Navy Missile Hits Wayward Spy Satellite on First Attempt
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
WASHINGTON — A missile launched from a Navy ship struck a dying American spy satellite passing 130 miles over the Pacific yesterday, the Pentagon said.
It was not clear whether the operation succeeded in its main goal of destroying a tank aboard the satellite that carried a toxic fuel that U.S. officials said could pose a hazard to humans if it landed in a populated area.
“Confirmation that the fuel tank has been fragmented should be available within 24 hours,” the Pentagon said in a written statement.
The USS Lake Erie, armed with an SM-3 missile designed to knock down incoming missiles — not orbiting satellites — launched the attack at 10:26 p.m. EST, according to the Pentagon. It hit the satellite as the spacecraft traveled at more than 17,000 mph.
This attempt was the first real-world use of this piece of the Pentagon’s missile defense network. The shootdown is seen by some as blurring the lines between defending against a weapon like a long-range missile and targeting satellites in orbit.
The three-stage Navy missile has chalked up a high rate of success in a series of tests since 2002 — in each case targeting a short-or medium-range ballistic missile, never a satellite. A hurry-up program to adapt the missile for this anti-satellite mission was completed in a matter of weeks.
