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US spy satellite to fall from the sky |
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Written by Derek Kessler on
Saturday, 26 January 2008
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 A defunct United State spy satellite has reportedly lost power and is out of fuel, and will fall out of orbit in the next month or two. Without power, the government cannot control the satellite, which may contain hazardous materials that could survive the re-entry burn-up and make it to the surface. Satellites have falled from the surface before, but because of the robust high-technology nature of spy satellites, they tend to be much larger than most civilian satellites - it was just a few weeks ago that the Russian Space Agency was able to photograph a US spy satellite from the ground.
Officials often aim for a safe de-orbit, making sure that the satellites come down over oceans or remote areas of land. In 2001, the 137-ton Russian space station Mir was de-orbited over the South Pacific, and several large pieces of the station made it to the surface. In 2002, what was believed to have been a 7000 lb science satellite reentered the atmosphere and debris from it smashed into the Persian Gulf area.
Last year, China successfully used a ground-based rocket to destroy an orbiting satellite (a decommissioned communications satellite), reducing its components into pieces small enough to pose no threat to the surface. Officials with the US government will not confirm or deny that they are considering launching a missile to destroy the defunct satellite. Because communication with the satellite has been lost, they are not sure where the satellite is or where and when it will reenter the atmosphere. It is unlikely that when it does any debris will land in populated areas, as we Humans have only populated a small portion of our planet.
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"Please Captain, not in front of the Klingons."
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