Weather Thwarts High-Tech Satellite Shoot Down

Feb. 20, 2008 — -- The Navy is confident that its high-tech missile cannot only intercept a rogue satellite hurtling at a startling 22,000 mph, but that it can strike the bus-size satellite right in its gas tank.

That is, if the weather clears up.

Initially, officials said that stormy seas in Pacific could cause a delay in shooting down a crippled spy satellite. But a defense official told ABC News Wednesday that because of "improving" weather, "things are looking better."

Two cruisers are waiting to launch a satellite-bound missile off the coast of Hawaii.

But the weather improvement doesn't mean the missile will definitely be launched tonight, according to the official. Another change in the weather could affect whether to proceed with a launch at any point.

The shoot down, which is likely to happen before Feb. 29, will have a narrow window of opportunity each day in Hawaii -- literally a matter of seconds.

The Aegis cruiser USS Lake Erie is already in the Pacific Ocean, hundreds of miles west of the Hawaiian Islands. As the primary ship in the mission, it is carrying two SM3 missiles with specially modified tracking systems to hit the satellite 120 miles above Earth. The destroyer USS Decatur is en route to join the Lake Erie with another backup missile. The USS Russell will remain in its home port of Pearl Harbor to assist with tracking.

The missile is now being tracked by the Joint Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Once the satellite is hit, Northern Command in Colorado will track the debris in an attempt to determine how big the pieces are and where they will land. The military will also be looking to see whether the fuel tank has been destroyed.

The satellite is considered a cold target, and technicians will have to rely on the sun's energy to heat the satellite just enough to produce a heat signature that the missile's infrared heat sensors can easily target. The tip of the interceptor nose cone also carries optical equipment that helps it lock onto the target.

The satellite will travel at a much faster rate of speed than any of the missiles intercepted in past years of testing. Nevertheless, the Navy believes the missile can be maneuvered to hit the satellite precisely on its sphere-size tank carrying the toxic fuel hydrazine.

The Pentagon won't provide advance warning of the shoot-down attempt, but within an hour of an interception the Department of Defense will issue a statement announcing the launch, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said Tuesday.