Washington - The Pentagon plans to shoot down a defective spy satellite to prevent it from hitting a populated area on Earth and spreading hydrazine fuel that could be toxic, a defence official said Thursday. General James Cartwright said the Pentagon had lost communications with the satellite, which meant it could no longer give it commands to bring it down safely.
The 1,272-kilogramme satellite will be targetted by a tactical weapon fired from a US Navy ship sometime next month, after the space shuttle Atlantis has safely returned to Earth, Cartwright said in broadcast remarks.
