US missile hits 'toxic satellite'
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The US has successfully struck a disabled spy satellite with a missile fired from a warship in waters west of Hawaii, military officials say.
Military operatives had only a 10-second window to hit the satellite - USA 193 - which lost control shortly after it was launched in December 2006.
Officials said they were worried fuel on board could pose a threat to humans.
But Russia suspects the operation was a cover to test anti-satellite technology under the US missile defence programme.
The US denies the operation was a response to an anti-satellite test carried out by China last year, which prompted fears of a space arms race.
Precision needed
The BBC's Jonathan Beale in Washington says this operation was hugely ambitious - like trying to fire a missile through the eye of a needle.
The operation went ahead hours after the space shuttle Atlantis landed, removing it as a safety issue for the military.
1 SM-3 missile launched from a US Navy cruiser in Pacific Ocean
2 The three-stage missile heads for collision location, where the relative "closing" speed will be 10km/s (22,000mph)
3 Satellite reaches desired altitude of 240km (130 nautical miles), close to edge of atmosphere
4 Missile makes contact and breaks fuel tank, freeing hydrazine into space
5 Debris scattered over hundreds of kilometres