Satellite To Be Shot Down Wednesday Night
Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 5:44 pm
Something about this makes me nervous. :shock:
Satellite shootdown could be Wednesday
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.
Satellite shootdown could be Wednesday
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.