The shoot-down of the failing spy satelite by the US Navy last week was officialy declared a success. The toxic fuel contained by the satelite poses no risk to humans according to the statement released Monday by the Pentagon.

"Officials are confident the missile intercept of a non-functioning national reconnaissance satellite achieved the objective of destroying the hydrazine tank and reducing, if not eliminating, the risk to people on Earth from hazardous chemicals," the statement said.

James Cartwright, vice-chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, declared the shut down a succesful mission “by all accounts”. The spy sateite that was falling from orbit with a tank ful of toxic fuel was shot down Wednesday by the SM-3 missile fired from the warship Lake Erie at 10:26 p.m. New York time.

The Pentagon said Monday, following debris analysis, that it can declare with a "high degree of confidence” that the missile destroyed the satellite's fuel tank as planned therefore "reducing, if not eliminating, the risk to people on Earth from the hazardous chemical."

The missile that hit the failing satellite was a SM-3, which is a rocket designed to knock down incoming missiles, not incoming satellites. The satelite’s tank was carrying 1,000 pounds of hydrazine, which is a highly toxic substance used in rocket fuels and to prepare the gas precursors used in air bags. The fuel aboard the satellite would have posed a potential health hazard to humans if it had landed in a populated area.

The operation began just after the space shuttle Atlantis landed Wednesday in Florida. The best time to attempt the shot was late afternoon local time because at that time the satellite would have had maximum exposure to the sun. The sun would have warmed the satellite enough so the heat-seeking SM-3 to track and destroy it.

China expressed its concerns about the mission arguing that the United States was in fact testing an anti-satellite weapon, amid rising global tensions about the militarization of space.
Washington insisted the move had the sole puprose of preventing harm to people.

Nevertheless, after the missile hit the failing satelite, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said:

"I think the question over whether this (missile defense system) capability works has been settled."