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Satellite intercepted!
Fox, CBS & CNN are reporting that the SM3 launched by the USS Lake Erie scored a hit on the faulty US spy satellite about 15 minutes ago.
Wonder what excuses the critics will have now, because "it won't/can't work" just left the building...but of course they'll spew about it being provocative or some other such rubbish
CBS story....
Wonder what excuses the critics will have now, because "it won't/can't work" just left the building...but of course they'll spew about it being provocative or some other such rubbish
CBS story....
Official: U.S. Hits Satellite With Missile
Navy Missile Hits Dead Satellite In Orbit, But Full Results Unclear
WASHINGTON, Feb. 20, 2008
CBS/AP) A defense official says a missile launched from a Navy ship in the Pacific hit the U.S. spy satellite it was targeting 130 miles above Earth's surface. Full details are not yet available.
The timing of the shootdown was tricky. For the best chance to succeed, the military awaited a combination of favorable factors: steady seas around the Navy cruiser that would fire the missile, optimum positioning of the satellite as it passed in polar orbit and the readiness of an array of space- and ground-based sensors to help cue the missile and track the results.
The operation was so extraordinary, with such intense international publicity and political ramifications, that Defense Secretary Robert Gates - not a military commander - was to make the final decision to pull the trigger.
An elaborate command system that stretches from the Pentagon to Hawaii is controlling the operation, reports CBS News national security correspondent David Martin.
Earlier, at U.S. Pacific Command headquarters in Hawaii, where a military command center was monitoring the operation, Adm. Timothy J. Keating told reporters he was "cautiously optimistic" that the missile launch would occur Wednesday night and that it would succeed in its mission.
Keating, head of the Pacific Command, said the weather in the area where the Navy ship was favorable. He also said was telephoning his counterparts around the world to consult on the satellite shootdown plan.
The government organized hazardous materials teams, under the code name "Burnt Frost," to be flown to the site of any dangerous or otherwise sensitive debris that might land in the United States or elsewhere.
High seas in the north Pacific posed the first obstacle as the USS Lake Erie prepared to launch a three-stage missile. Beyond a certain point, rough seas can interfere with the cruiser's launch procedures.
The plan was for the SM-3 to soar 130 miles to just beyond the edge of the Earth's atmosphere in an attempt to speed its non-explosive warhead directly into the satellite.
If successful, ten minutes after the presumed launch, the spacecraft or debris from the spacecraft will be over the western Canadian shore and its track of course will carry it across the Hudson Bay and out over the north Atlantic Ocean, reports CBS News space analyst Bill Harwood.
The aim was not just to hit the bus-sized satellite - which would burn up upon re-entering the atmosphere anyway - but to obliterate a tank onboard that is carrying 1,000 pounds of hydrazine, a toxic fuel. The fuel, unused because the satellite died shortly after reaching orbit in December 2006 - could be hazardous if it landed in a populated area.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health bulletin saying that the health risk from satellite debris was considered to be low. "However, CDC is encouraging health officials and clinicians to review information about the health effects related to hydrazine to prepare in case their communities are affected by satellite debris."
In a routine precaution, notifications have been issued worldwide to mariners and aviators to stay clear of an area in the Pacific where the satellite debris might fall. The military has calculated that the risk to aviation is so low that U.S. and international aviation officials have decided they are probably not going to reroute air traffic, a senior military officer said Wednesday.
The officer briefed reporters at the Pentagon on technical and logistical matters related to the effort. Under ground rules set by the Pentagon, the officer could not be identified by name.
The attempted shootdown, approved by President Bush, is seen by some as blurring the lines between defending against a hostile long-range missile and targeting satellites in orbit.
Much of the equipment used in the satellite shootdown is part of the Pentagon's missile defense system, a far-flung network of interceptors, radars and communications systems designed primarily to hit an incoming hostile ballistic missile fired at the United States by North Korea. The equipment, including the Navy missile, has never been used against a satellite or other such target.
