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Navy Hits Errant Satellite

US says it needed to act before it crashed to Earth with toxic fuel

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff

Posted Feb 20, 2008 9:55 PM CST
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(Newser) – The Navy tonight struck an errant spy satellite with its first missile shot, the AP reports. A ship in the Pacific hit the satellite as it passed about 130 miles above the ocean. The military says it needed to destroy the satellite before it crashed to Earth because the toxic fuel aboard posed a risk. It will take a day or two to confirm that the fuel tank was destroyed, the AP notes.

Critics, including Russia, called the shootdown unnecessary and said the US merely wanted to test its anti-missile technology. The odds of the satellite crashing into a populated area and causing harm were tiny, they say. The mission became so sensitive that defense chief Robert Gates himself made the final decision on when to fire the missile.

In this photo released by the Navy, Seaman Robert Paterson, of Norgo, Cal., stands watch next to the aft vertical launch missile platform on the USS Lake Erie in the Pacific. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Specialist 2nd Class Michael Hight)
In this photo released by the Navy, Seaman Robert Paterson, of Norgo, Cal., stands watch next to the aft vertical launch missile platform on the USS Lake Erie in the Pacific. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Specialist...   (Associated Press)
Graphic shows how a spy satellite will be intercepted by the U.S. missile defense system and shows where the satellite is being targeted in the atmosphere; two sizes; 2c x 3 3/8 inches; 96.3 mm x 85.7 mm; 3c x 2 inches; 146 mm x 50.8...
Graphic shows how a spy satellite will be intercepted by the U.S. missile defense system and shows where the satellite is being targeted in the atmosphere; two sizes; 2c x 3 3/8 inches; 96.3 mm x 85.7...   (Associated Press)
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Skeptics about mission's necessity have a point
Newsweek

 
military • Navy • deep space • satellite • spy satellite

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