Cruise Missiles, satellites and National Security - Part 2

The weapon that was used was a standard SM3 interceptor missile which was designed to intercept incoming ballistic missiles during the cold war. The specific missiles were modified in a matter of a week or two with new programming to tell it to seek out the specific wayward satellite and not ballistic missiles which was its designated prey. The ship used to launch the missile was from the Ticonderoga-Class of missile destroyers which were first commissioned in 1978 with a current fleet of 27 active ships. They utilize some of the most sophisticated phased array radar systems which could track and designate several targets simultaneously. They were later upgraded and designated as Aegis-class missile destroyers which was the name of the defense package of missiles and surveillance systems it was retro-fitted with. The missile was launched from the USS Erie which was somewhere over the Pacific which also carried another missile that was re-programmed and ready to fly if the first missed. The US navy had two-other ships who were poised to take action if the missile did not hit it’s target, the USS Decatur which carried a third missile and USS Russell which watched at dock in Pearl. The SM3 missile had no explosive warhead and was armed with highly sophisticated guidance and optics to ensure it was to hit its target, using kinetic energy alone to destroy its target. The action of two bodies colliding in opposite directions traveling at a few thousand miles per hour produces unimaginable forces that indeed destroyed the wayward satellite. The action was done by the navy on so short notice for there was a very brief window by which they could shoot the satellite down and ensure that the debris field was low enough so as not to pose danger to other spacecraft including the manned ISS, allowing the debris to fall to earth and burn up upon re-entry destroying most of the so-called sensitive equipment, dangerous chemicals and other parts that may cause damage to property or human life if it does hit the surface of the planet. The impact was so fast that there was confirmation from the US’s surveillance systems and people that the mission was a success and that the satellite was shattered and expected to re-enter the earth’s atmosphere within the next couple of days. Support and haz-mat teams are on standby to provide clean-up of hazardous debris should it be needed all along the expected debris field.

Posted by Nick at 7:32 am under General