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34 J. Space L. 321 (2008)
FY-1C and USA-193 ASAT Intercepts: An Assessment of Legal Obligations under Article IX of the Outer Space Treaty

handle is hein.journals/jrlsl34 and id is 337 raw text is: FY-1C AND USA-193 ASAT INTERCEPTS: AN ASSESSMENT OF LEGAL OBLIGATIONS UNDER ARTICLE IX OF THE OUTER SPACE TREATY Michael C. Mineiro* I. INTRODUCTION On January 11, 20071 (EST), China performed a successful anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test using a kinetic kill vehicle launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC), a facility in Sichuan Province, China.2 The kinetic kill vehicle destroyed an aging, but functioning, Chinese weather satellite, the Feng Yun 1C (FY-1C), in polar orbit at an altitude of ap- proximately 537 miles.' This was the first such destruction of a satellite since the kinetic ASAT missile tests conducted during the Cold War by the United States and the Soviet Union.4 B.A. (2001), North Carolina State University; J.D. (2005), University of North Carolina; LL.M. (2008), Institute of Air and Space Law at McGill University; D.C.L. candidate (2011) and Boeing Fellow in Air and Space Law, Institute of Air and Space Law at McGill University. Admitted to the practice of law in North Carolina. Member of the ABA (Forum on Air and Space Law), ASIL, IISL, and ILA. Mr. Mineiro has lived several years in China and as a Congressional Boren National Security Education Pro- gram Fellow (2004-2005) conducted research on China's developing rule of law and its impact on U.S. national security interests. The author expresses sincere appreciation to the following individuals for sharing their thoughts on the subject of this article: Michel Bourbonniere, Ram Jakhu, Robert Jarman, and Yaw Nyampong. All views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect those of any other individual, government, institution, or corporation. The test occurred on January 11, 2008 in the United States, but because of the difference in local times the event occurred on January 12, 2008 in China. 2 Craig Covault, Chinese Test Anti-Satellite Weapon, AVIATION WEEK, Jan. 17, 2007, http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story-channel'jsp?channel=space&id= news/CHI01177.xml; Craig Covault, China's ASAT Test Will Intensify U.S.-Chinese Standoff, AVIATION WEEK, Jan. 24, 2007), httpJ/www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic /story-generic.jsp?channel=awst&id=news/aw012207p2.xml. ' T.S. Kelso, Analysis of the 2007 Chinese ASAT Test and the Impact of its Debris on the Space Environment, 2007 AMOS CONFERENCE 321 (2007), http://www.centerforspace.com/downloads/files/pubs/AMOS-2007.pdf. ' Shirley Kan, China's Anti-Satellite Weapon Test, CRS REPORT FOR CONGRESS, Apr. 23, 2006, http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/84322.pdf. 321

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