Spy sat to hit North America?

[vsu8992]

This should be a big story in the coming weeks. Should be fun to watch the widespread panic intensify if the Space dudes calculate this thing taking aim at CONUS.

Oh yeah, FEMA may get involved sez the article. Can't wait for the inevitable questions of "Why wasn't FEMA prepared for this?" or "How can China shoot a Sat in Space and we can't?"

Didn't we use to have an ASAT program with F-15 ? Star Wars comes to mind. Ahh the good ole days.

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By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer

Tue Jan 29, 6:54 PM ET

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military is developing contingency plans to deal with the possibility that a large spy satellite expected to fall to Earth in late February or early March could hit North America.

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Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, who heads of U.S. Northern Command, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the size of the satellite suggests that some number of pieces will not burn up as it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere and will hit the ground.

"We're aware that this satellite is out there," Renuart said. "We're aware it is a fairly substantial size. And we know there is at least some percentage that it could land on ground as opposed to in the water."

He added, "As it looks like it might re-enter into the North American area," then the U.S. military along with the Homeland Security Department and the Federal Emergency Management Agency will either have to deal with the impact or assist Canadian or Mexican authorities.

Military agencies, he said, are doing an analysis to determine which pieces would most likely survive re-entry. But he cautioned that officials won't have much detail on where or when it will crash until it begins to move through the atmosphere and break up.

Renuart added that there does not as yet appear to be much concern about sensitive technologies on the satellite falling into enemy hands.

"I'm not aware that we have a security issue," he said. "It's really just a big thing falling on the ground that we want to make sure we're prepared for."

The satellite includes some small engines that contain a toxic chemical called hydrazine — which is rocket fuel. But Renuart said they are not large booster engines with substantial amounts of fuel.

[afthunderchief16]

How many vipers are we going to have to "scramble" for this? The damn aliens are attacking again...

[vsu8992]

Thread update.

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WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon is planning to shoot down a broken spy satellite expected to hit the Earth in early March, The Associated Press has learned.

U.S. officials said Thursday that the option preferred by the Bush administration will be to fire a missile from a U.S. Navy cruiser, and shoot down the satellite before it enters Earth's atmosphere.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the options will not be publicly discussed until a later Pentagon briefing.

The disabled satellite is expected to hit the Earth the first week of March. Officials said the Navy would likely shoot it down before then, using a special missile modified for the task.

Other details about the missile and the targeting were not immediately available. But the decision involves several U.S. agencies, including the National Security Agency, the Department of Homeland Defense and the State Department.

Shooting down a satellite is particularly sensitive because of the controversy surrounding China's anti-satellite test last year, when Beijing shot down one of its defunct weather satellites, drawing immediate criticism from the U.S. and other countries.

[M2]

Funny, we were just talking about that AP report!

As usual, the normal disclaimers were present...

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the options will not be publicly discussed until a later Pentagon briefing.

But we were wondering what would really be feasible. Of course, it is well known that a US F-15 successfully destroyed a satellite using the ASM-135 ASAT on 3 Sep 1985. It took off from Edwards, climbed to 80,000' and vertically launched the missile at the Solwind P78-1, a US gamma ray spectroscopy satellite orbiting at 555 km. Although successful, the program was cancelled in 1988. (thanks Wikipedia!)

I am sure the 40-lb brains have thought this through, and if anyone sees any official public releases on how this going to be done, please post them up here...and please, no sensitive or speculative insights, keep it to publically available information.

Cheers! M2

[uhhello]

Funny, we were just talking about that AP report!

As usual, the normal disclaimers were present...

But we were wondering what would really be feasible. Of course, it is well known that a US F-15 successfully destroyed a satellite using the ASM-135 ASAT on 3 Sep 1985. It took off from Edwards, climbed to 80,000' and vertically launched the missile at the Solwind P78-1, a US gamma ray spectroscopy satellite orbiting at 555 km. Although successful, the program was cancelled in 1988. (thanks Wikipedia!)

I am sure the 40-lb brains have thought this through, and if anyone sees any official public releases on how this going to be done, please post them up here...and please, no sensitive or speculative insights, keep it to publically available information.

Cheers! M2

Navy cruiser missile is going to have a go at her.

[M2]

Yeah, read that, and it was a Navy guy who started the discussion. I wonder if it is the Aegis System utilizing Raytheon RIM-161 Block-1a SM-3s? Hopefully the Pentagon will release more info.

