Splatellite: Confirming the Kill - February 25, 2008
The US Defense Department (DoD) says they've completely destroyed an errant spy satellite, which they shot down last week.
President Bush ordered the shoot down amid fears that the satellite's unused hydrazine fuel posed a potential health risk to anyone who happened to be in the area where it came down. Nobody would dispute that hydrazine is dangerous, but a lot of experts doubted that the stuff would land anywhere near populated areas.One independent analysis puts the chances at one in several thousand.
It now appears that the hydrazine menace has been safely contained. The same cannot be said for the political debris created by the satellite. A few stories are talking about the diplomatic fallout from the hit. Interestingly, it appears that the US is going to try and smooth some ruffled feathers by sharing its data with China.
credit: DoD