CNN is reporting that the US Navy has successfully hit a dying spy satellite that it feared would survive reentry and pose a threat due to it's hazardous payload of fuel. "At approximately 10:26 p.m. EST today, a U.S. Navy AEGIS warship, the USS Lake Erie, fired a single modified tactical Standard Missile-3, hitting the satellite approximately 247 kilometers (133 nautical miles) over the Pacific Ocean as it traveled in space at more than 17,000 mph." a Department of Defense statement said. "Debris will begin to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere immediately," the department said. "Nearly all of the debris will burn up on re-entry within 24-48 hours and the remaining debris should re-enter within 40 days." Apparently the navy gunners had a 10 second window in which to fire the missile, if they had missed there would have been another 10 second window each day for the next 8 or 9 days. Good shooting guys! Hitting the target does not ensure that earth will not be struck by falling debris but it enhances the chances. There are plenty of conspiracy theories floating around suggesting that this was just a test of the US ability to take down a target in space, or that the real concern was the technology and data contained on the bird and not the fuel... whatever the reason it's a pretty incredible feat and the stuff that movies are made from.
