China on alert as satellite is shot down

China said today it was on the alert for possible harmful fallout from the US shootdown of an ailing spy satellite and urged Washington to promptly release data about the action.

The comment from the Chinese foreign ministry came several hours after the Pentagon said a missile launched from a Navy cruiser had soared above the Pacific Ocean and smashed a dying and potentially dangerous US spy satellite.

“China is continuously following closely the possible harm caused by the US action to outer space security and relevant countries,” ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a regular news conference.

“China requests the US to fulfil its international obligations in real earnest and provide to the international community necessary information and relevant data in a timely and prompt way so that relevant countries can take precautions.”

Several US defence officials later said the main aim of destroying an onboard tank of toxic fuel was achieved.

Officials had expressed cautious optimism that the missile would hit the satellite, which was the size of a school bus. But they were less certain of hitting the smaller, more worrisome fuel tank, whose contents posed what Bush administration officials deemed a potential health hazard to humans if it landed intact.

Because the satellite was orbiting at a relatively low altitude at the time it was hit by the missile, debris will begin to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere immediately, a Pentagon statement said.