missile hits dying satellite, page-5

Great, shoot it over Hawaii and we will probably get some junk landing in our back yards ;)

Here is the article:



The United States Defence Department has confirmed it has successfully hit the wayward spy satellite this afternoon, with Military officials saying it was not yet clear if the satellite had been completely destroyed.

A network of land, air, sea and space-based sensors confirms that the US military intercepted a non-functioning Reconnaissance Office satellite which was in its final orbits before entering the earth's atmosphere.

The Military said that a Navy warship based off the coast of Hawaii had fired a single modified tactical Standard Missile hitting the satellite approximately 247km over the Pacific Ocean as it traveled in space at more than 27,000 km/h.

The objective was to rupture the fuel tank to dissipate the approximately 450kg of hydrazine, a hazardous fuel which could pose a danger to people on earth, before it entered into earth's atmosphere.

Confirmation that the fuel tank has been fragmented should be available within 24 hours.

Due to the relatively low altitude of the satellite at the time of the engagement, debris will begin to re-enter the earth's atmosphere immediately. Nearly all of the debris will burn up on reentry within 24-48 hours and the remaining debris should re-enter within 40 days.