Navy Missile Takes Out Falling Satellite
The video showed the three-stage SM-3 missile launching from the USS Lake Erie at 10:26 p.m. EST, northwest of Hawaii, and of the missile’s small “kill vehicle” — a non-explosive device at the tip — maneuvering into the path of the satellite and colliding spectacularly.
He said the satellite and the kill vehicle collided at a combined speed of 22,000 mph about 130 miles above Earth’s surface, and that the collision was confirmed at a space operations center at 10:50 p.m. EST.
Asked about the satisfaction felt among those in the military who had organized the shootdown on short notice by modifying missile software and other components, Cartwright smiled widely.
“Yes, this was uncharted territory. The technical degree of difficulty was significant here,” Cartwright said. “You can imagine that at the point of intercept there were a few cheers that went up.”
Okay, back to my New York Times sleaze-journalism headache. :sigh:
UPDATE: Better video.
raz0r says:
Now that is shootin’ skeet.