The US will try to shoot a missile at a satellite that is about to crash

A broken satellite may crash on Earth in early March and spread toxic substances around it. The goal - to intercept it at the entrance to the atmosphere so that it explodes into small fragments that will burn upon entry

The US Department of Defense is planning to fire a missile to hit a malfunctioning spy satellite that is about to crash out of control in early March. The AP news agency writes that the preferred option would be to launch a missile from a military ship and hit the satellite before it enters the atmosphere. Senior officials, whose names were not disclosed, said that the US is still considering how to act.

This is a spy satellite with which contact was lost about a year ago. A few weeks ago, the US government said that it was going to crash at the end of February, or at the beginning of March, without control. Due to its size - it weighs 9 tons - large parts of it may escape from a fire in the atmosphere and damage populated areas.

The US has never tried to damage a satellite in space, both due to the fear of creating fragments in space that would damage other satellites and due to treaties to prevent space warfare to which it is a signatory. However, the intention is probably to intercept it a little before entering the atmosphere so that the fragments that will be formed will also find their way down and burn up on the way.

The satellite contains the toxic rocket fuel hydrazine, a colorless liquid with an ammonia-like odor. This material may cause harm to anyone who comes into contact with it. John Pike, director of the research body GlobalSecurity, claims that an uncontrolled return of the satellite could also reveal US secrets.

For the previous and detailed news - a satellite is about to crash on Earth