The attempt will be a first by the United States to use a missile to hit a spacecraft. China has already attempted such action.

According to the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff the attempt will be made some time from February 17 to February 25, 2008, although only a range was given to possible target dates. The attempt, possibly more than one, will be made just before the USA 193 satellite re-enters Earth’s atmosphere, which is expected sometime in the first week of March 2008. Mission planners will attempt to hit the satellite at the location of its nearly full fuel tank.

The U.S. Navy will use one of its cruisers to fire a specially designed Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) in an attempt to destroy the satellite. The Standard Missile is a type of surface-to-air missile (SAM) that is used by the U.S. Navy. Designed to shoot down ballistic missiles, the SM-3’s software was modified so that it would recognize the satellite.

Such action is believed necessary because the satellite carries hydrazine as its rocket fuel. The dangerous fuel poses a health risk to humans if left to fall on heavily populated areas on Earth. The fuel—about 1,000 pounds is supposedly left onboard—is used to power the satellite’s thrusters.

In addition, security departments in the United States do not want intact pieces of the satellite to get in the possession of foreign countries, especially China and Russia. The satellite possesses a high-tech imaging sensor that the United States does not want to slip into the wrong hands.

Also involved in the activity are such U.S. agencies as the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department. The hit-and-destroy mission may not be totally successful. Large pieces of the satellite might still remain, which could pose a risk to other satellites in orbit and could still survive their plunge through the atmosphere of Earth.

Until the satellite is shot down, skygazers can watch it pass overhead. It will be seen over the United States as a first or second magnitude star as it races across the sky.

 Go to http://heavens-above.com for more information.

According to the website of Heavens Above, the satellite is “large and is now in a very low orbit, so it should be quite bright and easy to see with the unaided eye.”

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