By Xinhua
Geneva : The United States said on Friday that it would compensate countries whose territory might be hit by debris of an inoperable U.S. spy satellite that the Pentagon plans to shoot down.
Christina Rocca, U.S. ambassador for disarmament affairs, said the United States had recently modified three SM-3 missiles and three U.S. Navy ships to try to shoot down the satellite, which is currently in a decaying orbit.
Whether the effort succeeds or fails, the United States is prepared to offer assistance to countries to mitigate the consequences of any satellite debris impacts on their territory, Rocca told the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament.
She added that if the action fails, the satellite is expected to make an uncontrolled re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere on or about March 6 in any region on the Earth’s surface between 58.5 degrees North and 58.5 degrees South latitudes.
In that event, the United States is examining options for consequence management to mitigate the hazards that could be created if a fully fueled hydrazine tank were to land in an inhabited area, she said.