The Pentagon today announced that a Navy warship has been tasked with shooting down a failing United States spy satellite that, if left alone, was expected to hit Earth within weeks…

The Bush administration has made ballistic missile defense a priority, fielding various interceptors at bases in Alaska and on ships. Although the odds were in favor of the satellite crashing in the ocean and/or losing much of the sensitive equipment during a fiery reentry, the chance to use the ballistic defenses against a real-life target was likely considered too good to pass up...
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