Posted on 02/20/2008 3:58:23 PM PST by SandRat
WASHINGTON, Feb. 20, 2008 – The Pentagon has opened the window of time in which it will shoot down a malfunctioning U.S. reconnaissance satellite, a senior U.S. military officer said here today.
Today’s return of the space shuttle Atlantis to Earth prompted the start of the optimal time period for shooting down the satellite, which extends until about the end of the month, the senior officer told Pentagon reporters.
Only “tens of seconds” will be available each day for a favorable launch of a ship-based SM-3 interceptor missile, the senior officer said. “The window is small, … but we’re looking for the best orientation of the satellite” before launching the missile, the officer explained.
The 5,000-pound satellite malfunctioned soon after it was launched in 2006, making it unresponsive to ground control. It is carrying a tank full of hydrazine, a toxic rocket fuel. The satellite, orbiting every 90 minutes or so, was expected to fall to Earth in February or March with its tank of hydrazine intact, possibly endangering human populations.
President Bush directed the Defense Department to engage the satellite just before it enters the atmosphere at about 150 miles above the Earth. The goal is for the missile to hit and rupture the tank of rocket fuel, causing the hydrazine to burn up harmlessly in the atmosphere, along with debris from the stricken satellite.
About 50 percent of debris produced by the missile strike is expected to burn up during the stricken satellite’s first two orbits after being hit, the senior military officer said, with the rest burning up shortly after. The strike is designed to leave no space debris.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is to give the order to launch, based upon commanders’ recommendations, the senior officer said. Gates will be advised as to the optimal time to launch by the commander of U.S. Strategic Command, based at Offutt Air Force Base, in Omaha, Neb.
All space sensor and missile-tracking activity related to the missile launch is being coordinated by the Joint Space Operations Center, at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Sensors, such as large radars and telescopes, are being coordinated by the Joint Integrated Missile Defense Team in Colorado Springs, Colo., under the U.S. Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command.
Three U.S. Navy ships -- the cruiser USS Lake Erie and the destroyers USS Decatur and USS Russell -- are posted in the Pacific Ocean waiting for an optimal time to launch, the senior officer said. The Erie is slated to shoot at the satellite, and it is fitted with two SM-3 missiles. The Decatur has one, and the Russell has none. The missiles were modified to carry additional sensor equipment for the mission, the senior officer said.
The launch will be conducted during daytime over the Pacific, the senior officer explained, so that all sensors involved can better track the results of the missile launch. Necessary criteria for launch include satisfactory alignment of all pre-launch sensor-supplied data, as well as favorable weather conditions, he said.
Currently, the wave height about the ships is unfavorable to launch, the officer said. However, this and other conditions are subject to change, he added.
Probably not. I think we were sending a loud and clear message to Russia and China. Does anyone know how our shoot down compares to China’s shoot down last year?
Just curious.
Yep- but I’m think real science, real-world stuff :)
Agree this story should be in the Breaking News Section.
I imagine this would be filed under ‘need to know’. And what you are allowed to know is just a fragment of the entire plan/operation/capability....etc.
I think that we're telling them that we can launch orbital vehicles from just about any large mobile platform that we want and that we can replenish our vital military space assets faster than they can shoot them down. Additionally, we can shoot your's down much faster than you can replace them. Very cool.
Good point. This is so cool! Can’t wait to hear more news. The sad thing looming on the horizon is that if Obama gets elected, we can probaly kiss this technology away.
The libs hate Star Wars (as you know)!
Just pray that we don't elect a democrat, who would apologize for what we have done.
And would promise that we would never use this technology in anger.
Not only that, but we would share it with our enemies because it would begin to open the door to friendship, co-operation, and mutual understanding.
And truly liking each other, regardless of our differences.
Support B. Hussein O'Bama, the Irish-American candidate and his gastric woman for first lady.
Sadly, yes...
Good night folks, it’s been fun.
It’s always very red. I missed this one’s totality, but it looks a lot like the last one. Dark brown red. Very nice.
No, I came home awhile ago and learned about it. Awesome.
I like the way they were talking earlier like it might not happen, kept everyone guessing:)
They nailed it. :)
I believe that their target was still in it’s stable orbit, so they knew exactly where it was.
It could also have been still broadcasting some kind of signal that would allow it to be homed in on.
Does make you wonder at the convenience of it all..............Prolly just serendipity.
The Swabbies shot it down, let them measure and count the fragments.
Actually smaller pieces will in general come down faster, because they are more affected by the slight drag of the upper atmosphere which is present even at the 200+ mile altitude where the dead bird started out.
Not really, the satellite went over the entire earth, between about 58 degrees north or south of the equator. They just set up the intercept for a time when the satellite was on a northbound ground track in the appropriate location.
No, smaller pieces come down slower because they are more affected by the drag of the atmosphere all the way down. Of course, it depends on the shape of each piece. For the same weight, a sphere falls fast: a thin piece flutters down slowly.
But the orbit will decay more quickly the lighter the piece.
Thanks for the post. Someone else had said that the Chinese also shot theirs from a land based platform. Looks like we just showed the Chinese/Russians a thing or two about American ingenuity!!
For cryin out loud, even the English and French libbies were complaining about this mission. But if an asteroid is ever headed straight towards for their countries....who do you think they are going to call? (eye roll)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.