미군, 고장난 위성 요격 성공 (E)

미국이 고장난 첩보위성 요격에 성공했습니다. 미 국방부는 미국시간으로 20일 오후 10시30분 SM-3 요격 미사일을 발사했으며, 지상과 해상, 공중 관측을 통해 위성에 명중한 것을 확인했다고 발표했습니다.

미군이 요격에 성공한 첩보위성은 14개월 전에 발사됐지만, 발사 직후부터 지상과의 통신이 끊긴 채 서서히 추락하고 있었습니다. 미군은 위성의 연료탱크에 독성물질 히드라진 4백50 킬로그램이 들어있으며, 지상에 추락할 경우 발생할 인명피해를 막기 위해 요격해야 한다는 입장을 앞서 밝힌 바 있습니다.

국방부는 위성 요격에는 성공했지만, 연료탱크가 완전히 파괴됐는지는 24시간 안에 확

팀 키팅 제독

인할 수 있다고 말했습니다.

국방부에 따르면 대부분의 위성 파편은 이틀 안에 대기권에 진입하면서 불에 타 소멸되며, 나머지 파편들은 40일 안에 대기권에 들어올 것으로 보입니다.

하와이 히컴 공군기지의 팀 키팅 대변인은 파편들의 상황을 면밀히 관찰할 것이라고 말했습니다.

키팅 대변인은 “태평양을 비롯한 여러 지역에 요격 후 남은 파편의 상황을 관찰하고 관리할 팀이 이미 배치돼 있다”면서 “요격의 목적이 히드라진이 들어있는 연료탱크를 파괴하는 것이기 때문에, 연료탱크가 지상에 추락하는 일은 없을 것”이라고 말했습니다.

이 날 위성에 명중한 SM-3 요격미사일은 태평양 해상에 있던 순양함 레이크 에리호에서 발사됐습니다.

SM-3 미사일은 원래 적국의 탄도미사일을 요격하기 위해 개발된 것으로, 이번에는 위성을 맞추기 위해 요격 장치가 일부 수정됐습니다. 해군은 당초 SM-3 미사일 3기를 준비했지만, 처음 발사된 미사일이 3분간 비행한 후 위성에 명중했습니다.

한편 중국과 러시아는 미국의 위성 요격에 대해 우려를 나타냈습니다.

류젠차오 중국 외교부 대변인은 21일 “미국의 행동으로 인해 지구 밖이나 관련국들의 안전에 잠재적 악영향을 불러왔는지 여부를 계속 주의깊게 지켜볼 방침”이라며 “미국은 관련 국가들이 예방 조치를 취할 수 있도록 이 계획의 자료와 필요한 정보를 국제사회에 제공해야 한다”고 말했습니다.

중국 공산당 기관지인 `인민일보'는 미국이 다른 나라의 우주 계획은 비판하면서, 위성 요격을 한 것은 ‘위선적’이라고 주장했습니다.

앞서 중국은 지난해 아무런 예고없이 자국의 위성을 요격했다가 미국과 다른 서방국가들의 비난을 받았었습니다.  당시 미국은 중국이 대 인공위성 무기를 시험했다는 의혹을 제기했었습니다.

러시아 국방부도 미군의 요격에 앞서 발표한 성명에서 “군비경쟁을 우주로까지 확장시키려는 시도”라고 비난한 바 있습니다.

 

Military satellites 'may get stealthy'

By Paul Rincon Science reporter, BBC News The shootdown was described as a 'cover' by Russia's defence ministry The destruction of a rogue spy satellite by the US military has stoked concerns about a new arms race in space. The US has denied Thursday's destruction of the disabled spy satellite US 193 was a response to an anti-satellite test carried out by China last year. The prospect of hostile operations against satellites already influences how military spacecraft are built and operated. Satellites such as Skynet 5, operated by the UK Ministry of Defence, carry technologies designed to resist any interference - attempts to disable or take control of the spacecraft - and any efforts to eavesdrop on sensitive communications. An advanced receive antenna allows the spacecraft to selectively listen to signals and filter out attempts to "jam" it. But the latest actions are certain to influence how countries plan for protecting their intelligence capability in space. Applying armour to spacecraft in order to protect them against a missile is a non-starter. No amount of shielding would be any use against a missile hitting the satellite at a closing velocity of 10km/s (22,000mph). Radar concealment Military space expert Dr Stuart Eves thinks that future spacecraft are likely to incorporate stealth technology in order to better avoid detection. "The threat side of this could be implemented by techniques a bit like those used on aircraft, such as using radar absorbent materials, radar reflective materials, or painting the satellite black," Dr Eves, from Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), told BBC News. Skynet 5 is hardened against "jamming" attempts But the solar panels for powering the satellite would be more difficult to hide from radar. The infra-red signature of a satellite is also hard to conceal. Dr Eves adds: one of the other issues is that the ability to track objects in space from the ground extends down to objects about 10cm in size - that's effectively what you can do with existing radars. one of the ways of being stealthy is to be quite small and hard to see." PalmSat, being built by SSTL and the University of Surrey, is about the size of a small soft drink can and weighs only 1kg. But it is designed to have all the sub-systems associated with a normal satellite. once you get to doing something tolerably useful with something that small - which is what they are planning to do - people aren't necessarily going to know what is up there and what it is doing," said Dr Eves. Redundancy There is a secondary advantage to being stealthy. If a state knows when a foreign reconnaisance satellite is due to fly overhead, it can carry out any sensitive operations it might want to hide from the other side when the spacecraft is on the other side of the Earth. Making satellites stealthier increases the chances of catching the other side in the act. But the need for high quality data places limits on satellite miniaturisation. Other experts say that "redundancy" - which essentially means having a duplicate satellite ready to launch - is the best strategy for protecting intelligence capability in a situation where satellites might be threatened by enemy operations. Meanwhile, the US Air Force (USAF) is working on an intriguing programme: a small experimental satellite concept that would orbit close to a friendly spacecraft, keeping tabs on their surrounding space environment. The Autonomous Nanosatellite Guardian for Evaluating Local Space, or Angels, would be the size of a small suitcase, and during launch would piggyback on the satellite that it is intended to shadow. Demons and angels In orbit, the Angels would detach from the main satellite and fly in formation with them. If anything went wrong with the host - such as the solar panels failing to deploy properly - the Angels could move around to inspect them and diagnose the problem. The XSS-11 navigated around other spacecraft in low-Earth orbit Stuart Eves has coined the term Deployable Monitoring Nano-Satellites (Demons) to describe small satellites which could, for example, sneak up on an enemy reconnaissance satellite to photograph them. But he concedes that formation flying with an enemy satellite would be much harder, as the Demon would have to second-guess its adversary's next move. Nevertheless, the USAF's XSS-11 satellite, launched in 2005, has demonstrated the ability to navigate autonomously around other spacecraft in low-Earth orbit. The 2007 Chinese anti-satellite test and with the American shootdown of USA 193 both provoked criticism from other powers. But there is, ultimately, a strong deterrent for any state planning to obliterate enemy satellites: it could generate enough orbital debris to threaten its own space assets.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7257666.stm