Falling Satellite? Why Should I worry?

The U.S. is planning a counter attack on one of its own. A spy satellite, which was launched in December, 2006, and almost immediately losing power and going out of control, is reported to be falling to Earth , entering our atmosphere sometime in late February or early March. The U.S. military has plans to shoot it down as it enters our atmosphere, hopefully obliterating the 10,000 pound behemoth into a million little pieces. Remember the last scene of "Independence Day"? A zillion little specks of light in the daytime sky. this is their hope, and mine as well.  

The reasoning behind the decision to obliterate it as it enters the atmosphere is two-fold. One, as mentioned in another Gather article, by Dan H.,

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977262292

is that it contains technology that we do not want falling, quite literally, into our enemies' hands.

The other is there is a real likelyhood that this 13 to 16 foot, 10,000 pound object could fall  somewhere on North American soil. The governmenmt states that it is unable to pinpoint the exact locale of impact until the satellite is within 59 miles of re-entry. By the time we have determined the exact touchdown area, it will hit within 30 minutes. A half hour window. Not much time to get to safety, should the gov't. fail.


Should the military be unsuccessful in obliterating te satellite as it hits the atmosphere, three are a few concerns other than the obvious, should it be determined that it will indeed hit dry land.

One, and the most deadly, concern  is debris. While it is safe to say that this five ton machine will break up a great deal on re-entry, but  some of the falling debris could weigh up to a ton or two.  Even a shard of a few inches could be deadly.

Another concern is fuel, specifically, Hydrazine, or rocket fuel. The following statements regarding Hydragine come from the CDC( Centers for Disease Control), where incidentally, I recieved an email notification of the dangers of Hydragine exposure in my weekly CDC newsletter. Why would the CDC be sending out notices of the hazards of exposure, which are potentially deadly, if the threat weren't real?

 Hydrazines are colorless liquids that are used in rocket fuels, chemical manufacturing, and as boiler water treatments. Exposure to hydrazines may cause nervous system effects, as well as liver and kidney damage. Hydrazines have been found in at least 8 of the 1,416 National Priorities List sites identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
 
How can hydrazines affect my health?
 
 Breathing hydrazines for short periods may cause coughing and irritation of the throat and lungs, convulsions, tremors, or seizures. Breathing hydrazines for long periods may cause liver and kidney damage, as well as serious effects on reproductive organs.
 
Eating or drinking small amounts of hydrazines may cause nausea, vomiting, uncontrolled shaking, inflammation of the nerves, drowsiness, or coma.


In closing, be aware that as many as 17,000 man made objects have fallen to Earth over the past fifty years, few causing damage, and even fewer falling on terra firma. Most fall into  the oceans. This has been mere luck. 75% of the earth is covered in water, thus the chances of anything falling from the sky landing on solid ground is 1:4. 

REFERENCES:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/01/29/dead.satellite.ap/index.html?eref=rss_space

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22857051/

http://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/hydrazine/?s_cid=ccu021908_hydrazine_e