The military Thursday was tracking scattered debris from a destroyed U.S. spy satellite in hopes of confirming there were no chunks left that could fall and cause damage on Earth.Using radar, data from sensors and other technology, officials were studying smaller-than-expected pieces of the spacecraft that was hit Wednesday by an interceptor missile launched from a Navy cruiser in the Pacific, said Marine Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The main question was whether the high-speed collision of the missile and satellite had destroyed the satellite's hydrazine fuel tank and vented its toxic gas into space. Officials had said avoiding human exposure to the toxin was the primary reason for destroying the spacecraft, which lost power shortly after it reached orbit in late 2006 and was out of control and slowly descending toward Earth.
Cartwright said officials had a "high degree of confidence" that the tank had been destroyed, but would need a day or two to study debris before knowing for sure. "We have a bunch of techies that are trying to work their way through the data," he told a Pentagon news conference.
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