The Wayward Satellite

Now this is an interesting story. The Pentagon is planning to shoot an American "secret spy satellite" out of the heavens.

The rational that has been offered up to the public is that the satellite is filled with a fuel known as "hydrazine" which can cause injury or death to humans who may be exposed to it. There are also obvious concerns related to the fact that this is indeed a spy satellite. It may well carry with it sensitive information and/or technology.

Since the beginning of space exploration, thousands of man made objects have fallen from the heavens, including the 78 ton Skylab space station. Never before has the Pentagon decided that any of these objects warranted the use of a missile to destroy.

There are many factors to include when pondering the significance of the way this satellite is being treated by the government. First of all, the likelihood of the object landing in or around any population centers is negligible. There are also several international ramifications involved with the shooting down of man made space objects.

It was just last year when the Chinese shot down one of their own satellites, to heavy international critisism. This act was seen as a show of force. They were effectively demonstrating to the United States their ability to shoot down not only their own, but the satellites of other nations as well. No other nation so heavily relies on satellite power as the United States.

The entire American military war machine is guided by satellites. Therefore, a "near-peer" military force such as Russia or China could "poke out the eyes" of the American military apparatus by removing satellites from the sky. The Chinese have also been known to routinely point lasers at American satellites, these lasers often time are powerful enough to blind the satellites.

There are considerations with the logistics of destroying a man made space vehicle in orbit as well. The pieces of the satellite can enter orbit, and cause a debris field that could very possibly cause damage to other satellites. This was seen in the wake of the Chinese satellite destruction, which now accounts for 29% of the man-made space debris that is currently in orbit.

It is very possible that the loss of this American space satellite has provided for the Pentagon a convenient excuse for a retaliatory display of American military prowess in the wake of the Chinese satellite controversy. It is also possible that this satellite was efectively "blinded" by another military force which was not comfortable with the intended purposes of this satellite, which reportedly utilizes some very powerful spy technology. Whatever the case, this satellite is being treated with a level of attention that has not been seen before in regards to man-made objects falling out of orbit.