The US military has shot down a disabled spy satellite on the edge of the atmosphere.

Washington has always insisted that it decided to carry out this operation purely on safety grounds

Officials said they feared that debris from the satellite, including toxic gas from a fuel tank, could harm people after it re-entered the atmosphere.

And the build-up to the mission has certainly had some of the hallmarks of a science fiction disaster movie.

The critics, including the Russian and Chinese governments, are not so sure, and have argued that what the Americans have done is bound to stoke up fears of an arms race in space.

The US criticised the Chinese when they carried out an anti-satellite test just over a year ago.

Its complaint was that it was a deliberate military move, and that it was shrouded in secrecy. Now, the Americans have used a weapons system that is part of their missile defence programme.

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