Astronaut not scared of satellite shoot-down

[unhappycamper]

Astronaut not scared of satellite shoot-down
By Liz Austin Peterson - The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Feb 16, 2008 13:08:27 EST

HOUSTON — Military plans to shoot down a damaged U.S. spy satellite carrying toxic fuel will not concern the crew aboard the international space station, commander Peggy Whitson said Saturday.

The military hopes to smash the satellite as soon as next week — just before it enters Earth’s atmosphere — with a single missile fired from a Navy cruiser in the northern Pacific Ocean.

It was unclear how close the satellite will be to the space station when it is shot down. NASA referred questions to the Defense Department, which did not immediately return a message seeking clarification.

Whitson, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and French astronaut Leopold Eyharts will still be in orbit 215 miles above Earth when the satellite is targeted. The satellite will be about 150 miles up when the shot is fired.

Whitson said NASA and the Department of Defense “love the station crew” and would not put them in harm’s way.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/02/ap_spaceshuttle_080216/