U.S. to launch missile at broken satellite

[YMC]

* US to try to shoot down spy satellite *

By ITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 9 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Taking a page from Hollywood science fiction, the Pentagon said Thursday it will try to shoot down a dying, bus-size U.S. spy satellite loaded with toxic fuel on a collision course with the Earth.

The military hopes to smash the satellite as soon as next week — just before it enters Earth's atmosphere — with a single missile fired from a Navy cruiser in the northern Pacific Ocean.
The dramatic maneuver may well trigger international concerns, and U.S. officials have begun notifying other countries of the plan — stressing that it does not signal the start of a new American anti-satellite weapons program.
Military and administration officials said the satellite is carrying fuel called hydrazine that could injure or even kill people who are near it when it hits the ground. That reason alone, they said, persuaded President Bush to order the shoot-down.
"That is the only thing that breaks it out, that is worthy of taking extraordinary measures," said Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during a Pentagon briefing.
He predicted a fairly high chance — as much as 80 percent — of hitting the satellite, which will be about 150 miles up when the shot is fired. The window of opportunity for taking the satellite down, Cartwright said, opens in three or four days and lasts for about seven or eight days.
"We'll take one shot and assess," he said. "This is the first time we've used a tactical missile to engage a spacecraft."
Deputy National Security Adviser James Jeffrey discounted comparisons to an anti-satellite test conducted by the Chinese last year that triggered criticism from the U.S. and other countries.
"This is all about trying to reduce the danger to human beings," Jeffrey said. "Specifically, there was enough of a risk for the president to be quite concerned about human life."
There might also be unstated military aims, some outside the administration suggested.
Similar spacecraft re-enter the atmosphere regularly and break up into pieces, said Ivan Oelrich, vice president for strategic security programs at the Federation of American Scientists. He said, "One could be forgiven for asking if this is just an excuse to test an anti-satellite weapon."
A key issue when China shot down its defunct weather satellite was that it created an enormous amount of space debris.
"All of the debris from this encounter, as carefully designed as it is, will be down at most within weeks, and most of it will be down within the first couple of orbits afterward," said Jeffrey. "There's an enormous difference to spacefaring nations in ... those two things."
He and others dismissed suggestions that this was simply an attempt by the U.S. to flex its muscles, and that officials were overstating the toxic fuel threat.
Left alone, the satellite would be expected to hit Earth during the first week of March. About half of the 5,000-pound spacecraft would be expected to survive its blazing descent through the atmosphere and would scatter debris over several hundred miles.
If the missile shot is successful, officials said, much of the debris would burn up as it fell. They said they could not estimate how much would make it through the atmosphere. They said the largest piece that would survive re-entry would be the spherical fuel tank, which is about 40 inches wide — assuming it is not hit directly by the missile.
The goal, however, is to hit the fuel tank in order to minimize the amount of fuel that returns to Earth, Cartwright said.
A Navy missile known as Standard Missile 3 would be fired at the spy satellite in an attempt to intercept it just before it re-enters Earth's atmosphere. It would be "next to impossible" to hit the satellite after that because of atmospheric disturbances, he said.
Known by its military designation US 193, the satellite was launched in December 2006. It lost power and its central computer failed almost immediately afterward, leaving it uncontrollable. It carried a sophisticated and secret imaging sensor.
Software associated with the Standard Missile 3 has been modified to enhance the chances of the missile's sensors recognizing that the satellite is its target. The missile's designed mission is to shoot down ballistic missiles, not satellites. Other officials said the missile's maximum range, while a classified figure, is not great enough to hit a satellite operating in normal orbits.
"It's a one-time deal," Cartwright said when asked whether the modified Standard Missile 3 should be considered a new U.S. anti-satellite technology.
He said that if an initial shoot-down attempt fails, the military would have about two days to reassess and decide whether to take a second shot.
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin told reporters that analysis shows the hydrazine tank would survive a fall to Earth under normal circumstances, much as one did when the Space Shuttle Columbia crashed.
"The hydrazine which is in it is frozen solid, as it is now. Not all of it will melt," he said. If the tank hits the ground it will have been breached because the fuel lines will have broken off and hydrazine will vent out, he said.
Jeffrey said members of Congress were briefed on the plan earlier Thursday and that diplomatic notifications to other countries were being made by the end of the day.
"It should be understood by all, at home and abroad, that this is an exceptional circumstance and should not be perceived as the standard U.S. policy for dealing with errant satellites," said House Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton.

