Bloomberg guy almost flipping out. Can't believe the market held as well as it did considering the headlines. Wonder why he only saw it today?
---
This is interesting
Maybe they can do this by lottery to wannabe satellite hunters.
I didn't even know they were in season.
What happens to the missile if they miss? Shoot it down with another one?
---
U.S. to Shoot Broken Satellite Carrying Lethal Fuel (Update1)
By Demian McLean and Tony Capaccio
Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. military said it will try to shoot down a broken spy satellite within two weeks, aiming to destroy the object before it crashes to Earth carrying lethal chemicals.
The satellite, weighing more than 2 tons, contains a highly toxic propellant called hydrazine, which could disperse over an area of about two American football fields on the ground, General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Pentagon press conference.
``When you inhale it, it affects tissues in lungs and has the burning sensation,'' Cartwright said. ``If you stick close to it and inhale it, it could be deadly.''
Breaking the satellite into smaller pieces reduces the odds that metal or deadly hydrazine will survive the heat of re-entry. The satellite was launched in December 2006 and stopped working within hours.
This would be the first time the U.S. has used a tactical missile to destroy a spacecraft. It comes after the U.S. and other countries criticized China for destroying one of its defunct weather satellites last year in a military test.
Hit Earth
The satellite is on course to hit Earth early next month, Cartwright said. He dismissed the suggestion that the U.S. is shooting it to keep sensitive technology out of foreign hands.
``Just the heating, the destruction that occurs on the re- entry, would leave it in a state that it would not be of intelligence value,'' he said.
The military will hold its fire until the space shuttle, now in orbit, returns to Earth on Feb. 20. After that, the Navy has about a week to shoot a missile -- or more than one if the first misses, Cartwright said.
The spy satellite, about the size of a bus, is managed by the National Reconnaissance Office, which oversees picture-taking satellites. It is considered experimental because, while it gathers and transmits images, its primary purpose is to test new technology for taking pictures.
The Navy will be responsible for intercepting the satellite. One of three unnamed Navy vessels equipped to conduct intercepts of short and medium-range missiles will fire a modified Raytheon Co. Standard Missile-3 at the satellite, Cartwright said.
No Surprise
The general drew a distinction between America's planned shootdown and China's last year. The U.S. has alerted more than 200 countries, he said. ``We started that notification well over a month ago, and we're continuing to keep people informed.''
The Chinese strike surprised the international community Jan. 11, 2006. It drew condemnation from several nations, including Japan, Russia and the U.S. for introducing weapons into space and orbiting debris that can damage spacecraft over the next four decades.
``That will not be the case here,'' Cartwright said. He estimated half the debris would come down in the first few orbits, with the remainder falling within a month.
To contact the reporters on this story: Demian McLean in Washington at dmclean8@bloomberg.net . Tony Capaccio at acapaccio@bloomberg.net ;
Last Updated: February 14, 2008 16:54 EST |
