USS Lake Erie CG-70 shot satellite USA 193 for just 40 Mio. USD

The battleship suceeded in shooting down a satellite at 20th of February 10:26pm EST. The cost of the operation has been estimated at between 40 and 60 million USD.

Interestingly, this was during the totality of Wednesday's lunar eclipse, which may or may not make debris easier to observe."

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WFP and UNAIDS estimate that it costs an average of 0.66 USD per day to provided nutritional support to an AIDS patient and his/her family.
Hunger Facts
http://www.wfp.org/aboutwfp/facts/hunger_facts.asp

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USS Lake Erie (CG-70)
http://www.lake-erie.navy.mil/

The first opportunity for the Navy to shoot down the satellite came about 10:30 p.m. ET Wednesday. The plan included firing a missile from the USS Lake Erie in the Pacific Ocean west of Hawaii to destroy the satellite.


"Debris will begin to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere immediately," the department said. "Nearly all of the debris will burn up on re-entry within 24-48 hours and the remaining debris should re-enter within 40 days."


“A network of land-, air-, sea- and space-based sensors confirms that the U.S. military intercepted a non-functioning National Reconnaissance Office satellite which was in its final orbits before entering the Earth’s atmosphere,” a Department of Defense statement said.

“At approximately 10:26 p.m. EST today, a U.S. Navy AEGIS warship, the USS Lake Erie, fired a single modified tactical Standard Missile-3, hitting the satellite approximately 247 kilometers (133 nautical miles) over the Pacific Ocean as it traveled in space at more than 17,000 mph.”
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/02/20/satellite.shootdown/?iref=hpmos...

USS Lake Erie (CG-70)
is a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser in the United States Navy.

She is named for the decisive USN victory in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812.

Lake Erie is a baseline 4 Ticonderoga class ship, with integrated AN/UYK-43/44 computers (in place of UYK-7 and UYK-20) and superset computer programs originally developed for the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers.

Lake Erie also has an improved UYS-20 data display system and various decision aids, as well as the SQS-53C sonar and the SQR-17 sonar data processor.

In August 1998, as part of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, modifications were made aboard Lake Erie and Port Royal, which consisted of modifications to the Aegis weapons system on board Ticonderoga-class cruisers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lake_Erie_(CG-70)

Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System

The Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System is a US Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency program developed to provide a last line of defense against ballistic missiles. Aegis BMD (also know as Sea-Based Midcourse) is designed to intercept ballistic missiles post-boost phase and prior to reentry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aegis_Ballistic_Missile_Defense_System

USA 193, NRO launch 21 (NROL-21 or simply L-21)

was an American military spy satellite. Owned by the National Reconnaissance Office, the craft's precise function and purpose were classified. This was the first launch conducted under contract to the United Launch Alliance.[3] The satellite was successfully destroyed by a missile fired from a warship from west of Hawaii on February 20, 2008.

An SM-3 missile, which was launched at 21 February 03:26 GMT from the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Lake Erie, hit the 5,015-pound (2,275-kilogram) satellite about 133 nautical miles (247 kilometers) over the Pacific Ocean with a velocity of about 22,783 mph (36,667 km/h), according to a Pentagon statement.

The Department of Defense said it will not know for 24 hours whether the fuel tank had been hit.

The satellite's remnants are expected to burn up over the course of the next forty days, with most of the satellite's mass re-entering the atmosphere within the first 24 to 48 hours after the missile strike.

The cost of the operation has been estimated at between $40 million and $60 million.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_193

VIDEO - Spy Satellite Falling Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z47QQbSzbMs

VIDEO - Spy Satellite Falling Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf7Nk0kB6OY

VIDEO - Spy Satellite Falling Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbZUQxBL0mk

VIDEO - Spy Satellite Falling Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFjm99sTZHo

VIDEO - Spy Satellite Falling Part 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG4h3huhz6w&feature=related

Navy Succeeds In Intercepting Non-Functioning Satellite
Story Number: NNS080220-19
Release Date: 2/20/2008 11:23:00 PM
Top News Story - Editors should consider using these stories first in local publications.

From the Department of Defense

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- A network of land-, air-, sea- and spaced-based sensors confirms that the U.S. military intercepted a non-functioning National Reconnaissance Office satellite which was in its final orbits before entering the earth's atmosphere.