More... (http://lincolnparkforums.com/showthread.php?t=15865&goto=newpost)

[Cherub]

See the Falling Spy Satellite

Joe Rao (skywayinc@aol.com)
SPACE.com Skywatching Columnist
SPACE.com (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/byline/seethefallingspysatellite/26351891/SIG=10m6rt8b7/*http://www.space.com) Fri Feb 15, 1:45 PM ET

During the next week, a wayward U.S. spy satellite will make passes across North America and western Europe soon after sunset and should be easily visible to the unaided eye.
That's if it doesn't get shot down first.
The falling satellite (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/seethefallingspysatellite/26351891/SIG=11pcrtgc0/*http://www.space.com/news/080214-sn-destroy-spysat.html) is named USA 193. It was launched Dec. 14, 2006. It has been described as being similar in size to a school bus and might weigh as much as 10,000 pounds. It carries a sophisticated and secret imaging sensor but the satellite's central computer failed shortly after launch, never reaching its final orbit, and the Pentagon declared it a total loss in early 2007.
Since then, the satellite's orbit has been decaying — slowly at first. But in recent weeks USA 193's nearly circular orbit has been rapidly lowering. Currently, its altitude is approximately 160 miles (260 km) above the Earth.
Unless a proposed plan by the Pentagon is enacted to shoot down USA 193 (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/seethefallingspysatellite/26351891/SIG=11pcrtgc0/*http://www.space.com/news/080214-sn-destroy-spysat.html) during the next week, the satellite could conceivably re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up sometime in mid-March.
Viewing opportunity
Today through Feb. 22, USA 193 will make a number of evening passes over North America and western Europe. It's orbit is inclined 58.5-degrees to the equator, a setup that makes it readily observable from most of the Northern Hemisphere.
During this period, USA 193 will move along a general southwest-to-northeast trajectory and pass over a number of cities in the United States, southern Canada and western Europe.
To spot a specific satellite, you need to know when and where to look.
Predictions for the times and locations of USA 193 are available at the Heavens Above website (www.heavens-above.com (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/seethefallingspysatellite/26351891/SIG=10v5ma4ar/*http://www.heavens-above.com/)). Based on this website's sighting information, USA 193 will be very favorably placed for observation over a number of large cities, assuming it is still in orbit around the Earth and weather conditions permit.
What to look for
To find satellites (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/seethefallingspysatellite/26351891/SIG=11vhv0m0b/*http://www.space.com/spacewatch/satellite_hunting_020524.html), it's also helpful to know how to roughly measure the sky. Your clenched fist held at arm's length measures roughly 10-degrees of the sky. (From the horizon to the top of the sky (the zenith) measures 90-degrees.)
From Chicago, as an example, the spy satellite is predicted to reach as high as 38-degrees above the horizon (nearly four fists) on Feb. 17. That same date, as seen from Orlando, Florida, an evening pass as high as 65-degrees is predicted.
From Boston and Seattle, nearly overhead passes are forecast for (respectively) Feb.18 and Feb. 22. And on the latter date, London, England should have a fine pass, with USA 193 arcing as high as 77-degrees above the horizon.
It should be stressed that because of the rapidly changing nature of its orbit, sighting information from Heavens-Above should be checked frequently.
Those who have seen the International Space Station (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/seethefallingspysatellite/26351891/SIG=10qgbcupk/*http://www.space.com/iss) (ISS) flying across their local skies should be aware that USA 193 will appear noticeably fainter, since it's quite a bit smaller than the ISS. Yet, at its brightest, the spy satellite still should rank as bright as the brightest stars, at roughly first magnitude in astronomers parlance.
Also, since the spy satellite is in a lower orbit than the ISS, expect USA 193 to move much more rapidly across your line of sight.
Spysat Downing: Sci-Fi Turns Real (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/seethefallingspysatellite/26351891/SIG=12fcl12dd/*http://www.livescience.com/blogs/2008/02/15/spysat-downing-sci-fi-turns-real/)
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Original Story: See the Falling Spy Satellite (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/seethefallingspysatellite/26351891/SIG=1204ei7hg/*http://www.space.com/spacewatch/080215-satellite-spotting.html)Visit SPACE.com (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/seethefallingspysatellite/26351891/SIG=10m6rt8b7/*http://www.space.com) and explore our huge collection of Space Pictures (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/seethefallingspysatellite/26351891/SIG=11j6beaob/*http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/), Space Videos (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/seethefallingspysatellite/26351891/SIG=111i0so8e/*http://www.space.com/php/video/), Space Image of the Day (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/seethefallingspysatellite/26351891/SIG=115egomhc/*http://www.space.com/imageoftheday/), Hot Topics (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/seethefallingspysatellite/26351891/SIG=111jjjt1n/*http://www.space.com/hottopics/), Top 10s (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/seethefallingspysatellite/26351891/SIG=10tm5p44d/*http://www.space.com/top10/), Multimedia (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/seethefallingspysatellite/26351891/SIG=112c4jpam/*http://www.space.com/multimedia/), Trivia (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/seethefallingspysatellite/26351891/SIG=112t85lr1/*http://www.space.com/quiztrivia/), Voting (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/seethefallingspysatellite/26351891/SIG=10uklhmc7/*http://www.space.com/voting/) and Amazing Images (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/seethefallingspysatellite/26351891/SIG=115fh2k42/*http://www.space.com/amazingimages/). Follow the latest developments in the search for life in our universe in our SETI: Search for Life (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/seethefallingspysatellite/26351891/SIG=115ep0brm/*http://www.space.com/searchforlife/) section. Join the community, sign up for our free daily email newsletter (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/seethefallingspysatellite/26351891/SIG=111m750r5/*http://www.space.com/community/), listen to our Podcasts (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/seethefallingspysatellite/26351891/SIG=11f9ij66b/*http://www.space.com/php/siteinfo/RSSinfo.php), check out our RSS feeds (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/seethefallingspysatellite/26351891/SIG=11f9ij66b/*http://www.space.com/php/siteinfo/RSSinfo.php) and other Reader Favorites (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/storytext/seethefallingspysatellite/26351891/SIG=117g0ai4t/*http://www.space.com/readerfavorites/) today!

