President Bush has ordered the US Navy to shoot down a damaged spy satellite that will be entering the earths atmosphere at either the end of February or the beginning of March. After the satellite was launched it immediately began to malfunction and has never been operational, or controllable. The decision to bring it down with missiles is based on several concerns. VIDEO->
1. Human Health & Safety: The damaged satellite might reenter orbit with hundreds of gallons of rocket fuel that is made of Hydrazine. Hydrazine has an ammonia like effect on the respiratory system.
2. Protect Classified Technology: The satellite has the some most up to date cutting edge technology, and must be prevented from getting into the hands of any unfriendly parties.
3. Missile Defense Test/Demonstration: (This is speculation) The launch platform for this is a part of the US missile defense system that has not received allot of support from congress. If the military is able to bring down the missile in the manner that they said they hope to… It would be a demonstration of the missile defense system capabilities.
Note: This is not the first time that a satellite has been shot down. The US Air Force was the first ever to shoot down a satellite with a missile fired from an F-15 in September of 1985. It was done with a anti-satellite system that is was/is under development.
The Chinese military shot down a weather satellite with a ground based missile in January of 2007. This act was protested by the US Government and other nations with satellites as an intimidation tactic by the Chinese, and also because of the unsafe or careless manner in which it was done. The debris from the satellite might cause damage to other orbiting vehicles.
