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Why is it so expensive to shoot down a satellite?

by Jarrett Martineau | February 21, 2008 at 04:53 pm

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That is one pricey missile.

And that can't be no ordinary spy satellite if it's worth a $30 million expense to take it out of commission.

A missile fired from a Navy warship on Wednesday night shot down a U.S. spy satellite that had been malfunctioning 130 miles above the Earth. The price tag for the endeavor has been pegged at upward of $30 million and even as high as $60 million, depending on the news report. Why did it cost so much money to shoot one missile?
They needed to reprogram the weapons. Once the orders were given on Jan. 4 to destroy the satellite, the Department of Defense had just a few weeks to outfit two Navy cruisers—the USS Lake Erie and USS Decatur—with rejiggered Aegis defense systems and a total of three SM-3 missiles. Only one missile was fired on Wednesday, but the other two had to be ready, in case a second or third attempt was needed. Since each SM-3 missile costs $9.5 million, the tab for the munitions alone adds up to almost $30 million.

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PEP

at 19:58 on February 21st, 2008

Ahhh, high-end technology is expensive? And fielding three ships and adapting three missiles--very expensive? Look at how much was invested in NowPublic (yeaaa!)--just over $10 million for basically a cyber venture. In comparison, does $30 million or even $50 million sound expensive for being able to shoot a falling satellite out of the sky? Nah. :)

Provocative question, though, Thanks!