The three-stage Navy missile, the SM-3, has chalked up a high rate of success in tests since 2002 - in each case targeting a short- or medium-range missile. A hurry-up program to adapt the missile for this anti-satellite mission was completed in a matter of weeks; Navy officials say the changes will be reversed once this satellite is down.
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Navy Missile Hits Dead Satellite In Orbit, But Full Results Unclear
WASHINGTON, Feb. 20, 2008
CBS/AP) A defense official says a missile launched from a Navy ship in the Pacific hit the U.S. spy satellite it was targeting 130 miles above Earth's surface. Full details are not yet available.
The timing of the shootdown was tricky. For the best chance to succeed, the military awaited a combination of favorable factors: steady seas around the Navy cruiser that would fire the missile, optimum positioning of the satellite as it passed in polar orbit and the readiness of an array of space- and ground-based sensors to help cue the missile and track the results.
The operation was so extraordinary, with such intense international publicity and political ramifications, that Defense Secretary Robert Gates - not a military commander - was to make the final decision to pull the trigger.
An elaborate command system that stretches from the Pentagon to Hawaii is controlling the operation, reports CBS News national security correspondent David Martin.
Earlier, at U.S. Pacific Command headquarters in Hawaii, where a military command center was monitoring the operation, Adm. Timothy J. Keating told reporters he was "cautiously optimistic" that the missile launch would occur Wednesday night and that it would succeed in its mission.
Keating, head of the Pacific Command, said the weather in the area where the Navy ship was favorable. He also said was telephoning his counterparts around the world to consult on the satellite shootdown plan.
The government organized hazardous materials teams, under the code name "Burnt Frost," to be flown to the site of any dangerous or otherwise sensitive debris that might land in the United States or elsewhere.
High seas in the north Pacific posed the first obstacle as the USS Lake Erie prepared to launch a three-stage missile. Beyond a certain point, rough seas can interfere with the cruiser's launch procedures.
The plan was for the SM-3 to soar 130 miles to just beyond the edge of the Earth's atmosphere in an attempt to speed its non-explosive warhead directly into the satellite.
If successful, ten minutes after the presumed launch, the spacecraft or debris from the spacecraft will be over the western Canadian shore and its track of course will carry it across the Hudson Bay and out over the north Atlantic Ocean, reports CBS News space analyst Bill Harwood.
The aim was not just to hit the bus-sized satellite - which would burn up upon re-entering the atmosphere anyway - but to obliterate a tank onboard that is carrying 1,000 pounds of hydrazine, a toxic fuel. The fuel, unused because the satellite died shortly after reaching orbit in December 2006 - could be hazardous if it landed in a populated area.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health bulletin saying that the health risk from satellite debris was considered to be low. "However, CDC is encouraging health officials and clinicians to review information about the health effects related to hydrazine to prepare in case their communities are affected by satellite debris."
In a routine precaution, notifications have been issued worldwide to mariners and aviators to stay clear of an area in the Pacific where the satellite debris might fall. The military has calculated that the risk to aviation is so low that U.S. and international aviation officials have decided they are probably not going to reroute air traffic, a senior military officer said Wednesday.
The officer briefed reporters at the Pentagon on technical and logistical matters related to the effort. Under ground rules set by the Pentagon, the officer could not be identified by name.
The attempted shootdown, approved by President Bush, is seen by some as blurring the lines between defending against a hostile long-range missile and targeting satellites in orbit.
Much of the equipment used in the satellite shootdown is part of the Pentagon's missile defense system, a far-flung network of interceptors, radars and communications systems designed primarily to hit an incoming hostile ballistic missile fired at the United States by North Korea. The equipment, including the Navy missile, has never been used against a satellite or other such target.
The three-stage Navy missile, the SM-3, has chalked up a high rate of success in tests since 2002 - in each case targeting a short- or medium-range missile. A hurry-up program to adapt the missile for this anti-satellite mission was completed in a matter of weeks; Navy officials say the changes will be reversed once this satellite is down.
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