2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test

In 2007, China was the first nation to use a missile to destroy a satellite (a type of spacecraft). A missile is a powerful weapon, like a rocket, that is designed to fly through the sky and hit a target. In this event, the target was a satellite that was in space – high above the Earth. China fired their missile and it hit the satellite, destroying it and creating a lot of debris (pieces) in space. This debris was like a big cloud in space which made it difficult and dangerous for other nations to send their own satellites into the same area.