[Cherub]

The "gubment" can give all the excuses they want as to why they want to shoot this satellite down but it doesn't change the real reason

This satellite has got some high tech stuff on it they don't want getting into the wrong hands

Little known fact here

This country has had satellites in orbit for some time now that are known as satellite killers

Which means they can shoot down other satellites as well as being used for other military purposes which includes shooting down missles, among other uses

[Harrison]

I find it amazing that President Bush(League) is already promising to pay damages to any country that the debris falls on in case things go wrong. I guess he doesn't think much of his own military.

[Cherub]

US to try satellite shoot-down Thursday: report

Mon Feb 18, 7:55 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States will take its first shot at an out-of-control spy satellite on Thursday, trying to knock it into the sea before it crashes to Earth, possibly causing damage, CNN news reported Monday.
A second attempt would be possible if the first misses, the channel said, citing military sources. Pentagon officials were not immediately available for confirmation.
Without intervention, the crippled satellite is due to break into the Earth's atmosphere on March 6 and crash down at an unpredictable spot, risking rupturing its tanks of toxic fuel, US authorities warned last week.
A US warship will fire a surface-to-air missile at the satellite at a specific point in its orbit that ensures any Earth-bound debris will splash into the ocean.
The shoot-down plan drew criticism on Sunday from Russia, whose defense ministry said in a statement it looked like a veiled weapons test and an "attempt to move the arms race into space."
Washington has denied seeking to cover up the satellite's technological secrets or to make a show of strength after China used a missile to shoot down an old weather satellite in January 2007.

[LPTaxpayer]

The "gubment" can give all the excuses they want as to why they want to shoot this satellite down but it doesn't change the real reason

This satellite has got some high tech stuff on it they don't want getting into the wrong hands

Little known fact here

This country has had satellites in orbit for some time now that are known as satellite killers

Which means they can shoot down other satellites as well as being used for other military purposes which includes shooting down missles, among other uses

True. We don't want this stuff to fall into the wrong hands. And, the government has to deny this.

