WASHINGTON
(AP) — The Pentagon said Monday it has a "high degree of confidence"
that the missile fired at a dead U.S. spy satellite in space destroyed the
satellite's fuel tank as planned.
In its most
definitive statement yet on the outcome of last Wednesday's shootdown over the
Pacific, the Pentagon said that based on debris analysis it is clear that the
Navy missile destroyed the fuel tank, "reducing, if not eliminating, the
risk to people on Earth from the hazardous chemical."
The tank
had 1,000 pounds of hydrazine, a toxic substance that U.S. government officials believed posed a potential health hazard to humans if the
satellite had descended to Earth on its own.
The
presence of the hydrazine was cited by U.S. officials as the main reason to
shoot down the satellite — described as the size of a school bus — which would
otherwise have fallen out of orbit on its own in early March. The satellite
lost power shortly after reaching its initial orbit in December 2006.
Pentagon
officials had said almost immediately after the shootdown by a missile fired
from the USS Lake Erie that it appeared the tank had been hit squarely, but
they carried out further analysis before reaching a final conclusion.
As of
Monday there had been no reports of debris landing on Earth, and it is unlikely
any will remain intact to impact the ground, the Pentagon statement said.
"By
all accounts this was a successful mission," Gen. James Cartwright, vice
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in the Pentagon statement Monday. "From
the debris analysis, we have a high degree of confidence the satellite's fuel
tank was destroyed and the hydrazine has been dissipated."
The
Pentagon statement said a space operations center at Vandenberg Air Force Base,
Calif., is tracking fewer than 3,000 pieces of satellite debris, all smaller
than a football.
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