The Navy Did It

Yesterday, after the shuttle Atlantis had safely landed, the U. S. Navy demonstrated its ability to reach into space as it used a missile to destroy a dead U. S. spy satellite. The missile seems to have scored a direct hit on the satellite's fuel tank-- precisely on target. Tracking the debris, NORAD says it finds nothing bigger than a football left, which means virtually all of it will burn up in the atnospjere before reaching the surface.

Those who insist it's impossible to hit a bullet with a bullet take note. At impact, both the satellite and the missile were traveling several times faster than a bullet fired from a high-powered rifle.

Though the shoot down may be a short term plus for the Bush administration, in the longer term it may well put pressure on the U. S. to seriously address a weapons in space treaty. As reported in this blog, Russia and China are already pushing for a treaty banning weapons in orbit. The Navy did not put a weapon in orbit, but it did show doing so may not be necessary.