The Wall Street Journal-20080215-U-S- to Try to Shoot Down Satellite- Navy Will Attempt to Drop Bus-Size Craft in Pacific To Avert Harmful Crash
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WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon will in coming days try to shoot down a malfunctioning U.S. spy satellite carrying a potentially lethal type of toxic fuel, a move likely to spark new international concerns about the militarization of space.
President Bush ordered the military to devise a method for destroying the satellite after growing concerned it might otherwise crash in a populated area and release large quantities of hydrazine, a gas that burns the lungs when inhaled and can be deadly.
Pentagon officials said a Navy ship in the Pacific Ocean will fire a missile at the satellite shortly before it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere and attempt to knock it into the water, the first such shoot-down ever attempted by the U.S. military. The officials declined to say where the intercept will take place or where the wreckage is likely to land.
Although the scenario seems like a Hollywood plot, Pentagon officials said the satellite -- which stopped working almost immediately after reaching orbit in December 2006 -- poses real safety risks.
"If the satellite did fall in a populated area, there was a possibility of death or injury to human beings," said Deputy National Security Adviser James Jeffrey. "There was enough of a risk for the president to be quite concerned about human life."
The U.S. effort to destroy the satellite is likely to prove deeply controversial, as many nations are increasingly alarmed about the safety of the network of satellites that play a central role in global telecommunications.
Last year, China used a ballistic missile to destroy a malfunctioning weather satellite, drawing immediate criticism from the U.S. and others. American military officials expressed particular alarm, given that the Pentagon relies on satellites for intelligence purposes and military communications. Many American officials believe China is developing an array of antisatellite weapons.
Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon yesterday, Mr. Jeffrey and other U.S. officials said the coming attempt to shoot down the spy satellite shouldn't be compared with China's destruction of its weather satellite.
They noted that the U.S. has publicized the decision, instead of carrying the strike out in secret, and is intentionally trying to shoot the missile down at a low altitude to ensure that most of its debris burns up in the atmosphere. China destroyed the satellite while it was in higher Earth orbit, which means wreckage will remain in space -- and potentially endanger other satellites -- for decades to come, the officials said.
The officials also insisted that they weren't trying to regain American military prestige in the wake of the Chinese strike or demonstrate that U.S. missiles could be used as antisatellite weapons. They noted that the U.S. had destroyed satellites in much higher Earth orbit during the Cold War.
The move comes amid escalating efforts by the Pentagon to obtain larger budgets for programs designed to keep closer tabs on U.S. and foreign satellites. Pentagon planners are also looking for new ways of defending American satellites and, ultimately, attacking those of hostile nations.
The malfunctioning satellite was built by Lockheed Martin Corp. for the National Reconnaissance Office, an intelligence agency staffed by both Pentagon and Central Intelligence Agency employees. Boeing Co. had a contract to build a larger and more complex satellite system, but it was killed by the intelligence community earlier in the Bush administration. The Lockheed satellite was meant to be a partial replacement for the Boeing system.
The satellite, known by its military designation as US 193, is roughly the size of a bus. It carries sophisticated optical and imaging sensors, as well as small thrusters meant to allow operators in the U.S. to control its movements. The thrusters are powered by hydrazine, a potent and toxic fuel.
If the satellite had functioned normally, it would have remained in orbit for several years and used all of the 1,000 pounds of hydrazine in its fuel tank. Instead, the satellite suffered a complete power failure shortly after reaching orbit, knocking out its navigation and communications equipment. That left operators with no way of controlling the satellite's movements.
U.S. officials said that Mr. Bush made the decision to shoot down the satellite when it became clear that the object would otherwise crash into the Earth in early March. The missile strike will take place within the next two weeks, officials said.
If the attempt fails, the results could be dire.
Gen. James Cartwright, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the hydrazine in the satellite's fuel tank would contaminate an area about the size of two football fields. Anyone who lived near that impact site and inhaled the hydrazine would suffer lung damage and need medical attention, he said, while prolonged exposure could be fatal.
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Andy Pasztor contributed to this article.
