page_title: Operation Burnt Frost
section_title: Operation Burnt Frost Timeline
hierarchical_section_title: Operation Burnt Frost / Operation Burnt Frost Timeline
caption_attribution_description: SM-3 just after launch to destroy the NRO-L 21 satellite
context_page_description: Operation Burnt Frost was a military operation to intercept and destroy a non-functioning U.S. National Reconnaissance Office satellite named USA-193. The launch occurred on 20 February 2008 at approximately 10:26 p.m. EST from the USS Lake Erie, which used a Standard Missile-3 to shoot down the satellite. Only a few minutes after launch, the SM-3 intercepted its target and successfully completed its mission, by neutralizing the potential dangers the errant satellite originally posed. While the threat was mitigated, Operation Burnt Frost has received much scrutiny from other countries, mainly China and Russia.
context_section_description: From inception to the successful interception of the satellite, the timeline spanned only a matter of months. 
  Discussions around the possibility of destroying USA-193 began as early as December 2007. However, Operation Burnt Frost started on 4 January 2008, when President Bush ordered the military to destroy the satellite.
  On 27 January 2008, information about the orbital decay of USA-193 was given to the media. Several of the initial reports projected that the satellite would return to earth sometime in late February, early March. Additionally, these reports suggested that likely no action would need to be taken as the satellite or any debris would have a small chance of hitting any inhabited area. However, White House National Security Council spokesmen Gordon Johndroe, did mention that the U.S. government was monitoring the satellite's decay and that it was examining different options to “mitigate any damage”. Also, four anonymous U.S. Officials did report that the satellite, which never became operational, would have toxic rocket fuel (hydrazine fuel) that could pose a danger if the tank did not explode on re-entry.
  On 14 February 2008 General James Cartwright, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made a public announcement that the U.S. intended to shoot down USA-193. In this announcement he laid out several criteria into when, how and why the satellite would be shot down. The major objective was to reduce the risk to space, air and terrestrial platforms. He explained that they would wait for the shuttle to land, so the potential harm to the shuttle would not be a factor. Next they wanted to wait until the satellite was close to re-entry, this would limit the amount of space debris created. Finally, they did not want to let the satellite enter the earth's atmosphere because of its non-aerodynamic characteristics, which would make it extremely hard to intercept. He suggested that these criteria gave them an eight-day window.
  To meet the flexibility of this operation the government established that the U.S. Navy and the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) would be the best option. It had the ability to be a mobile asset and by utilizing the SM-3 (Standard Missile 3) it would have the ability to reach the necessary altitude. In addition the choice to use Aegis BMD was in large part due to its successful track record in which it has successfully shot down 13 of 15 attempts at ballistic missiles.
  General Cartwright stated that if the satellite came down in one piece that nearly one half of the spacecraft would survive re-entry, which would spread the toxic cloud of hydrazine gas roughly over the size of two football fields.
  This potential risk seemed high enough to prompt the government and military to act as he stated “the regret factor of acting clearly outweighed the regret factor of not acting".
  Days prior to the launch the USS Lake Erie (primary) and USS Decatur (backup) sailed several hundred miles northwest of Hawaii to her rendezvous point. The USS Lake Erie was chosen because she was the U.S. Navy's most experienced ballistic missile killer. The USS Russell was also a backup but remained in port at Pearl Harbor.
  On 20 February 2008, at 1:00 p.m. EST Secretary of Defense Gates, with consultation of the White House, approved the mission. The launch happened at 10:26 p.m. EST and the collision with the satellite happened a few minutes later.
  On 25 February 2008, the Department of Defense announced that based on debris analysis, that the objective of destroying the hydrazine tank and reduction, if not elimination, of the risk to people on Earth was achieved.
caption: Launch of the SM-3 missile that intercepted USA-193 on 20 February 2008
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