WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S.
Defense Department is planning to shoot down a broken spy satellite expected to
hit the Earth in early March, the Associated Press has learned.
U.S. officials said
Thursday that the option preferred by the Bush administration will be to fire a
missile from a U.S. Navy cruiser, and shoot down the satellite before it enters
Earth's atmosphere.
The officials spoke on
condition of anonymity because the options will not be publicly discussed until
a Pentagon briefing later Thursday.
The
dead satellite is in a deteriorating orbit and is expected to hit the Earth the
first week of March. Officials said the Navy would likely shoot down the satellite
before then using a special missile modified for the task.
Other details about the
missile and the targeting were not available. But the decision involves several
U.S. agencies, including the National Security Agency, the Department of
Homeland Defense and the State Department.
Shooting down a satellite
is particularly sensitive because of the controversy surrounding China's anti-satellite
test last year, when Beijing shot down one of its defunct weather satellites,
drawing immediate criticism from the U.S. and other countries.
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