Taking a page from Hollywood science fiction, the Pentagon said Thursday it will try to shoot down a dying, bus-sized U.S. spy satellite loaded with toxic fuel on a collision course with the Earth.
The military hopes to smash the satellite as soon as next week – just before it enters Earth’s atmosphere – with a single missile fired from a Navy cruiser in the northern Pacific Ocean.
The dramatic maneuver may well trigger international concerns, and U.S. officials have begun notifying other countries of the plan – stressing that it does not signal the start of a new American anti-satellite weapons program.
Military and administration officials said the satellite is carrying fuel called hydrazine that could injure or even kill people who are near it when it hits the ground. That reason alone, they said, convinced President Bush to order the shoot-down.
One knows how Chicken Little felt.
[i] U.S. officials have begun notifying other countries of the plan – stressing that it does not signal the start of a new American anti-satellite weapons program.[/i]
That’s because there’s nothing wrong with our current anti-satellite weapons program.
Personally, as a retired Navy guy, I applaud any chance to shoot live SM3 that does not entail dead bodies.
Frankly, my first reaction was “COOL! Will the televise it?”
Actually, that’s my current reaction, too. 🙂