The Boeing YAL-1 Airborne Laser (ABL) is still in development, but this would make for a fun test of that platform.

Cheers! M2

[Bergman]

They must have tested this satellite 6900 times before sending it up...then it fails 2 hours after getting there. Niiccee.

I didn't think they awarded satellite contracts to the lowest bidder.

The U.S. military may try within days to shoot down a failed satellite using a missile launched from a Navy ship, officials announced Thursday.

A Delta II rocket lifts off in December, carrying a reconnaissance satellite that failed hours later.

Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon that the window to accomplish the mission could begin in three to four days, and remain open for seven to eight.

While much space trash and debris have safely crashed to Earth after burning up in the atmosphere on re-entry, authorities said what makes this 5,000-pound satellite different is the approximately 1,000 pounds of frozen toxic hydrazine propellant it carries.

Without any intervention, officials believe the satellite would come down on its own in early March.

If it came down in one piece, nearly half the spacecraft would survive re-entry and the hydrazine -- heated to a gas -- could spread a toxic cloud roughly the size of two football fields, Cartwright said.

Hydrazine is similar to chlorine or ammonia in that it affects the lungs and breathing tissue, the general said.

The option of striking the satellite with a missile launched from an Aegis cruiser was decided upon by President Bush after consultation with several government and military officials and aerospace experts, said Deputy National Security Adviser James Jeffrey.

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"After further review of this option and, in particular, consideration of the question of saving or reducing injury to human life, the president, on the recommendation of his national and homeland teams, directed the Department of Defense to carry out the intercept," Jeffrey said.

The goal is to hit the satellite just before it enters Earth's atmosphere and blast it apart so that the hydrazine tank explodes. The smaller debris would be more likely to burn up in the atmosphere.

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said there's nothing the military can do to make the outcome worse.

"If we miss, nothing changes. If we shoot and barely touch it, the satellite is just barely in orbit" and would still burn up somewhat in the atmosphere, Griffin said.

"If we shoot and get a direct hit, that's a clean kill and we're in good shape," he added.

Experts said that with three-quarters of Earth covered in water, there's a 25 percent chance the satellite's remnants will hit land -- and a 1 percent chance they will hit a populated area.

There will be three Navy ships involved in the operation. The USS Lake Erie, an Aegis cruiser, will fire the missile, while trajectory information comes from a second ship. The third ship will be used as a backup, U.S. Navy officials said.

The Lake Erie has long been used as the platform for the sea-based missile defense program.

Cartwright said the satellite stopped working within hours of its launch in December and has not responded to attempts to communicate with it. He brushed off blog theories that the military wants to shoot down the satellite with a missile to destroy any classified data it may have accumulated in its short life, or to prevent other countries from acquiring the technology.

In January 2007, China used a land-based missile to destroy a 2,200-pound satellite that was orbiting 528 miles above Earth.

But the impact left more than 150,000 pieces of debris floating above Earth, NASA estimates. The space agency characterizes nearly 2,600 pieces as "large," meaning greater than 4 inches across, which pose a potential threat to satellites and spacecraft.

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China is responsible for 42 percent of all satellite debris in orbit as of January 1, most of it from that Fengyun-C meteorological satellite.

NASA has called it the worst satellite breakup in history.

[Guest soflguy]

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By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer

Tue Jan 29, 6:54 PM ET

Come on now... I know I'm not the only one who can't possibly take a reporter seriously with a name like that!

[M2]

The AFA report...

Satellite Shootdown Going Forward: The Pentagon has chosen to proceed with plans to shoot down an "uncontrollable" classified US intelligence satellite that is reentering Earth's atmosphere at the end of the month, using an element of the ballistic missile defense network, senior officials confirmed at the Pentagon Thursday. Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters that some 2,500 pounds of satellite mass might survive reentry and would include about 1,000 pounds of the propellant hydrazine, a hazardous material. While the chances of impact in a populated area are low, President Bush has elected to take action to mitigate the potential risk if it impacts near a populated area, said James Jeffrey, the deputy national security advisor. Talks with other space agencies and countries have been ongoing since January regarding the satellite and potential action against it, he added. The Pentagon has elected to use a Navy Standard Missile 3 anti-missile interceptor and believes that the window of opportunity will be only a few days. The goal is to hit the satellite at about 130 nautical miles away from the Earth. Navy personnel have been reprogramming the SM-3's software so that it will be able to better target a disintegrating satellite, which has a different and far more erratic trajectory than an aerodynamic ballistic missile. There will be one missile primed for the attempt with two backups, and three ships will be on station for the operation, Cartwright said. The area of operation is not yet set, but the Navy will deploy the ships to a location somewhere in the northern hemisphere in the Pacific Ocean, he said. (DOD release)

-Marc V. Schanz

And the DoD Press Release...

