George W. Bush orders missile launch to destroy a broken US spy satellite

by Tom Hinton


Everybody’s favourite chimpanzee, George W. Bush has ordered the pentagon to begin plans on bringing down a broken spy satellite with a missile. This action by Bush is ringing bells of familiarity to anyone aware of China’s controversial actions last year in shooting down one of its own broken satellites without the consent of any other countries and their heads. This action was met with great hostility from the US and various other nations, so it is interesting that Bush has ordered the shooting down of one of his own broken satellites, especially considering it’s a spy satellite. So far, so Star Wars, but it has been legitimised in the reasoning for its destruction; that the rocket fuel could cause potential harm to people.

There has not been an official date set by the DoD, but it is expected that the operation will be over with, with the satellite hitting earth in the first weeks of March. The Missile will be shot from a US Navy ship, with a “window of opportunity” for the operation opening up in the next couple of days, and lasting for approximately one week according to the vice chairmen to the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. James Cartwright. The order is a controversial one for a number of reasons. Not only because of the similar actions of the Chinese last year, but this is also the first time the US have ever used a tactical missile on a spacecraft, and it is likely that there could be faults in the operation. The timing of the missile firing is crucial. The missile is to be fired as an interception with the satellite as it briefly re-enters the earths atmosphere, at any other time, the satellite will be near impossible to hit.

There is also a second motive in the execution of this operation. The US also aims to destroy the fuel tank on the spy satellite in an attempt to minimise the amount of fuel on its re-entry and return. This decision is not something that has been taken lightly by the US, and there will have to be a careful second decision made if the first attempt at shooting down the satellite fails, Cartwright stated in a press briefing.

Another controversy surrounding this take down, much like that of the Chinese mission last year, is the falling of the debris of the satellite. The debris is said to fall in pieces over a space of 100 yards, but of course it is difficult to pin point a specific location for the impact.

This being the last year of his presidency, GWB doesn’t seem to be laying off the controversial decisions! Some might say that the destruction of a “broken” spy satellite is a tad suspicious; could his satellite contain any secret information the US don’t want the rest of the world to see? Who knows! The launch will be in the coming weeks, so keep watching the skies!