Just think what could happen if we openly admitted this. (But, I do wonder what some of these other countries are thinking.)

[Aimee Lee]

THis may come off as moronic so please don't make fun of me LOL
When they blow this thing up will the gas burn up or could some of it get through the atmosphere.
Many theories are going around as to the origin of the black plague coming from space, a comet. Would it be so far fetched to believe tha this could make a really bad problem worse?
I would love to know what country it set to be blown up over.

[EMUJeff]

The latest speculation of CNN is that it will be done sometime Wednesday morning so it falls over the open Pacific ocean. One lucky thing for Earth is that it is between 2/3 and 7/10 water. If successful that would make this less dangerous than when Skylab bits rained down on parts of Australia. If not they have time to try again two or three days later.
EMUJeff

[buckeyebil]

aim careful

[Harrison]

THis may come off as moronic so please don't make fun of me LOL
When they blow this thing up will the gas burn up or could some of it get through the atmosphere.
Many theories are going around as to the origin of the black plague coming from space, a comet. Would it be so far fetched to believe tha this could make a really bad problem worse?
I would love to know what country it set to be blown up over.


It's NOT a stupid question, that's why Bush is already promising to pay any damages to countries if any of it does get through the atmosphere and falls on anything or anyone.

[Cherub]

Navy missile hits spy satellite

By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer 5 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - A missile launched from a Navy cruiser soared 130 miles above the Pacific and smashed a dying and potentially deadly U.S. spy satellite Wednesday, the Pentagon said. Two defense officials said it apparently achieved the main aim of destroying an onboard tank of toxic fuel.
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Officials had expressed cautious optimism that the missile would hit the satellite, which was the size of a school bus. But they were less certain of hitting the smaller, more worrisome fuel tank, whose contents posed what Bush administration officials deemed a potential health hazard to humans if it landed intact.
In a statement announcing that the attack on the satellite, the Pentagon said, "Confirmation that the fuel tank has been fragmented should be available within 24 hours." It made no mention of early indications, but two defense officials close to the situation said later that it appeared the fuel tank was hit. One said observers saw what appeared to be an explosion, indicating that the tank was hit.
Because the satellite was orbiting at a relatively low altitude at the time it was hit by the missile, debris will begin to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere immediately, the Pentagon statement said.
"Nearly all of the debris will burn up on re-entry within 24-48 hours and the remaining debris should re-enter within 40 days," it said.
The USS Lake Erie, armed with an SM-3 missile designed to knock down incoming missiles — not orbiting satellites — launched the attack at 10:26 p.m. EST, according to the Pentagon. It hit the satellite about three minutes later as the spacecraft traveled in polar orbit at more than 17,000 mph.
The Lake Erie and two other Navy warships, as well as the SM-3 missile and other components, were modified in a hurry-up project headed by the Navy in January. The missile alone cost nearly $10 million, and officials estimated that the total cost of the project was at least $30 million.
The launch of the Navy missile amounted to an unprecedented use of components of the Pentagon's missile defense system, designed to shoot down hostile ballistic missiles in flight — not kill satellites.
The operation was so extraordinary, with such intense international publicity and political ramifications, that Defense Secretary Robert Gates — not a military commander — made the decision to pull the trigger.
Gates had arrived in Hawaii a few hours before the missile was launched. He was there to begin a round-the-world trip, not to monitor the missile operation. His press secretary, Geoff Morrell, told reporters traveling with Gates that the defense chief gave the go-ahead at 1:40 p.m. EST while en route from Washington.
Morrell said Gates had a conference call during the flight with Air Force Gen. Kevin Chilton, head of Strategic Command, and Marine Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They told him that "the conditions were ripe for an attempt, and that is when the secretary gave the go-ahead to take the shot, and wished them good luck," Morrell said.
At 10:35 p.m. EST, Gates spoke to both generals again and "was informed that the mission was a success, that the missile had intercepted the decaying satellite, and the secretary was obviously very pleased to learn that," said Morrell.
The government organized hazardous materials teams, under the code name "Burnt Frost," to be flown to the site of any dangerous or otherwise sensitive debris that might land in the United States or elsewhere.
Also, six federal response groups that are positioned across the country by the Federal Emergency Management Agency were alerted but had not been activated Wednesday, FEMA spokesman James McIntyre said before the missile launch. "These are purely precautionary and preparedness actions only," he said.
President Bush gave his approval last week to attempt the satellite shootdown on grounds that it was worth trying to destroy the toxic fuel on board the satellite before it could possibly land in a populated area.
The three-stage Navy missile, designated the SM-3, has chalked up a high rate of success in a series of tests since 2002, in each case targeting a short- or medium-range ballistic missile, never a satellite. A hurry-up program to adapt the missile for this anti-satellite mission was completed in a matter of weeks; Navy officials said the changes would be reversed once this satellite was down.
The government issued notices to aviators and mariners to remain clear of a section of the Pacific Ocean beginning at 10:30 p.m. EST Wednesday, indicating the first window of opportunity to launch the missile.
Having lost power shortly after it reached orbit in late 2006, the satellite was out of control and well below the altitude of a normal satellite. The Pentagon determined it should hit it with an SM-3 missile just before it re-entered Earth's atmosphere, in that way minimizing the amount of debris that would remain in space.
Left alone, the satellite would have been expected to hit Earth during the first week of March. About half of the 5,000-pound spacecraft would have been expected to survive its blazing descent through the atmosphere and would have scattered debris over several hundred miles.

