U.S. to Attempt to Shoot Down Faulty Satellite
Quote:
WASHINGTON — The military will try to shoot down a crippled spy satellite in the next two weeks, senior officials said Thursday. The officials laid out a high-tech plan to intercept the satellite over the Pacific just before it tumbles uncontrollably to Earth carrying toxic fuel.
President Bush ordered the action to prevent any possible contamination from the hazardous rocket fuel on board, and not out of any concern that parts of the spacecraft might survive and reveal its secrets, the officials said.
The challenging mission to demolish the satellite on the fringes of space will rely on an unforeseen use of ship-based weapons developed to defend against ballistic missile attacks.
The effort will be a real-world test of the nation’s antiballistic missile systems and its antisatellite abilities, even though the Pentagon said it was not using the effort to test its most exotic weapons or send a message to any adversaries...
Gen. James E. Cartwright of the Marines, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that if the first missile failed to strike the satellite, an assessment would be made within days and that two more missiles were ready. General Cartwright described little downside in trying to destroy the satellite.
"If we fire at the satellite,†he said, “the worst is that we miss. And then we have a known situation, which is where we are today. If we graze the satellite, we’re still better off, because likely we’ll still bring it down sooner, and therefore more predictably. If we hit the hydrazine tank, then we’ve improved our potential to mitigate that threat. So the regret factor of not acting clearly outweighed the regret factors of acting."
President Bush ordered the action to prevent any possible contamination from the hazardous rocket fuel on board, and not out of any concern that parts of the spacecraft might survive and reveal its secrets, the officials said.
The challenging mission to demolish the satellite on the fringes of space will rely on an unforeseen use of ship-based weapons developed to defend against ballistic missile attacks.
The effort will be a real-world test of the nation’s antiballistic missile systems and its antisatellite abilities, even though the Pentagon said it was not using the effort to test its most exotic weapons or send a message to any adversaries...
Gen. James E. Cartwright of the Marines, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that if the first missile failed to strike the satellite, an assessment would be made within days and that two more missiles were ready. General Cartwright described little downside in trying to destroy the satellite.
"If we fire at the satellite,†he said, “the worst is that we miss. And then we have a known situation, which is where we are today. If we graze the satellite, we’re still better off, because likely we’ll still bring it down sooner, and therefore more predictably. If we hit the hydrazine tank, then we’ve improved our potential to mitigate that threat. So the regret factor of not acting clearly outweighed the regret factors of acting."
What goes up, must come down. Someone should tell the general that (in case he misses).
There's talk of the orbital debris effecting space travel in the future on the 2nd page, but it looks like we should get it all. Best case scenario? Playing with our new toys could get those pesky Ruskie's and those uppity Iranians to calm the fuck down. Worst case?
We miss and hit China.
I do hope it's televised live though. It should get much better ratings than the last 10 shuttle launches or so.
