Will destroying the satellite cause us more potential danger?

I definitely feel there is reason to be concerned. If they were 100% sure they could drop this thing into an ocean, and it wouldn't cause a problem (not even a Tsunami!) they would TELL US THAT so we wouldn't worry! What other reason would they have for giving us half of the story! My other concern is WHAT HAPPENS TO THESE MISSILES if they miss their target??? I guess we can expect to see lots of things falling out of the sky. :O(

The worst thing that could happen would be for us to shoot it down to early and it leave debris orbiting in space that could endager future rocket/shuttle missions. Any harm from the fuel will pretty much be taken care of by either the initial explosion or rentry through the atmosphere.

Even if some fuel isn't burnt up, the amount of fuel that there is would be very minor compared to the amount of harmful chemicals we pump into the air every day.

In fact it would not all get burnt up. The tanks that contain the toxic stuff have survived re entry when the space shuttle columbia was destroyed, even pieces of the shuttle itself were recovered. By blowing up the satellite they destroy the fuel tanks which would most likely have the same carbon emissions as a regular shuttle launch since they burn up the fuel while they blast into space. Also do you think the US would be right on it to pick it up if it crashed in North Korea? I doubt the government wants to give anyone the remote chance of using this for political propoganda. Don't worry about if the missile does not hit its target. There are safety measures and fail safes so that they detonate as soon as they pass, they were created and used in desert storm when patriot missiles would miss iraqi skud missiles.

You're somehow under the impression that there's a file cabinet or something full of "secrets" on board the thing?

What if (for instance) it had some sort of avoidance ability, and firing at it would let the rest of the world know that ability existed? That's fanciful - or maybe not - but sometimes ANYTHING you do is a bad idea.

Years ago, Skylab fell to earth; it was HUGE, and it ended up in the Australian outback. The largest piece of it to survive the trip back to earth is on display at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center Museum in Huntsville, Alabama. The current one isn't NEARLY as large as Skylab was.

There was a debate on the radio about this last night... and the conclusion seems to be that this is a weapons test rather than need to destroy the satellite..

Apparently the Chinese tested an Earth to space weapon system last year by blasting one of their older satellites... so obviously the West now needs to try theirs out too.

The US satellite in question is only about the size of a minibus and would most likely burn up in the atmosphere anyway

No the danger is not great, they are going to shoot it down in space and the smaller fragments will burn in our atmosphere, and the fuel from the satellite will burn with it. The fuel isn't going to effect our atmosphere, cause when its blown up the fuel will burn in space, thats what happens in an explosion. The satellite itself doesn't hold any data, it is sent to the ground in the United States, if it held data, who would get it?, and if they could get data from it, why not just repair it.....Come one people

She's talking about a malfunctioned military satellite designated USA 193 that cannot be maneuvered and is destined to re-enter the atmosphere, likely within a couple of weeks. More info, including where it is now, can be found here: http://www.heavens-above.com/usa193.aspx?

I personally don't think it's anything to worry about.

I think it will be fun to see it blown up. Here's hoping for a clear night.

There's probably no fuel in it they are just testing their missiles,it's just a good excuse

Fire up the lasers is what I say.