(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-02-21 06:56

WASHINGTON: The US Defense Department said Wednesday that a window of opportunity is now open for it to try to shoot down a failing spy satellite.

A Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) is launched from a guided-missile cruiser in an image courtesy of the US Navy. [Agencies]

The Navy is planning to hit the satellite with a heat-seeking missile as early as this morning, Beijing time.

"We're now into the window," a senior defense official told a news conference minutes after the space shuttle Atlantis landed.

He said it will remain open until Feb 29 or 30 and that the decision to attempt a shot will depend on conditions in the atmosphere, such as sea levels, winds and other variables.

"We're watching weather today," he said. The ground rules of the news conference were that the official could not be quoted by name.

The military will be making decisions each day on whether to proceed with an attempt or not - and criteria could change several times each day, he said.

The opportunity to attempt a shot will be available only seconds each day, the official said.

The attempted shootdown was approved by President George W. Bush out of concern that toxic fuel on board the satellite could crash to Earth, the Defense Department has said.

China and Russia have expressed concern at the planned shootdown, saying it could harm security in outer space.

At the State Department on Tuesday, spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters that the US action is not a weapons test.

Officials will know nearly immediately whether the missile has hit the satellite, but it will take a day or two to know whether the fuel tank has been destroyed, officials said.

The military has readied a three-stage Navy missile, designated the SM-3, which has chalked up a high rate of success in a series of missile defense tests since 2002. In each case it targeted a short- or medium-range ballistic missile, never a satellite.

A hurry-up program to adapt the missile for this anti-satellite mission was completed in a matter of weeks; Navy officials say the changes will be reversed once this satellite is down.

The government issued notices to aviators and mariners to remain clear of a section of the Pacific Ocean beginning at 0330 GMT today, indicating the first window of opportunity to hit the wayward satellite.

Agencies