February 21, 2008 :: New York Times :: News
The United States military reports the successful downing of a disable spy satellite using a specially modified sea-based SM-3 missile defense interceptor. The main purpose of the intercept was to destroy the fuel tank, which contained toxic hydrazine, before the ailing satellite reentered the earth's atmosphere. The successful intercept represents tests of both the sea-based Aegis missile defense system and a test of American anti-satellite (ASAT) capabilities.
Without the military's intervention, the satellite would have reentered the atmosphere and fallen to Earth during the first week in March, and an area of several hundred miles could have been contaminated with its hydrazine fuel.
The SM-3 interceptor underwent software modifications to allow it to hit the satellite instead of a ballistic missile, which would have had a slightly different trajectory. The mission comes nearly a year after a controversial Chinese anti-satellite test, in which Beijing used a missile to destroy an old weather satellite. The Chinese test drew widespread international concern, and also created a considerable amount of space debris. The American satellite destruction, by contrast, created a minimum amount of debris. (Article)
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