US will launch missile

[skippy]

US: Broken satellite will be shot down

By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer

1 hour, 27 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is planning to shoot down a broken spy satellite expected to hit the Earth in early March, The Associated Press has learned.

U.S. officials said Thursday that the option preferred by the Bush administration will be to fire a missile from a U.S. Navy cruiser, and shoot down the satellite before it enters Earth's atmosphere.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the options will not be publicly discussed until a later Pentagon briefing.

The disabled satellite is expected to hit the Earth the first week of March. Officials said the Navy would likely shoot it down before then, using a special missile modified for the task.

Other details about the missile and the targeting were not immediately available. But the decision involves several U.S. agencies, including the National Security Agency, the Department of Homeland Defense and the State Department.

Shooting down a satellite is particularly sensitive because of the controversy surrounding China's anti-satellite test last year, when Beijing shot down one of its defunct weather satellites, drawing immediate criticism from the U.S. and other countries.

A key concern at that time was the debris created by Chinese satellite's destruction — and that will also be a focus now, as the U.S. determines exactly when and under what circumstances to shoot down its errant satellite.

The military will have to choose a time and a location that will avoid to the greatest degree any damage to other satellites in the sky. Also, there is the possibility that large pieces could remain, and either stay in orbit where they can collide with other satellites or possibly fall to Earth.

It is not known where the satellite will hit. But officials familiar with the situation say about half of the 5,000-pound spacecraft is expected to survive its blazing descent through the atmosphere and will scatter debris — some of it potentially hazardous — over several hundred miles. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The satellite is outfitted with thrusters — small engines used to position it in space. They contain the toxic rocket fuel hydrazine, which can cause harm to anyone who contacts it.

[skippy]

Satellite shootdown could be Wednesday

42 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The military's attempt to shoot down a wayward U.S. spy satellite as it falls toward Earth could happen as early as Wednesday night, but no final decision on timing has been made, officials said.

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said Tuesday that senior military officers, including Gen. Kevin Chilton, the head of the U.S. Strategic Command, are evaluating the situation and will advise Defense Secretary Robert Gates on the best time to carry it out.

The plan is to fire a missile that would release a "kinetic kill vehicle," — a non-explosive device — on a path that would enable it to collide with the satellite, destroying the spacecraft and its components by force of impact alone.

The satellite is orbiting about 130 miles above Earth's surface. It is carrying an almost-full tank of rocket fuel whose toxicity would pose a threat to human health if the satellite crashed in a populated area. That is the main reason President Bush decided last week to try to shoot it down, officials said.

"Within an hour of the missile being launched, we plan to issue a written statement notifying you," Morrell told reporters at the Pentagon. He added that it might take a day or more to determine whether the fuel tank was destroyed.

Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a news conference last week that the military is fairly confident that the Navy's SM-3 missile, fired from aboard a cruiser in the Pacific, will hit the satellite.

"I think Secretary Gates shares that confidence," Morrell said.

[skippy]

Don't plan on going to bed early Wednesday night......in case they miss and the satellite lands in your neighborhood.

[Lukester]

I am really looking forward to this hit...and if they miss (somehow unlikely), there are a few advantages to this also. But lets be positive in this next big step for mankind.

[Lukester]

Is it still a go? Read early this morning it could be postponed a day (or so cuz of the high seas).

[skippy]

Originally Posted by Lukester

Is it still a go? Read early this morning it could be postponed a day (or so cuz of the high seas).

It was a direct hit.

Though it may take at least a month for all of the larger chunks of debris to finally enter the earth's atmosphere and burn up during the re-entry.

[skippy]

They nailed this thing while it was orbiting over Hawaii.

If you are in Hawaii....do not pick up anything on the beach with the intention of rubbing it.

[Lukester]

The video shows a spectacular blast...hydrazine was vaporised!