Satellite debris appears harmless

The military’s analysis of the missile strike on a dead U.S. spy satellite has revealed no sign of danger from debris, including no hazard from the satellite’s fuel tank, a Pentagon spokesman said Friday.

“As we continue to do the post-strike analysis, [it] continues to give us confidence that the hydrazine tank was ruptured. However, the analysis is still ongoing,” spokesman Bryan Whitman said.

U.S. officials have said the main reason they decided to shoot down the satellite was because of the potential health hazard to humans in the event that the fuel tank, carrying 1,000 pounds of toxic hydrazine, landed in a populated area. The satellite lost power shortly after reaching its initial orbit in December 2006, and it was projected to reenter the atmosphere in early March.

On Wednesday night a Navy cruiser in the Pacific launched a missile at the satellite, and military video of the event indicated that it pulverized the spacecraft.

Whitman said analysis has reinforced initial indications that the SM-3 missile hit the fuel tank. But he said officials were not 100% certain.

Whitman said there were no indications of danger posed by falling debris, some of which has already reentered the atmosphere. Gen. James E. Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Thursday that officials had detected no debris larger than a football, and Whitman said that as of Friday that statement remained true.

“There is no change to our belief that most of the debris should reenter within about two weeks,” Whitman said.