KSBY Action News January 28, 2008
U.S. spy satellite drops out of orbit, heads for earth
By Melissa Mecija
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE
A spy satellite launched out of Vandenberg Air Force Base may soon be falling back down to earth.
It's raising eyebrows in the Central Coast and could potentially create security problems for the U.S. government.
The satellite launched out of Vandenberg in December 2006.
The big question is where and exactly when the satellite will fall back down to earth. What goes up, must come down.
That saying is true for this satellite launched on a Delta II rocket about 13 months ago. The Associated Press reports the U.S. spy satellite lost power and can't be controlled.
"The hopes were that this was going to be a more capable, less expensive spy satellite or radar satellite that could see objects through clouds and in the dark," said John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org.
The satellite is falling out of orbit. Space experts say it could re-enter the earth's atmosphere by late next month. Space debris generally falls back down to earth. It usually burns up in the atmosphere or lands in extremely remote locations. But we aren't out of the woods just yet.
"One concern the intelligence community is going to have is that parts of this satellite will fall into the hands of the Russians, or Chinese, or somebody else," Pike said.
For residents on the Central Coast, the idea of falling debris doesn't really bother them.
"The chances of hitting where I am is [null]," said Bob Bunkelman of Orcutt.
"Earth's a big place, a big planet," added Bob Smejkal of Santa Maria. "It would probably burn up before it gets to the ground."
Space experts say those residents are right.
"So pieces are falling down, they're being picked up all around the world and offered for sale. No one has been hurt by a falling satellite fragment in fifty years," said NBC News Space Consultant, Jim Oberg.
For now, it's a watch and wait game to see what, if anything, falls out of the sky.
Action News tried to contact several government agencies locally and in Washington D.C., but they are staying tightlipped. A National Security Council spokesman says they are looking into several options to "mitigate any possible damage."
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