[Satellite TODAY 02-04-11] In February 2008, a U.S. Navy Ticonderoga-class cruiser launched an SM-3 missile at the USA 193 classified spy satellite, destroying the spacecraft, according to U.S. Department of State documents posted Feb. 3 by WikiLeaks.
    The missile launch came just 13 months after the Chinese government had launched its own missile at a satellite in January 2007, which started a heated diplomatic dispute between the United States and China over the use of weapons in space.
   The Pentagon’s “decision to shoot down spy satellite USA 193 caused private anger and anxiety in Beijing. China repeatedly emphasized that the United States should provide information on the planned satellite interception prior to releasing the information to CNN,” the Beijing Embassy said in a February 2008 memo published by WikiLeaks.
   In the WikiLeaks documents, the U.S. Department of State, then under the direction of State Secretary Condoleezza Rice strongly condemned the Chinese strike, which occurred 530 miles above the Earth, as a threatening demonstration of China’s ability to destroy foreign satellites. The documents show that current U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued China a continuation of that opinion from President Barack Obama’s administration.