What's Behind Presidential Motivations to Blow Up Spy Satellite?

DoD says they will "engage" the decaying satellite with sea-based weapons.

The Navy will use sea-based missiles to blow up a satellite that was launched in 2006. Image courtesy: defensetech.org

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - An uncontrollable U.S. experimental satellite which was launched in December 2006 is expected to reenter Earth's atmosphere between the end of February and early March, and George W. Bush says the military will shoot it down.

The government explains that the satellite was never operational, and analysis indicate that approximately 2,500 pounds (1134 kgs) of satellite mass will survive reentry, including 1,000 pounds (453 kgs) of propellant fuel (hydrazine), a hazardous material.

Although they say the chances of an impact in a populated area are small, "the potential consequences would be of enough concern to consider mitigating actions", officials with the DoD said. In other words, the fumes from the unspent rocket fuel would be fatal.

So President Bush says he has decided to take action to mitigate the risk to human lives by engaging the non-functioning satellite.

"Because our missile defense system is not designed to engage satellites, extraordinary measures have been taken to temporarily modify three sea-based tactical missiles and three ships to carry out the engagement."

"Based on modeling and analysis, our officials have high confidence that the engagement will be successful. As for when this engagement will occur, we will determine the optimal time, location, and geometry for a successful engagement based on a number of factors," the President added.

The plan is to fire a navy missile called the Standard Missile 3 will be fired from a ship.

The satellite is a classified National Reconnaissance Office spacecraft that was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in 2006, officials said.

They say the satellite known as "L-21" has been out of touch since shortly after reaching its low-Earth orbit. It was built by Lockheed Martin Corp at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Some of Bush's critics are already asking though, why the White House is so intent on blowing the rogue satellite to smithereens?

The Bush Administration does have a habit of destroying evidence, as seen recently with the intentional loss of video tapes documenting the torture of prisoners at the hands of U.S. officials.

While some facts are never to be known, there is still a growing suspicion that there could be more reasons for destroying this satellite that was "never operational" than the Pentagon is telling. Why would we have created such a hazard to human beings just two years ago, and now have it plummeting back to earth without having done anything?

The Pentagon says that as the satellite's path continues to decay, "there will be a window of opportunity between late February and early March to conduct this engagement."

They say the decision to engage the satellite has to be made before a precise prediction of impact location is available.

The spacecraft contains hydrazine which is hazardous. Direct contact with skin or eyes, ingestion or inhalations from hydrazine released from the tank upon impact could result in immediate danger.

The DoD says that if this operation to destroy the satellite is successful, the hydrazine will then no longer pose a risk to humans.

The U.S. government says they have been tracking and monitoring this satellite, and several government agencies are planning for its reentry.

In the event the engagement is not successful, all appropriate elements of the U.S. government say they are working together to explore options to mitigate the danger to humans and to ensure that all parties are properly prepared to respond.

In the unlikely event satellite pieces land in a populated area, people are strongly advised to avoid the impact area until trained hazardous materials (HAZMAT) teams are able to properly dispose of any remaining hydrazine.