Navy to Shoot Down Failing Spy Satellite
President Bush ordered the Navy to shoot down the 5,000 pound satellite that never worked after being advised that an uncontrolled release of its maneuvering fuel -- hydrazine -- could result in loss of life.
"The likelihood of the satellite falling in a populated area is small, and the extent and duration of toxic hydrazine in the atmosphere would be limited," said deputy national security advisor James F. Jeffrey in a press release. "Nevertheless, if the satellite did fall in a populated area, there was the possibility of death or injury to human beings beyond that associated with the fall of satellites and other space debris."
The Navy reports that it will use three specially modified SM-3 missiles aboard Aegis ships located somewhere in the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to strike the satellite and drive it into the sea.
While the Navy has up to eight days to attempt to shoot down the satellite, no attempt will be made until the space shuttle Atlantis lands on Feb. 20.
If successful, the missiles will hit the satellite at an altitude of about 130 nautical miles, an altitude the Navy says will leave little chance of any of the remains landing in a populated area.
The satellite belongs to the National Reconnaissance Office and was launched Dec. 14, 2006.
Similar to chlorine or ammonia the fuel hydrazine affects the lungs, producing a burning sensation. Inhalation of large quantities of hydrazine can be deadly.
May their aim be true.
But if They Miss
Should the Navy fail to shoot down the satellite, the Pentagon says, "Various government agencies are planning for the reentry of the satellite. In the event the engagement is not successful, all appropriate elements of the U.S. Government are working together to explore options to mitigate the danger to humans and to ensure that all parties are properly prepared to respond. In the unlikely event satellite pieces land in a populated area, people are strongly advised to avoid the impact area until trained hazardous materials (HAZMAT) teams are able to properly dispose of any remaining hydrazine."
Comments
Complete propaganda to wash the evil image of our military, a well earned accurate image which is in need of repair. Complete BS. Since when do we care about fuel vapor? Absolute 90 I.Q. level BS.
Completely transparent.
My best guess is that they plan to miss, so that they can stir up the US populace (the real target of the war on terror), even more.
Otherwise, what should really scare us is the fact that their analysis of us indicates that we are so completely stupid, that level of propaganda is deemed to be effective.
My concerns on this is, “Is this going to be considered a threat from us to our enemies of war who will not see that the satellite is a threat to the whole world yet, instead put the fault on the US for the satellite being US made and blaming the US for deaths in other countries(or as they may put it,’an attack’if worse case scenario happens) and second, what happens if this fuel should spread into the oceans and tributaries since they are expecting this to be a 70% chance that the satellite will hit the ocean(s)
“What will this do to wildlife and the ocean life?”
Hi Poe –
We’ve always treated the earth’s oceans simultaneously as both our banquet table and our toilet, so what else is new? We learn slow and hard.
In this case, if the Navy hits the satellite, the hydrazine fuel will be destroyed before any of it reaches the ground or ocean. That’s the point of the shoot-down attempt. If they miss and the remaining 1,000 pounds of hydrazine lands in the ocean, it should be dispersed quickly and do minimal harm to marine life.
Robert
Whats the real reason for the shootdown. I’d suspect hydrazine is the least of our worries.