On 19 Feb 2008 a briefing was held to State leaders on the shoot down  of a United States spy satellite over US territory, written at the For Official Use Only level. Powerpoint presentation by DHS/FEMA. Title “Space Object Rentry State Leadership Briefing DHS/FEMA Region IX.” Forensic analysis of the document meta data, which  has had to remove to protect the source, leads us to say with high confidence that the document is genuine.

The briefing begins by outlining the basic details about the circumstances of the interception, including details about the toxicity of hydrazine, a substance declared by the National Toxicology Program to be “Reasonably Anticipated to be Human Carcinogen”, which would normally be used for manuvering the sattelite in space.

The interception of the satellite is discussed, where it is explained that the goal of the mission is to intercept the satellite with a low altitude missile launch. Based on statements by the Department of Defense, this launch is expected to consist of a United States Navy SM-3 Missile fired from the USS Lake Erie. The document indicates that the Department of Defense, “has a high degree of confidence the engagement will be sucessful”. Should this be the case, the document states that the hydrazine tank will fragment, releasing the hydrazine in space, and that 99% of the debris is expected to fall into Earth’s atmosphere within one week. The footprint of this debris is described within the document as typically being 10 to 25 miles wide and 100 to 1,000 miles long.

The document then discusses the response by federal, state and local officals. Local first responders are expected to take initial actions, should a hazardous situation arise. The document states that response teams are to be ready throughout the country to respond to requests by state and local officals. Should re-entry occur over the United States, state and interagency partners are to be notified using the National Warning System (NAWAS), and that a plan is being developed to notify the public, the media, governors, public security officals, and first responders of the expected time, and location of re-entry.

Download:  fema-sat-shootdown.pdf