Colossal Chinese Dustball Circles Earth in 13 Days

NASA confirms 'suspicious activity' from a few years back

(NEWSER) - Somebody's been poking around electronically in two US satellites, and, yes, we're looking at you, China. It seems hackers interfered with the satellites—a Landsat-7 and a Terra AM-1, both used for climate and terrain observation—four separate times in 2007 and 2008, reports Bloomberg , which got an early look at a congressional report on US-China ties due out next month. While the report doesn't come right out and explicitly blame China, it says the attacks bear all the hallmarks of being orchestrated by Beijing, most likely via a ground station in Norway. More»

Beijing 'anti-satellite' display prompted threat from US

(NEWSER) - The US threatened to take military action against China after Beijing conducted an "anti-satellite test" in 2007 in which it shot down one of its own weather satellites with a missile, WikiLeaks documents reveal. Fearful that the action demonstrated China's ability to destroy satellites belonging to the US, officials working for then-Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice told China that the act threatened "to destroy space systems that the United States and other nations use for commerce and national security." It continued: "The US reserves the right" to "protect its space systems with a wide range of options, from diplomatic to military." More»

(NEWSER) - South Korea scrubbed a planned satellite launch minutes before liftoff today, citing an unspecified technical error, reports the BBC. Seoul has been itching to join the Asian space race and has already produced 10 satellites for other countries' rockets. But the event had threatened to strain recently improved relations with North Korea, which claims—to the disbelief of South Korea and the US—to have successfully launched a satellite in April. More»

Officials hide contraceptive meds in gerbil feed

(NEWSER) - Chinese officials have resorted to contraceptive pills to control the exploding gerbil population threatening a fragile desert ecosystem, the BBC reports. The government is placing feed pellets mixed with the medication by the gerbils’ burrows, which damage the roots of what plants survive there. Authorities have tried measures to boost gerbil predators—eagles and owls—but to no effect on the rodent population. More»

Rest of the world collaborates while fearful US falls behind

(NEWSER) - While the rest of the world cooperates incessantly on all matters extraterrestrial, the US, hampered by self-imposed regulations meant to keep weapons out of enemies' hands, is swiftly losing dominance of the final frontier, the Washington Post reports. The US’ military space program is still gargantuan, but the civil program, NASA included, suffers from “limited public interest in space activity.” More»