Re: US: Broken satellite will be shot down

In article <fp2392$ru3$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, news <news@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 5 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - 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.

A key concern at that time was the debris created by Chinese satellite's
destruction ? and that will also be a focus now, as the U.S. determines
exactly when and under what circumstances to shoot down its errant
satellite.

The military will have to choose a time and a location that will avoid
to the greatest degree any damage to other satellites in the sky. Also,
there is the possibility that large pieces could remain, and either stay
in orbit where they can collide with other satellites or possibly fall
to Earth.

It is not known where the satellite will hit. But officials familiar
with the situation say about half of the 5,000-pound spacecraft is
expected to survive its blazing descent through the atmosphere and will
scatter debris ? some of it potentially hazardous ? over several hundred
miles. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the
sensitivity of the matter.

The satellite is outfitted with thrusters ? small engines used to
position it in space. They contain the toxic rocket fuel hydrazine,
which can cause harm to anyone who contacts it.

'Ol Lolita apparently doesn't know much about satellites and didn't bother
to learn.
1] You can't "shoot down" a satellite. You can shoot it and destroy it,
but there's no "down" involved. The pieces stay in orbit until they
decelerate enough to re-enter on their own

2] You would think she would correlate the "shoot down" since she
explicitly discusses the China test and all the debris that's STILL in
orbit

3]You would think she would discuss the impact (no pun intended)
of exactly when to shoot the missile, since the satellite is decelerating
and descending on it's own, and shooting it after it's started re-entry will
ensure that the debris will re-enter immediately as well

4] You would think she would discuss the good thing about destroying the
satellite is that breaking it up into smaller pieces will reduce the possibility
of pieces surviving and hitting the ground

5] The chances of hydrazine surviving the "blazing descent through the
atmosphere" are slim at best

I guess that's the problem with journalism degrees.

--
Harry Andreas
Engineering raconteur
.

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