A US Navy missile
soaring around 210 km above the Pacific smashed a dying and potentially
deadly US spy satellite Wednesday and probably destroyed its tank
carrying 450 kg of toxic fuel.
Officials had expressed cautious
optimism that the missile would hit the satellite, which was the size
of a school bus. But they were less certain of hitting the smaller,
more problematic fuel tank, whose contents posed what government
officials deemed a potential health hazard to humans if it landed
intact.
In a statement, the Pentagon said, “Confirmation that the fuel tank has been
fragmented should be available within 24 hours.”
A defence official said later that officials monitoring the
collision saw what appeared to be an explosion, indicating that the
fuel tank was hit.
The USS Lake Erie, armed with an SM-3 missile
launched the attack at 10:26 pm EST (08:56, Thursday IST), according to
the Pentagon.
It hit the satellite – travelling in polar orbit at over 27,000 kmph – about
three minutes later.
“Nearly
all of the debris will burn up on re-entry within 24-48 hours and the
remaining debris should re-enter within 40 days,” the Pentagon said.
The
use of the Navy missile amounted to an unprecedented use of components
of the Pentagon’s missile defence system, designed to shoot down
hostile ballistic missiles in flight – not kill satellites.
The
US has also organised hazardous materials teams to be flown to the site
of any dangerous or otherwise sensitive debris that might land in the
US or elsewhere.
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