The White House just announced plans to shoot down the disabled imagery spy satellite that was set to hit Earth in early March. The plan as proposed now is to fire a missile from a U.S. Navy curiser to shoot down the satellite before it enters Earth’s orbit. The possible harm from unused hydrazine fuel aboard the satellite is said to be the reason for the missile launch.
There’s some debate over the exact course that will be taken to shoot the satellite out of the sky. The debris field and controversy surrounding the Chinese satellite demolition experiment, might mean that the U.S. will shoot down the satellite as it begins to enter Earth’s orbit. That course, if planned, would cut down considerably on space debris.
A previous post on this Blog detailed the issues involved in satellite tracking. This new course for dealing with the errant satellite means that precise tracking will be imperative.
