Feb 19, 2008 7:42 pm US/Eastern
Local Rescue Team Ready For Satellite Emergency
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
As early as this Thursday, a Navy missile will try to shoot down a U.S. spy satellite and its toxic fuel tank as it tumbles toward Earth.
The satellite is expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere some time in the next three weeks.
A military missile will be launched from a Navy ship to bring down the satellite because of the potential danger to people from the rocket fuel it is carrying.
Several rescue teams, including one from Massachusetts, are preparing for the worst case scenario should the fuel tank still make it to earth.
The Massachusetts Urban Search and Rescue Team was put on alert at 6 a.m. Tuesday.
In the event that something happens, a quick response team of about a dozen people will respond immediately, followed by another team of about 80 people.
The team is even preparing a call from the Federal Emergency Management Agency telling the team that one part of the satellite could be a problem if it makes it to earth.
The task force includes 80 members made up of physicians, engineers, firefighters and more. The team is prepared to hit the road within four hours of a call.
The team is equipped with more than 70,000 pounds of equipment that will be packed up and sent with them anywhere they are sent on U.S. soil. It also has hazmat, medical, search and rescue capabilities.
They've all trained using a makeshift disaster scene in their Beverly back yard.
They've been sent to the Katrina aftermath and the Columbia space shuttle disaster in 2003 when that fuel tank did survive re-entry. In that case, they assisted with the recovery efforts from the shuttle and human remains.
The team's coverage area is in the northeast, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico but they won't know where until they're activated.
The satellite is projected to re-enter the earth's atmosphere around March 16.
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