THE US navy will reportedly attempt to shoot down on Thursday (Friday AEDT) a free-falling hazardous spy satellite that threatens to hit Australia.
Australia and a handful of other nations have been alerted by the US to be on standby for falling debris from the highly classified satellite, because there is a minute possibility of the strike misfiring and debris falling on land rather than water.
A ships missile will be aimed at trying to knock the falling satellite into the sea and a second attempt would be possible if the first misses, CNN reported citing military sources.
Pentagon officialss were not immediately available for confirmation.
Without intervention, the crippled satellite is due to break into the Earth's atmosphere on March 6 and crash down at an unpredictable spot, risking rupturing its tanks of toxic fuel, US authorities warned last week.
The shoot-down plan drew criticism on Sunday from Russia, whose defence ministry said it looked like a veiled weapons test and an ``attempt to move the arms race into space.''
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