LONDON: America has set up a hotline with China to make sure an accidental satellite collision doesn’t spark a full blown space war.
China is known to have developed weapons capable of destroying spacecraft as they orbit around the planet.
If an American satellite was suddenly wiped out, officials could easily mistake the mishap for an act of war.
The new hotline will allow the rival superpowers to get in touch following a space accident, to avoid the situation escalating.
Frank Rose, US assistant secretary of state, told the Financial Times that it was often difficult to cut quickly through Chinese bureaucracy and reach the right person. “China is developing a full spectrum of anti-satellite capabilities,” he added.
“We’ve made it clear we don’t believe it’s in anyone’s interest to engage in a space arms race.”
Any satellite orbiting earth faces a massive risk of destruction, due to the huge amount of orbiting debris.
America is known to have communications satellites in space, but it is rumoured to be planning something much scarier.
