Pentagon to shoot down broken spy satellite

AP ^ | 02-14-2008 | AP

[montag813]

WASHINGTON - U.S. officials say the Pentagon is planning to shoot down a broken spy satellite expected to hit the Earth in early March.

This is the U.S. military will use a missile to destroy a satellite in space, NBC News reports.

The spy satellite has lost all power and is expected to crash back on earth in early March, spreading debris and potentially hazardous fuel over several hundred miles.

[papasmurf]

Well, personally, I think they should send up some of those prisoners you see in orange jumpsuits along the roadways, and have them pick up the pieces and put them in these...

[SpinnerWebb]

WThePrez: all ur sats are belong to us

ChiComsgoMaoMao: Hay! That R saying!

[Washi]

With China’s successful shoot-down of their own satellite, what will be the public-relations and security ramifications if we miss?

[larryjohnson]

yes we can

[mbynack]

One of the reasons that the government said that they would shoot it down is to prevent the hydrzine on board from getting into the atmosphere. Hydrazine was used on some military aircraft and is some really nasty stuff.

From Wikopedia "Hydrazine is highly toxic and dangerously unstable, especially in the anhydrous form. Symptoms of acute exposure to high levels of hydrazine in humans may include irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, dizziness, headache, nausea, pulmonary edema, seizures, coma, and it can also damage the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system. The liquid is corrosive and may produce dermatitis from skin contact in humans and animals. Effects to the lungs, liver, spleen, and thyroid have been reported in animals chronically exposed to hydrazine via inhalation. Increased incidences of lung, nasal cavity, and liver tumors have been observed in rodents exposed to hydrazine."

If the fuel tank survived reentry and landed in a major city or water supply, it would be a very bad thing.

[Conservativegreatgrandma]

That sounds like fun. We can choose up sides and even bet on them.

[dangerdoc]

Based on the nature of the satellite, I would presume that that is classified info.

[piytar]

Depends where on its orbital decay it gets blown to pieces. The idea is to catch it on the way down so the pieces burn up during further reentry.

[null and void]

Wow, looks like I actually guessed correctly at the likely weapons system.

Yep. You get a gold star on your report card...

[Armedanddangerous]

wasnt a crashed satellite the reason that the dead rose in night of the living dead?

Those who dont remember history and all that....

[Dr._Joseph_Warren]

IMHO, they have calculated the trajectory and believe that the satellite has a high likelihood of either hitting a densely populated area or landing where in the back yard of someone they don’t want having even a remote chance of gaining from the technology.

For these reasons, they will shoot it down in a way that improves the odds of less damage and non-recovery.

[ReignOfError]

It’s been a lot of years since I read that book. I do recall that the stealth fighter was nicknamed the “frisbee” because of its smooth, curved lines, showing that Clancy bought a lot of the disinformation most of the world did at the time. And IIRC, the F-15 satellite-killer pilot was a woman; I remember a line about how with the fifth kill, she became the first USAF ace.

[ANGGAPO]

There is some critical stuff on board that could survive reentry and land in someone’s back yard. Or could be retrieved by someone, like the Russians. Just a guess.

[ReignOfError]

first female USAF ace.

[plsvn]

IMHO, they have calculated the trajectory and believe that the satellite has a high likelihood of either hitting a densely populated area or landing where in the back yard of someone they don’t want having even a remote chance of gaining from the technology.

At this point about one month from orbital decay, it is virtually impossible to guess where on earth an uncontrolled decaying satellite will ultimately come in. There are too many variables one of which is solar activity which is highly variable and extremely important in the ultimate timing of final orbit decay.

[Scythian]

Very foolish.

[Tulsa Ramjet]

Shooting down the satellite should be a piece of cake given its size.

Or this can be a MDO P.R. nightmare...

[Tulsa Ramjet]

No,
but who ever were the contractors that put this thing into space need to have the agreement pulled, and they given the space boot. they probably had a hidden “de-orbitalizer” device that slowly slunk it out of orbit towards a fiery death, and hopefully into a rationale of future contract endeavors of satellite replacement.

Contractor: “ust be global warning, or solar winds or something.”

Govt rep.: “Hmmmm.”

Contractor: “We will look into it. Sign here for the replacement contract and we will have it up in a jiffy.”

Govt rep.: “Hmmm. (i’m hungry for cornbread for some reason.)

[r9etb]

I would think -- and I admit I'm no physicist -- that it would depend in what direction it's hit. If it's hit directly from below, that might blow the debris back upward.

Yes, but even so, the point of impact would be part of the new orbit, and it would be down low in the atmosphere. So the pieces would deorbit relatively quickly.

[2CAVTrooper]

“It’s been a lot of years since I read that book. I do recall that the stealth fighter was nicknamed the “frisbee” because of its smooth, curved lines, showing that Clancy bought a lot of the disinformation most of the world did at the time. And IIRC, the F-15 satellite-killer pilot was a woman; I remember a line about how with the fifth kill, she became the first USAF ace.”

Yeah. The stealth mentioned in his book was based off of one of those Lockheed concept drawings from the late 70’s to early 80’s that were part of the ATF design.