DoD To Engage Decaying Satellite

An uncontrollable U.S. experimental satellite which was launched in December 2006 is expected to reenter Earth’s atmosphere between the end of February and early March. Because the satellite was never operational, analysis indicate that approximately 2,500 pounds (1134 kgs) of satellite mass will survive reentry, including 1,000 pounds (453 kgs) of propellant fuel (hydrazine), a hazardous material.

Although the chances of an impact in a populated area are small, the potential consequences would be of enough concern to consider mitigating actions. Therefore, the President has decided to take action to mitigate the risk to human lives by engaging the non-functioning satellite. Because our missile defense system is not designed to engage satellites, extraordinary measures have been taken to temporarily modify three sea-based tactical missiles and three ships to carry out the engagement.

Based on modeling and analysis, our officials have high confidence that the engagement will be successful. As for when this engagement will occur, we will determine the optimal time, location, and geometry for a successful engagement based on a number of factors. As the satellite’s path continues to decay, there will be a window of opportunity between late February and early March to conduct this engagement. The decision to engage the satellite has to be made before a precise prediction of impact location is available.

Contact with hydrazine is hazardous. Direct contact with skin or eyes, ingestion or inhalations from hydrazine released from the tank upon impact could result in immediate danger. If this operation is successful, the hydrazine will then no longer pose a risk to humans.

The U.S. government has been and continues to track and monitor this satellite. Various government agencies are planning for the reentry of the satellite. In the event the engagement is not successful, all appropriate elements of the U.S. Government are working together to explore options to mitigate the danger to humans and to ensure that all parties are properly prepared to respond. In the unlikely event satellite pieces land in a populated area, people are strongly advised to avoid the impact area until trained hazardous materials (HAZMAT) teams are able to properly dispose of any remaining hydrazine.

Cheers! M2

[Steve Davies]

Interesting that they are not going to try it with a modded PAC3.

[ClearedHot]

Interesting that they are not going to try it with a modded PAC3.

Not really...

Using the PAC3 reduces your engagement options to friendly land masses that might not be the optimal points to engage the satellite in order to bring it down over the water.

Engaging it with a Standard-3 means they can hit it while the orbit is over the ocean and any variations in orbit caused by the impact/explosion can be better mitigated. I believe they are going to engage at a reasonable altitude (150 Miles), just outside the atmosphere and the smaller pieces will decelerate and reenter much quicker over the ocean.

Just my thoughts as I am not a Rocket Surgeon.

[ClearedHot]

Russia Doubts Motive In U.S. Satellite Shot

By Associated Press

MOSCOW — Russia said Saturday that U.S. military plans to shoot down a damaged spy satellite may be a veiled test of America's missile defense system.

The Pentagon failed to provide "enough arguments" to back its plan to smash the satellite with a missile in the next several days, Russia's Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"There is an impression that the United States is trying to use the accident with its satellite to test its national anti-missile defense system's capability to destroy other countries' satellites," the ministry said.

The Bush administration says the operation is not a test of a program to kill other nations' orbiting communications and intelligence capabilities. U.S. diplomats around the world have been instructed to inform governments that it is meant to protect people from 1,000 pounds of toxic fuel on the bus-sized satellite hurtling toward the Earth.

The diplomats were told to distinguish the upcoming attempt from last year's test by China of a missile specifically designed to take out satellites, a test that was criticized by the United States and other countries.

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.

Left alone, the satellite would likely hit the Earth during the first week of March. About half of the 5,000-pound spacecraft probably would survive its blazing descent through the atmosphere and would scatter debris over several hundred miles.

Military and administration officials said the satellite is carrying fuel called hydrazine that could injure or kill people who are near it when it hits the ground.

[afnav]

They won't be able to "pad" this test like they did many others checking out the missile defense system. They screw this one up, and the whole world will know.

[ClearedHot]

Navy missile hits spy satellite

By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer 7 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - A missile launched from a Navy ship struck a dying U.S. spy satellite passing 130 miles over the Pacific on Wednesday, the Pentagon said.

