards larger than 1 cm. The North American Aerospace Defense Command has counted 2500 pieces of debris larger than 5 cm, making the collision the largest space debris event in recorded history (see page 100 in this issue).
“Of the 2782 satellites we have data for, 1860 satellites pass through the region now affected by debris from the Chinese test,” says T. S. Kelso from the...
