U.S. Spy Satelite to Crash Towards Earth

Anonymous U.S. government sources assert that a large U.S. spy satellite has gone out of control and is expected to crash to Earth some time in late February or March.^[1] The sources said the satellite has lost power and propulsion, and could contain hazardous materials.^[2]

The White House said it was monitoring the situation, adding that "numerous" satellites had come out of orbit and fallen back to Earth harmlessly over the years.^[3] "We are looking at potential options to mitigate any possible damage this satellite may cause," said Gordon Johndroe, who speaks for the US National Security Council. ^[4]

John Pike, director of the defense research group GlobalSecurity.org, asserted that spy satellites are typically disposed of through a controlled re-entry into the ocean so that no one else can access the spacecraft.^[5]Pike estimated that the spacecraft weighed about 9072kg and is the size of a small bus, and that it was extremely unlikely that authorities would decide to shoot the satellite down with a missile as it would create debris that could hit the ground.^[6]

The agency notes that the largest uncontrolled re-entry by a NASA craft was Skylab, a 78-ton abandoned space station that fell from orbit in 1979.^[7] Its debris dropped harmlessly into the Indian Ocean and across a remote section of Western Australia.^[8]

In 2002, officials believe debris from a 7,000-pound science satellite hit the Earth's atmosphere and rained down over the Persian Gulf, a few thousand miles from where they first predicted it would crash.^[9]

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^[1] BBC Staff, Satellite could plummet to Earth, BBC News, Saturday, 26 January 2008, available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7211443.stm (last visited January 26, 2008).
^[2] Id.
^[3] Id.
^[4] Id.
^[5] Al Jazeera Staff, US Spy Satellite to fall to Earth, Al Jazeera News, January 27, 2008, available at http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/49F41D2B-41E8-473C-A7F8-8F38D3379C39.htm (last visited January 26, 2008).
^[6] Id.
^[7] BBC Staff, supra note 1.
^[8] Id.
^[9] Id.