Home pagePress CenterIn the Media James Lewis, director of the CSIS Technology and Public Policy Program, was quoted by the Los Angeles Times, "U.S. Will Try to Shoot Down Spy Satellite Gone Bad."
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James Lewis, director of the CSIS Technology and Public Policy Program, was quoted by the Los Angeles Times, "U.S. Will Try to Shoot Down Spy Satellite Gone Bad."
The Bush administration has decided to try to shoot down a failing 5,000-pound spy satellite, fearing its rocket fuel could turn into a deadly toxic gas if the spacecraft crashed in a populated area, officials said Thursday.
The unusual operation, to be carried out in the next several days, would be the first U.S. attempt to shoot down a satellite since Cold War-era military tests ended in the 1980s.
"It's basically taking technology designed for missile defense and using it to knock out a satellite," said James Lewis, an expert on military technology at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "This is interesting because it's new technology. The first time they tested it was a year ago."
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy issues. Its research is nonpartisan and nonproprietary. CSIS does not take specific policy positions; accordingly, all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in these publications should be understood to be solely those of the authors.
