A broken spy satellite is heading toward Earth and will hit in early March. Before it hits crowded cities the Pentagon wants to shoot it down. There are dangers, however, as its toxic fuel and debris might scatter across hundreds of miles.
Pentagon officials disclosed today they are
planning to fire a missile from a U.S. Navy cruiser to shoot down a faulty spy satellite that is tumbling downward to Earth. They will most probably shoot it before it enters the Earth’s atmosphere. The Bush administration endorses this option.
The full details will be revealed later. The satellite is expected to hit Earth in the first week of March. Officials want to shoot it into smaller pieces before it hits the ground. Most likely they will use a special missile modified for the task.
According to the reports, various agencies will be involved in this task, including the National Security Agency, the Department of Homeland Defense and the State Department. Though danger to the public is the main concern, they also don’t want the satellite to fall into enemies’ hands.
Previously, China did an experiment by shooting down a satellite with a missile and many countries condemned it because of worries debris might pose a risk. American officials will receive similar concerns from other countries if they try to hit the satellite with a missile.
Hitting the falling spy satellite is no easy job and officials need to worry a broken-up satellite does not pose any danger to other satellites orbiting Earth, and also see that no large pieces remain in space or fall back to Earth.
The satellite weighs 5,000 pounds and officials expect at least half of it will survive when it passes through the atmosphere. The pieces may scatter over hundreds of miles.
Furthermore, the satellite has small thrusters to position it in space that contain toxic rocket fuel called hydrazine which can cause harm if it comes into contact with anyone.
The satellite may contain beryllium, a light metal with a high melting point, used in the defense and aerospace industries. It is hazardous.
U.S. Officials so far have not released many details about the spy satellite. Jeffrey Richelson, a senior fellow with the National Security Archive,
thinks this may be a photo reconnaissance satellite. It may have been used to capture images of sensitive areas in foreign nations. The satellite can also be used to survey damage from hurricanes, fires and other natural disasters.
Previous man-made objects that crashed into Earth were the Skylab, an abandoned space station that fell from orbit in 1979. Luckily it crashed harmlessly into the Indian Ocean. In 2000, a 17-ton Compton Gamma Ray Observatory fell from space, but NASA engineers were able to guide it safely and bring it down in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean. In 2002, a 7,000-pound science satellite came down over the Persian Gulf.
