By Mike Underwood
The Boston Herald
Copyright 2008 Boston Herald Inc.
BOSTON — A Bay State response team is on standby in case debris or toxic fuel from a dying satellite crash-lands in New England.
The Beverly-based Massachusetts Urban Search and Rescue Task Force is on alert in case shrapnel from the bus-sized U.S. spy satellite hits the region when the military shoots it down, possibly today.
But officials stressed it is only a precaution.
“There is no indication that anything will land in Massachusetts or anywhere else on the entire planet. (But) the Urban Search and Rescue Task Force is up and ready,’' said Peter Judge, spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA).
FEMA, in a memo urging first responders to ``be ready,’' stressed its biggest concern is the potential for highly toxic hydrazine to leak from the stricken satellite’s 1,000-pound fuel tank, which is expected to survive re-entry.
“Please keep in mind that the probability that it will fall upon the United States is low, yet we must be ready,’' the memo said.
The satellite, known as US 193, was launched in December 2006 but lost power almost immediately afterward, leaving it uncontrollable. It carries a sophisticated and secret imaging sensor.
Left alone, the satellite could hit Earth during the first week of March. About half of the 5,000-pound spacecraft is expected to survive and could scatter debris over hundreds of miles.
The Pentagon said it plans to shoot the satellite down using a specially adapted missile fired from a Navy vessel in the Pacific.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.