2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test

A Chinese weather satellite—the FY-1C (COSPAR 1999-025A) polar orbit satellite of the Fengyun series, at an altitude of 865 kilometres (537 mi), with a mass of 750 kilograms (1,650 lb)[1]—was destroyed by a kinetic kill vehicle traveling with a speed of 8 km/s (18,000 mph) in the opposite direction[2] (see Head-on engagement).

[3] The report was confirmed on 18 January 2007 by a United States National Security Council (NSC) spokesperson.

[18] The Chinese anti-satellite system was named by Lieutenant General Michael Maples (then Director of US Defense Intelligence Agency), in a Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing, as the SC-19.

[21] The closing velocity of the intercept was approximately 8 kilometers per second (17,900 mph), comparable to the American National Missile Defense system.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao stated, "There's no need to feel threatened about this" and argued that "China will not participate in any kind of arms race in outer space.

"[23][24] China had publicly been advocating to ban space weapons, which had been rejected by the United States under George W. Bush because of certain loopholes in the treaty.

The US claimed that the strike was not a military test but a necessary mission to remove the threat posed by the decaying orbit of a faulty spy satellite with a full tank of hydrazine fuel.

It is the sort of capability available to any country with a store of MRBMs/IRBMs or satellite launch vehicles, and a long-range radar system, such as Japan, India, Iran and even North Korea.