i never cease to be amazed what technology can do these days!

quote:

A MISSILE launched from an American navy ship has successfully struck a dying US spy satellite passing 210km over the northern Pacific Ocean. "The missile's been launched and (it was) a successful intercept,'' a Pentagon source said. It happened just after 10.30pm (1430 AEDT) today, but full details were not immediately available, another defence official said. The goal in this first-of-its-kind mission was not just to hit the satellite but to obliterate a tank aboard the spacecraft carrying 450kg of a toxic fuel called hydrazine. US officials have said the fuel would pose a potential health hazard to humans if it landed in a populated area. Australia was one of the countires alerted as being potentially at risk. Although the odds of that were small even if the Pentagon had chosen not to try to shoot down the satellite, it was determined that it was worth trying to eliminate even that small chance. Officials said it might take a day or longer to know for sure if the toxic fuel was blown up. Russia and China had expressed concern about the operation. The Russian Defence Ministry said it could be used as cover to test a new space weapon. But Washington insisted the operation was aimed purely at preventing people being harmed by the satellite's fuel load.

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