At approximately 10:26 p.m. EST, Feb. 20, a U.S. Navy AEGIS warship, USS Lake Erie (CG-70), fired a single modified tactical Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) hitting the satellite approximately 133 nautical miles over the Pacific Ocean as it traveled in space at more than 17,000 mph. USS Decatur (DDG-73) and USS Russell (DDG-59) were also part of the task force.

The objective was to rupture the fuel tank to dissipate the approximately 1,000 pounds of hydrazine, a hazardous fuel which could be harmful, before it entered into earth's atmosphere. Confirmation that the fuel tank has been fragmented should be available within 24 hours.

Due to the relatively low altitude of the satellite at the time of the engagement, debris will begin to re-enter the earth's atmosphere immediately. Nearly all of the debris will burn up on reentry within 24-48 hours and the remaining debris should re-enter within 40 days.

http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=35114

DoD will conduct a press briefing at 7 a.m. EST to provide further information related to the operation. The briefing can be viewed live on www.Defenselink.com through the Pentagon Channel.

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Here's an archive picture of a USA 193 pass over Cospar 4353, shot on April 3 2007
http://sattrackcam.blogspot.com/2008/01/usa-193-imminent-decay-in-news.html

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The following appears to be the NOTAM for the operation to destroy USA 193 using
a missile:


PHZH HONOLULU CONTROL FACILITY

02/062 (A0038/08) - AIRSPACE CARF NR. 90 ON EVELYN STATIONARY RESERVATION WITHIN
AN AREA BNDD BY 3145N 17012W 2824N 16642W 2352N 16317W 1909N 16129W 1241N 16129W
1239N 16532W 1842N 17057W 2031N 17230W 2703N 17206W SFC-UNL. 21 FEB 02:30 2008
UNTIL 21 FEB 05:00 2008. CREATED: 18 FEB 12:51 2008

I have made the following plot, which shows that USA 193 will pass through the
restricted zone on 2008 Feb 21, near 03:30 UTC (Feb 20, 10:30 PM EST):


http://satobs.org/seesat_ref/06057A/USA_193_NOTAM_unverified.pdf

Ted Molczan
http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Feb-2008/0337.html

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I find it quaint, the notion that the real reason they have to shoot the satellite down is because it has a tank of hydrazine onboard. Meanwhile, the Russians have let *freaking nuclear reactors* reenter our atmosphere. It's pretty transparent that they're A) trying to upstage the Chinese, and B) prevent any tech from making it into the hands of hostile parties.
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/02/19/018224&from=rss

RIM-161 SM-3 (AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense)

The USS Lake Erie, USS Decatur and USS Russell — were outfitted with modified Aegis anti-missile systems and three SM-3 missiles were pulled off an assembly line and given the BMD Kill Vehicle.

Configuration
The Aegis BMDS builds upon the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization/Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (SDIO/ BMDO) investment in Lightweight ExoAtmospheric Projectile (LEAP) technology and the Navy’s Aegis weapon system including Standard Missile and MK41 Vertical Launching System currently deployed on many U.S. Navy and international surface combatants.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/sm3.htm

Hydrazine

Material Safety Data Sheet for Hydrazine http://www.sciencelab.com/xMSDS-Hydrazine-9924279
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The hydrazine has a low boiling point (114C). The high temperatures from the satellite rentry would have boiled the hydrazine and caused fuel tank rupture LONG before the satellite hit the ground.

The reasons the military shot this down are simple:

#1: To remind China we can do it, and we're so sure we can do it we have no problems being put on the spot about doing it.
#2: This was a spy satellite, as such it has a lot of very secret very advanced tech, which since it *IS* a spy satellite often flies over land we don't control. The military did not want anything to be recovered by another country. The US has recovered satellites from the former Soviet Union, so we know how much can survive.
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I have been told by a satellite guy that the hydrazine has to last for the entire duration of the satellite's mission, and so the tank is extremely well insulated. It may survive re-entry with at least some content.
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http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=461598&cid=22501652

Want to see a photo of a far smaller hydrazine tank, and some other unidentified tanks, AFTER they landed in Florida?
http://www.io.com/~o_m/clfaq/s3.htm

Satellite debris lights up the Sky

About three dozen skywatchers in western Canada went out to see Wednesday night's total lunar eclipse and got a surprise bonus: the fireworks show created by the Pentagon’s shootdown of a falling spy satellite.
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/02/21/688746.aspx

VIDEO of satellite debris

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23276927#23276927