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US Navy successfully obliterates satellite |
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Written by Derek Kessler on
Saturday, 23 February 2008
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 On its first launch attempt on Wednesday afternoon, the a modified Aegis missle defense rocket was launched from the U.S.S. Lake Erie in the Pacific Ocean, scoring a direct hit on and completely destroying the deorbiting USA 193 spy satellite. The explosion vaporized the 1000 pounds of hydrazine on board and left behind debris no larger than a football, most of which has already reentered the Earth's atmosphere.
The US Navy provided this recording of the satellite strike, clearly showing the explosion that destroyed the crippled spy satellite. The satellite itself was launched in December 2006 and died soon after launch, not even reaching its final high-altitude orbit. It had since fallen into a slowly decaying orbit until the Department of Defense realized early this year that the satellite was going to reenter the atmosphere around the beginning of this month. With USA-193's reentry point a complete unknown, the US Government decided to destroy the satellite, both to prevent the sensitive equipment onboard from falling into enemy hands, and to prevent large pieces of the bus-sized satellite from falling on the rest of our heads.
On the subject of our heads, several US agencies were involved in preparation for the satellite shoot-down, including FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency, made famous for its anemic response to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina). The agency activated six emergency response groups across the nation and issued an 18-page guide, the "First Responder Guide for Space Object Re-Entry" (PDF download) just for the occassion, even though a successful strike would have obliterated the satellite into pieces too small to survive reentry, and any bits that did would land in Canada, which just so happens to be outside of FEMA's jurisdiction. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) also weighed in, stating that the risk of any contamination from the destroyed satellite was 'low,' "However, CDC is encouraging health officials and clinicians to review information about the health effects related to hydrazine to prepare in case their communities are affected by satellite debris." We're the government and we're here to help, even if you don't need it.
Immediately following reports of the success of the strike, China reiterated its concern over the shoot-down, seemingly having forgotten that they themselves missiled a defunct (and not potentially dangerous) weather satellite just over a year ago. The US military vowed to share all relevant data on the strike with China, hoping to assuage the nation's fears that the launch was merely a test of the Aegis missile defense system.
The missile and USA 193 collided at 130 miles over the Pacific ocean at a combined speed of 22,000 miles. The three-stage missile itself was not armed with explosives, so the large fireball seen in the video is evidence enough that the hydrazine fuel tank was punctured and ignited. The satellite was about the size of a commercial bus and weighed in at over 5000 pounds. If let to reenter the Earth's atmosphere untouched, scientists estimated that up to 2500 pounds of the satellite would survive to reentry, likely including the 1000 pounds of toxic hydrazine fuel still onboard.
Discuss: TrekUnited Forum
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"Oh, I am sorry, Doctor. Were we having a good time?"
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