The USS Lake Erie warship fired a single missile to intercept the USA 193 satellite.

A US Navy warship missile has hit the out-of-control satellite heading for Earth, the US Department of Defense confirmed Wednesday. It is not yet known whether its hazardous fuel tank has been destroyed.

According to DoD, the missile hit the USA 193 satellite at approximately 247km (133 nautical miles) over the Pacific Ocean as it travelled in space at more than 17,000 mph.

President Bush ordered the dead satellite, which is the size of a small bus, to be shot down as its engine contains around 453 kg of toxic hydrazine. The fuel is hazardous to humans, and can cause coughing, irritated throat and lungs, convulsions, seizures, and long-term exposure can damage the liver, kidney and reproductive organs.

If left to descend to Earth, it is predicated half of the satellite would survive its descent through the atmosphere.

Due to the relatively low altitude of the satellite at the time of the engagement, debris will begin to re-enter the earth’s atmosphere on impact, DoD said. Nearly all of the debris is expected to burn up on re-entry within 24-48 hours, and the remaining debris should re-enter within 40 days.  

A statement released by DoD said: “At approximately 10:26 p.m. EST today, a U.S. Navy AEGIS warship, the USS Lake Erie (CG-70), fired a single modified tactical Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) hitting the satellite approximately 247 kilometers (133 nautical miles) over the Pacific Ocean as it travelled in space at more than 17,000 mph. USS Decatur (DDG-73) and USS Russell (DDG-59) were also part of the task force.”

DoD will confirm today whether the fuel tank has been fragmented.

By Natasha Piscitelli