Mystery of the toxic satellite

It sounds like the plot of a bad Hollywood movie. A dying US spy satellite is hurtling towards Earth. Military specialists worry that its toxic fuel load could contaminate a populated area. After weeks of deliberation, a resolute president gives the order to shoot the satellite down with an air-to-space missile...

prisonplanet.com

orf.at

Hydrazin

The notice says the two- and-a-half hour window begins 2:30 a.m. Thursday Greenwich Mean Time, which is 9:30 p.m. Wednesday on the East Coast, and 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in Hawaii.

cnn.com

Unmittelbar nach der geplanten Landung des Space Shuttle Atlantis am heutigen Nachmittag sieht das US-Verteidigungsministerium ein ideales, einwöchiges Zeitfenster, um den außer Kontrolle geratenen Spionagesatelliten USA-193 (NROL-21) noch in der Erdumlaufbahn auf 240 Kilometer Höhe abzuschießen, bevor er Anfang März in die Atmosphäre eintreten und auf die Erde stürtzen wird.

grenzwissenschaft-aktuell.blogspot.com

Officials have confirmed that the US spy satellite, USA 193, has been hit by an anti-satellite missile fired from USS Lake Erie positioned west of the Hawaiian Islands in the mid-Pacific at 10.30pm (US Eastern Time) Wednesday night. Fears of the propellant hydrazine being released into the atmosphere prompted the military response. Although plans for the missile strike were hampered by bad weather, the launch appears to have gone ahead regardless.

universetoday.com

The folks over at Analytical Graphics and Applied Defense Solutions have put together a simulation of how it's likely to happen -- and where the debris goes afterwards.

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wired.com

China today accused the US of double standards after the US navy fired a missile to destroy a failed satellite 150 miles above the Pacific.

Beijing, which was criticised by the US and others when it shot down one of its own satellites last year, turned the tables on the Bush administration after this morning's space shot.

guardian.co.uk

Die USA haben einen außer Kontrolle geratenen Spionagesatelliten abgeschossen, um einen drohenden Absturz auf die Erde zu verhindern. Der künstliche Himmelskörper mit giftigem Treibstoff an Bord wurde durch eine Rakete zerstört, die von einem Kriegsschiff im Nordpazifik nahe Hawaii aus abgefeuert wurde. Der Abschuss wird als eine Demonstration der militärischen Stärke der USA gewertet. Immerhin flog der Satellit mit 17.000 km/h, bevor er punktgenau getroffen wurde.

orf.at

Updated Pentagon officials say that a malfunctioning US spy satellite targeted for destruction has been hit by a missile-defence interceptor. The dead spacecraft smashed into a kinetic kill vehicle, lobbed into the satellite's path 250km above the Pacific by a Standard missile from US cruiser Lake Erie.

theregister.co.uk

Spy satellite blast caught on tape

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CNN

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BBC World
video is from BBC

US missile hits 'toxic satellite'

Spy Satellite's Downing Shows a New U.S. Weapon Capability

The tape is from a longer Pentagon press briefing with Gen. James Cartwright, detailing how the strike went down.

pentagontv.feedroom.com
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U.S. Department of Defense - Photo Essay

Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles

Vandenberg AFB Delta II Rocket Launch

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USA 193