It was not clear whether the operation succeeded in its main goal of destroying a tank aboard the satellite that carried a toxic fuel that U.S. officials said could pose a hazard to humans if it landed in a populated area.

"Confirmation that the fuel tank has been fragmented should be available within 24 hours," the Pentagon said in a written statement.

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 as the spacecraft traveled at more than 17,000 mph.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A missile launched from a Navy ship successfully struck a dying U.S. spy satellite passing 130 miles over the Pacific on Wednesday, a defense official said. Full details were not immediately available.

It happened just after 10:30 p.m. EST.

Two officials said the missile was launched successfully. One official, who is close to the process, said it hit the target. He said details on the results were not immediately known.

The goal in this first-of-its-kind mission for the Navy was not just to hit the satellite but to obliterate a tank aboard the spacecraft carrying 1,000 pounds of a toxic fuel called hydrazine.

U.S. officials have said the fuel would pose a potential health hazard to humans if it landed in a populated area. Although the odds of that were small even if the Pentagon had chosen not to try to shoot down the satellite, it was determined that it was worth trying to eliminate even that small chance.

Officials said it might take a day or longer to know for sure if the toxic fuel was blown up.

[Stiffler]

Hazzah!!

[Flare]

I still chuckle everytime I read how they try to talk up hydrazine as the most dangerous substance in the world, yet I fly with it in my jet everyday. Hmmmm..... (yes, I realize the quantity is alot smaller, but still....)

[hd5032]

I still chuckle everytime I read how they try to talk up hydrazine as the most dangerous substance in the world, yet I fly with it in my jet everyday. Hmmmm..... (yes, I realize the quantity is alot smaller, but still....)

But you don't spray it all over yourself, which is what they were concerned could happen should the thing come down in a populated area.

[ClearedHot]

But you don't spray it all over yourself, ...

Whoa...STS

[M2]

Yeah, the Navy bubba in my office has been grinnin' about this all morning. I gotta say 'BRAVO ZULU' to them, schwacking a satellite at 17,000 MPH with a missile not specifically designed to do that (yeah, I know the AEGIS is close being a ballistic missile defense system, but it's not specifically designed for hitting satellites) was a real feather in their cap. It also has the Rooskies and Red Chinese up in arms, which is another plus! So you can hit a stationary object in space; big shit, we can hit one that's traveling at Mach 22! (and before the 40lb brainsteams attack, I know I am apply caveman math to the situation...just let it be!).

Too bad the weather was shit here last night, we missed the eclipse; but we still have 40 days of the football-sized debris from this satellite floating around before it burns up. Might make for some more good UFO-sightings here in Texas!

Cheers! M2

[Guest CrewDawg1]

They must have tested this satellite 6900 times before sending it up...then it fails 2 hours after getting there. Niiccee.

I didn't think they awarded satellite contracts to the lowest bidder.

Sweet…now we have proven that China is not the only country that can shot down a satellite.

I think your on to something Bergaman!

[Herk Driver]

Sweet…now we have proven that China is not the only country that can shot down a satellite.

I think your on to something Bergaman!

I think it is hilarious that I was reading some online story the other day about how the missile wasn't designed for this and then some expert "revealed" that while the range of the missile is classified that he could verify that there was no way it could reach the satellite...blah...blah

[dmeg130]

Good on the Navy -- glad to see they can shoot down something other than Iranian airliners.

Suck on that, China, I mean possible future aggresors!

[LockheedFix]

(and before the 40lb brainsteams attack, I know I am apply caveman math to the situation...just let it be!).

Something about M2's avatar and this phrase gave me a really good chuckle. Kind of like how I still giggle every time I hear a Japanese airliner check in at "Fright Rever two five-ooh zelo."

Edited February 22, 2008 by LockheedFix

[HerkDerka]

The video is already out.

Kaboom.

George Lucas is probably fixing to sue somebody's ass.

HD

Edited February 22, 2008 by HerkDerka

[egochecks]

Russia Doubts Motive In U.S. Satellite Shot

By Associated Press

MOSCOW — Russia said Saturday that U.S. military plans to shoot down a damaged spy satellite may be a veiled test of America's missile defense system.

That is outstanding. Like a SAC B-52 LSI instructor here at Sheppard always says when no other logical explanation applies, "To fool the Russians."

Thanks for the laugh mother Russia.