USS Lake Erie – MARK INDIA

BySteeljawscribe

 

At the end of a very long day/night for YHS (that has stretched into the bright new dawn…):

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 20, 2008 – A network of land-, air-, sea- and spaced-based sensors confirms that the U.S. military intercepted a non-functioning National Reconnaissance Office satellite which was in its final orbits before entering the earth’s atmosphere.

At approximately 10:26 p.m. EST today, a U.S. Navy AEGIS warship, the USS Lake Erie (CG-70), fired a single modified tactical Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) hitting the satellite approximately 247 kilometers (133 nautical miles) over the Pacific Ocean as it traveled in space at more than 17,000 mph. USS Decatur (DDG-73) and USS Russell (DDG-59) were also part of the task force.

The objective was to rupture the fuel tank to dissipate the approximately 1,000 pounds (453 kg) of hydrazine, a hazardous fuel which could pose a danger to people on earth, before it entered into earth’s atmosphere. Confirmation that the fuel tank has been fragmented should be available within 24 hours.

Due to the relatively low altitude of the satellite at the time of the engagement, debris will begin to re-enter the earth’s atmosphere immediately. Nearly all of the debris will burn up on reentry within 24-48 hours and the remaining debris should re-enter within 40 days.

Bravo Zulu to Lake Erie, Decatur, Russell and the legion of operators, engineers and rocket scientists afloat and ashore who have been crunching on this project since before Christmas.  You made history today (OK, last night)…

Similar Posts

Wednesday’s Roll-up of Missile Defense News

BySteeljawscribe

Two items of note for today’s summary — France may be seriously studying missile defense and Russia’s at it again (re. European Phase Adaptive Approach – PAA). Parlez-vous la Défense de Missile Balistique ? A recent 65-page study on BMD, written by three members of Parliament at a think tank linked to the National Assembly…

Missile Defense 101 – ICBM Fundamentals

BySteeljawscribe

  In order to accurately discuss ballistic missile defense we need to ensure a common base understanding of the fundamentals – the physics, technology and classification of ballistics missiles and their flight regime. Definition – Ballistic Missile: A missile that is guided (powered) in the ascent portion of a high arch-trajectory and freely falling in…

| | |

DPRK and Long Range Missiles: Here We Go Again

BySteeljawscribe

Looks like the missiles of spring are coming back for return engagement this summer: SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea may this month test a missile designed to fly as far as U.S. territory and may also be gearing up for skirmishes with the South around their disputed sea border, South Korean media reported on Monday….

|

India Presses Homegrown Missile Defense

BySteeljawscribe

So your one neighbor, Pakistan, possesses nuclear weapons and is working assiduously on short- and medium-range missiles, no doubt with nuclear delivery in mind as part of a deterrent package against your own nuclear forces.  China, with whom you share a fairly long (and disputed) border has also been engaged in building a modern force of short-…

9 Comments

  1. Somehow I get the feeling you were intimately involved in this event, SJS. And you may well have run into my SN2 in the very recent past, as well.

    BZ.

  2. 🙂 I knew you’d catch the jab sooner or later…

    And, as we would more appropriately say from the surface bound realm “SPLASH ONE!”

    In true context, “Mark India” merely being a relatively timed event…not indicative of success or failure, just when the TOF should put the weapon at the intercept point.

  3. Well done SJS, thank you for the hours and sweat.

    You make sure all those good folks you work with understand they have made their country very proud today, and we thank them very much for it.

  5. Just got back in my stateroom from watching LAKE ERIE return from sea and have two things to say:

    First, on behalf of the Captain and crew of RUSSELL, thanks for the props.

    And second, if our paths ever cross, SJS, I bet we can share some stories.

    Chris

  6. Chris:
    As small as the community is, am sure our paths will cross, esp. if you happen out Dahlgren or DC-way sometime soon. 🙂

    BTW, BZ to RUSSELL for hosting SECDEF’s visit onbd; having had a few DV parties in my day can well appreciate the effort that went into the preparation and execution on top of all the other taskings going on.
    -SJS

  7. I could offer a few choice comments on DV events, but they’re probably better saved for a more…private…forum. This one was actually a pleasure, though. A well-trained crew with pride in service and a desire to strut their stuff goes a long way towards smoothing the seas.

Comments are closed.