[Harrison]

I am so proud of our Navy for getting this right and getting it done the first time!

[EMUJeff]

US Navy! Great job folks.
EMUJeff

[LPTaxpayer]

I am proud and glad it was done the first time! Fantastic job!

On anohter side of this issue: Those countries that "think" they may be able to launch missles at us...be careful. Our Navy (and the rest of the military) still have whatever it takes to stop anything from coming into our country...provided they are aware of it in the first place.

[Cherub]

Experts fear debris isn't the only fallout from satellite shoot-down

By Nancy A. Youssef, McClatchy Newspapers Thu Feb 21, 7:30 PM ET

WASHINGTON — A U.S. missile strike that appeared Thursday to have shattered a crippled spy satellite and vaporized its hazardous hydrazine fuel sent up cheers among Pentagon planners, who for three weeks had worked feverishly to turn an anti-missile system into one that could track and kill an object orbiting the Earth.
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But even as debris from the shattered satellite began raining down over the Pacific Ocean, there were worries that the U.S. achievement might spur other nations to advance their own anti-satellite programs and turn outer space into a potential battlefield.
"I don't see how other nations don't see this as an anti-satellite test," said Theresa Hitchens , the director of the Washington D.C. -based Center for Defense Information , a centrist national security policy institute. "They'll see it as the weaponization of space."
China , which last year came under harsh U.S. criticism for using a missile to destroy an aged weather satellite hundreds of miles in space, was the first to react.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement demanding that the United States share details of the shoot-down, which took place at approximately 10:26 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday as the satellite passed over the Pacific Ocean about 600 miles west of Hawaii . Secretary of Defense Robert Gates , on a visit to Hawaii , said the military would provide "appropriate" data to the Chinese.
Russia had no immediate reaction, though Russian President Vladimir Putin warned recently that the U.S. use of its anti-missile system against satellites would bring a response.
Hitchens said she believed that both China and Russia would use the U.S. destruction of the satellite as reason to step up development of their own anti-satellite weapons. China , she said, is "likely to use this as an excuse to do what they wanted to do already." Russia , she added, "will come down hard on this."
For U.S. military officials, confirmation that the missile probably destroyed the satellite and its hydrazine tank came in two forms.
The first was a dramatic video— possibly shot from another satellite, though military officials wouldn't say— that showed the satellite as a small point of light. Suddenly, the light explodes into a fireball and then becomes a roiling, expanding cloud that military officials believe was the hydrazine vaporizing.
The second was tracking data that indicated that only football-sized debris remained from the 5,000-pound, bus-size satellite.
Marine Gen. James Cartwright , the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said officials had a "high degree of confidence" that the missile had fulfilled its mission, which U.S. officials ordered out of concern that the hydrazine fuel tank would survive re-entry and land in a populated area.
It'll be several more days before the military can be certain that the missile struck the tank, Cartwright said. Evidence yet to be reviewed includes video from the missile itself moments before it struck the satellite, which failed hours after it was lifted into space in December 2006 .
Cartwright said that debris already had begun falling over both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans near northern Canada , but that no piece had reached the Earth's surface and that it was likely none would.
President Bush authorized the shoot-down three weeks ago after the Pentagon and NASA raised concerns about the hydrazine.
The Navy's ship-based anti-missile defense system required adjustment to strike the satellite, which would be traveling faster than a ballistic missile and would be difficult to track because its lack of power made it cold and not easily visible to a missile's infra-red sensors.
Pentagon planners timed the shoot-down for late afternoon so that the sun would have warmed the satellite's surface.
Cartwright said there's little the military can learn from the shoot-down that could be applied to missile defense.
"It doesn't cross over," he said.
Loren Thompson , a defense analyst at the Washington D.C. area-based Lexington Institute , agreed, noting that most satellites' orbits are too high to be hit by ship-based missiles.

