Dangers Of Chinese Satellite Technology

摘要

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is a bit like chaos theory - a small transfer of technology from the West to Beijing becomes a ballistic missile launch in Iran or North Korea. Rising concerns over the Chinese actively stealing classified weapons technology in the 1980s and 1990s prompted Congress to establish the House Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People's Republic of China, more commonly known as the Cox Commission. In 1999, the groundbreaking Cox report chronicled how transfers of U.S. technology to the Communist Chinese gave China the edge needed to perfect its missiles. Before American satellite companies ill-advisedly helped China troubleshoot its launch failures, the Long March family of rockets had an abysmal record. So bad was the Long March program, that hundreds (possibly thousands) of villagers living near China's Xichang launch facility were killed by errant rockets that failed shortly after liftoff.