Thursday
Feb142008
Department of Defense announces it will shoot down a defunct reconnaissance satellite with tactical missiles
Thursday, February 14, 2008 at 4:53PM
The Department of Defense held a briefing regarding the U.S. military's plans to intercept a non-communicative satellite launched by the National Reconnaissance office in December of 2006, using missile defense systems. Present were General James Cartwright, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Ambassador James Jeffery, Deputy National Security Advisor and the Administrator of NASA, Michael Griffin. It was explained that the 5,00 pound satellite (which Cartwright likened to the size of a bus) had been unresponsive within hours of obtaining orbit after it was put into space.
Because it can not be controlled, its reentry into the earth's atmosphere is less predictable and it has more fuel that it would have had if the satellite had been responsive during its mission. The satellite is propelled by hydrazine, a standard rocket fuel that is toxic when inhaled. The biggest part of the satellite is the fuel tank and the overall goal of shooting a tactical missile at the disintegrating spacecraft is to breach the fuel tank so that the fuel goes into space or evaporates on reentry.
Cartwright said that the mass of the satellite itself and any potential intelligence value would not be enough reason to take such extreme measure such as intercepting a satellite on the edge of the atmosphere with a tactical weapon."Our assessment is a high probability that it would not be of any intelligence value, just the heating, the destruction that occurs upon reentry would leave it in a state...it would not be of intelligence value...It is the hydrazine that makes this different." The main concern expressed by all three speakers was the potential risk of death and injury due to leakage of hydrazine rocket fuel.
Jeffry said that the U.S. has begun diplomatic roll out to countries and other agencies, such as the UN and the European Space Agency in accordance to treaties on the usage of outer space. Griffin said that the risks to the shuttle and the international space station has been taken into account. The space shuttle Atlantis will have returned to earth before the satellite needs to be reengaged, Griffin said. And he said that the increased risk to the international space station would be negligible, beyond that of the risk of already being in orbit.
The use of a tactical missile was seen, after much analysis, as the only viable option to mitigate risk or injury to human life from the leakage of hydrazine. Hydrazine is a gas that causes burning of the lung tissues when it is inhaled and can lead to death. Cartwright responded to rumors on the blogoshpere that this tactic was being taken to break up the satellite was not to render intelligence on board the satellite unusable. He said that after reentry into the atmosphere the satellite would be dstroy4ed to the point that intelligence is not a factor considered in the intercept of the missile in order to bring it down into an unpopulated area.
The military said that they will be using the Standard Missile III, a naval surface to air missile, which has the kinetic ability to reach outside the atmosphere. These missiles are normally used in missile defense systems to intercept ballistic missile threats.
Cartwright repeated that satellite reentry is unpredictable because they are not aerodynamic, non-propelled. "The goal is to get rid of the hydrazine and have this fall in the ocean" Cartwright said. He would not comment on which ships will be dedicated to the mission of shooting the satellite, but said that they area they are focused on is in the Pacific Ocean in the Northern Hemisphere.
Another topic that came up was U.S. criticism of earlier Chinese testing of anti-satellite missile technology, where the debris was scattered and will continue to orbit for decades creating a risk to other bodies in orbit. Griffin contrasted this attempt where the debris from the satellite would reenter the atmosphere with days.
Cartwright said that after analysis the only possible conclusions would leave the situation improved or the same, but that the problems caused by reentry would not be worsened by shooting down the satellite. "The regret factors of not acting clearly outweigh the regret factors of acting," said Cartwright.
Because it can not be controlled, its reentry into the earth's atmosphere is less predictable and it has more fuel that it would have had if the satellite had been responsive during its mission. The satellite is propelled by hydrazine, a standard rocket fuel that is toxic when inhaled. The biggest part of the satellite is the fuel tank and the overall goal of shooting a tactical missile at the disintegrating spacecraft is to breach the fuel tank so that the fuel goes into space or evaporates on reentry.
Cartwright said that the mass of the satellite itself and any potential intelligence value would not be enough reason to take such extreme measure such as intercepting a satellite on the edge of the atmosphere with a tactical weapon."Our assessment is a high probability that it would not be of any intelligence value, just the heating, the destruction that occurs upon reentry would leave it in a state...it would not be of intelligence value...It is the hydrazine that makes this different." The main concern expressed by all three speakers was the potential risk of death and injury due to leakage of hydrazine rocket fuel.
Jeffry said that the U.S. has begun diplomatic roll out to countries and other agencies, such as the UN and the European Space Agency in accordance to treaties on the usage of outer space. Griffin said that the risks to the shuttle and the international space station has been taken into account. The space shuttle Atlantis will have returned to earth before the satellite needs to be reengaged, Griffin said. And he said that the increased risk to the international space station would be negligible, beyond that of the risk of already being in orbit.
The use of a tactical missile was seen, after much analysis, as the only viable option to mitigate risk or injury to human life from the leakage of hydrazine. Hydrazine is a gas that causes burning of the lung tissues when it is inhaled and can lead to death. Cartwright responded to rumors on the blogoshpere that this tactic was being taken to break up the satellite was not to render intelligence on board the satellite unusable. He said that after reentry into the atmosphere the satellite would be dstroy4ed to the point that intelligence is not a factor considered in the intercept of the missile in order to bring it down into an unpopulated area.
The military said that they will be using the Standard Missile III, a naval surface to air missile, which has the kinetic ability to reach outside the atmosphere. These missiles are normally used in missile defense systems to intercept ballistic missile threats.
Cartwright repeated that satellite reentry is unpredictable because they are not aerodynamic, non-propelled. "The goal is to get rid of the hydrazine and have this fall in the ocean" Cartwright said. He would not comment on which ships will be dedicated to the mission of shooting the satellite, but said that they area they are focused on is in the Pacific Ocean in the Northern Hemisphere.
Another topic that came up was U.S. criticism of earlier Chinese testing of anti-satellite missile technology, where the debris was scattered and will continue to orbit for decades creating a risk to other bodies in orbit. Griffin contrasted this attempt where the debris from the satellite would reenter the atmosphere with days.
Cartwright said that after analysis the only possible conclusions would leave the situation improved or the same, but that the problems caused by reentry would not be worsened by shooting down the satellite. "The regret factors of not acting clearly outweigh the regret factors of acting," said Cartwright.
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