[Cherub]

Pentagon: No signs of danger from satellite debris

Story Highlights
Offficials: No danger from debris, hazard from fuel tank strike
Post-strike analysis still continuing
Any debris so far is smaller than football
Next Article in Technology » (http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/02/22/solar.plant.ap/index.html?iref=nextin)http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/2.0/global/1x1pixel.gif
http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/2.0/mosaic/base_skins/baseplate/corner_dg_BL.gif WASHNGTON (AP) -- The military's analysis of the missile strike on a dead U.S. spy satellite has revealed no sign of danger from debris, including no hazard from the satellite's fuel tank, a Pentagon spokesman saidhttp://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2008/TECH/space/02/22/spy.satellite.ap/art.missile.launch.usnavy.jpgThe USS Lake Erie launches a missile as the satellite travels over the Pacific ocean. "As we continue to do the post-strike analysis, (it) continues to give us confidence that the hydrazine tank was ruptured. However, the analysis is still ongoing," spokesman Bryan Whitman said.
U.S. officials have said the main reason they shot down the satellite was because of the potential health hazard to humans in the event the satellite's fuel tank, carrying 1,000 pounds of toxic hydrazine, landed in a populated area.
The satellite lost power shortly after reaching its initial orbit in December 2006, and it was projected to re-enter the atmosphere in the first days of March.
On Wednesday night a Navy cruiser in the Pacific launched a missile at the satellite, and military video of the event indicated that it pulverized the spacecraft. http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/2.0/mosaic/tabs/video.gif Watch the kill shot » (http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/02/22/spy.satellite.ap/index.html#cnnSTCVideo)
Whitman said initial indications reported on Thursday that the SM-3 missile hit the fuel tank as planned have been reinforced by further analysis. But he said officials are still not 100 percent certain.
"There has been no new data that has changed our level of confidence in the success of the operation," he said.


Shooting down spy satellite to cost up to $60 million (http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/02/15/spy.satellite/index.html)
Shooting down satellite doesn't worry space crew (http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/02/16/shuttle.ap/index.html)
TIME.com: Is shootdown really necessary? (http://www.cnn.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1714811,00.html)
TIME.com: The U.S.-China space race (http://www.cnn.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1712812,00.html?iid=sphere-inline-sidebar) Whitman said there were no indications of danger posed by falling debris, some of which already has re-entered the atmosphere.
Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Thursday that they had detected no debris larger than a football, and Whitman said that as of Friday that statement remained true.
"Debris tracking and cataloguing is ongoing," Whitman said. "There is no change to our belief that most of the debris should re-enter within about two weeks."
Whitman also said that teams of experts assembled by the government in advance of the shootdown to be ready in case significant debris fell on U.S. soil might not be used.
"We are in the process of taking a look and standing down some of those consequence-management and recovery teams," he said.

[EMUJeff]

I am proud and glad it was done the first time! Fantastic job!

On anohter side of this issue: Those countries that "think" they may be able to launch missles at us...be careful. Our Navy (and the rest of the military) still have whatever it takes to stop anything from coming into our country...provided they are aware of it in the first place.
As much as anything I think that is why we did this.
EMUJeff

[squishie]

I think I would have been more worried had our guys "missed" it the first time around. And just think of all the things that are going on that we do not know about. It can be scary if you give it much thought....