Satellite shootdown to happen at 10:30pm ET tonight
Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 1:21 PM
Tags: Fun Stuff, Ka-Boom, Satellites, Spy Satellites
As you probably already know by now, the US Navy is preparing to shoot down a rogue spy satellite - the event is scheduled to occur tonight at 10:30pm ET from warships located just west of Hawaii.
The satellite, known as USA-193 or NROL-21, is set to be hit by a $10 million missile - breaking it into lots of teeny-tiny pieces thanks to the 22,000 mph impact. The full tank of hydrazine fuel is hoped to explode upon impact.
And it's that 1,000lbs of frozen, toxic hydrazine fuel that's the whole reason she's getting shot out of the sky to begin with. We really don't need those deadly fumes spread over an area of two football fields. Hydrazine is similar to chlorine or ammonia in that it affects the lungs and breathing tissue.
The first shot will be fired by Aegis missile cruiser USS Lake Erie, with the USS Decatur destroyer waiting as backup just in case that first shot misses. Considering the target is 150 miles up, and they have a 10-second window to hit their mark, that's not a bad idea.
Hopefully, all that debris will burn up in the atmosphere and we'll live happily ever after. According to SatNews, over the past 50 years or so, approximately 17,000 man-made objects have re-entered the Earth's atmosphere—no one has ever been hurt by this falling debris.
Though one veteran satellite-watcher was a little startled when he realized the debris cloud would go across central Canada on it's ascending pass a few minutes after impact. After that, it'll go across a bit of western Africa and eastern Australia.
Check out the debris cloud plot after the jump...
Don't worry Canada... The United States is "prepared to offer assistance to governments to mitigate the consequences of any satellite debris impacts on their territory." Nothing to worry about at all.
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Comments
I just read on Yahoo News, it maybe called off for tonight due to weather.
Posted by: XM Listener | February 20, 2008 1:57 PM
That's the headlines, but here's what US officials have said:
"It's not enough to say 'no,' but we're watching the weather," an official told reporters at the Pentagon. "It's on the margin."
Posted by: Ryan Saghir | February 20, 2008 2:08 PM
It would be damn cool to happen DURING the lunar eclipse!!
Posted by: Anonymous Coward | February 20, 2008 2:15 PM
With the rotten luck Sirius has been having this past year, I bet the government shoots down one of Sirius's satellites by mistake.
Watch.
Posted by: regan | February 20, 2008 2:22 PM
Fuel is the reason for shooting it down. Nah it has nothing to do with the fact that it is a spy satellite.
Posted by: another thought | February 20, 2008 2:45 PM
try to tell the conspiracy theorist's that
Posted by: gower2352 | February 20, 2008 3:26 PM
They're shooting it down because it is broadcasting reruns of the David Lee Roth morning show.
Posted by: Mario (Brewed For Thought) | February 20, 2008 3:29 PM
Err.. Grammar Check:
"Hopefully, the all that debris will burn up in the atmosphere and we'll live happily ever after."
Youre welcome =)
Posted by: rey | February 20, 2008 3:40 PM
(sigh) I'm not having a good grammar day. Thanks rey.
Posted by: Ryan Saghir | February 20, 2008 4:23 PM
If the rocket misses does that mean that we will have to contend with both an unexploded missle warhead and the satellite too coming down on us?
Posted by: Paul | February 20, 2008 5:01 PM
"Fuel is the reason for shooting it down. Nah it has nothing to do with the fact that it is a spy satellite."
No, it has to wanting to show off the MDS to the world. There is nothing more effective than demonstrating capabilities to would-be adversaries. Do you think the Navy does excersizes in the Gulf for sport?
Of course, what would I know about that sort of stuff (wink, wink)
Posted by: The Squeaky Wheel | February 20, 2008 5:52 PM
"If the rocket misses does that mean that we will have to contend with both an unexploded missle warhead and the satellite too coming down on us?"
No, the SM3 will detonate, one way or another. It will explode... whether it does that on target or not is another issue, but it is not an ACME rocket launched by Wyle E. Coyote that goes up and then back down on himself.
Posted by: The Squeaky Wheel | February 20, 2008 5:56 PM
Also, it is a non-explosive war head. It's collision will destry the bird.
Posted by: The Squeaky Wheel | February 20, 2008 6:43 PM
I believe the sm-3 is capable of a re-route if it did contain a warhead so the worst case scenario is they send it out to sea and take out a few otters.
Posted by: MarkS | February 20, 2008 6:56 PM
I think PETA has a problem with the potentially dead otters.
Posted by: Mario (Brewed For Thought) | February 20, 2008 7:05 PM
This has everything to do with the U.S. showing China that we have the capability to take out satellites if we so choose. China proved successfully in 2007 that they had the capability to shoot down satellites and it’s been a mad rush among U.S. defense contractors to develop the technology to do the same ever since. Tax dollars well spent in my opinion.
Consider that none of our military satellites have any type of defense systems, which makes them a sitting duck for any country with the technology to take them out (or the money to purchase and implement the technology to do so).
Don’t believe the spin about the toxic fuel polluting some school playground in nowhere Kansas. This is a display of military might and nothing more.
Hopefully the military does us a favor and knocks my Direct TV satellite into an orbit that provides better reception on my TV during these non-stop Michigan snowfalls.
Enjoy the show and vote Republican … I think [sigh].
Dr. Ryan
Posted by: Dr. Ryan | February 20, 2008 7:24 PM
COMPLETELY out of range for me to see from NY. Thanks a lot US, if you're going to blow up a billion dollars of my tax moneyz, i want a show.
Posted by: gambit32 | February 20, 2008 8:41 PM
Success. 24 hours to see how well the job was done, but a definite hit.
Posted by: Anonymous Coward | February 21, 2008 12:03 AM
Hope to see some video of this. If not, who care.
Posted by: Anonymous Coward | February 21, 2008 12:12 AM
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Posted by: ahmed mohamed abdu lh | March 31, 2008 10:11 AM