Is it a bird...Is it a plane??

No it is not a bird or a plane, and thank goodness it is not the sky falling either. Reports have confirmed that a U.S. spy satellite that was orbiting Earth has lost power and has begun to descend into the atmosphere. Where this monster of a satellite will crash has many pondering that same question. The satellite in question is about the size of a small bus and weighs about 20,000 pounds. How much collateral damage can this satellite cause is the question of concern to many individuals, though statistically it has just as much chance of falling harmlessly into the ocean as it does landing in any part of land mass throughout the world. Not many details are being released about the satellite because it is assumed to be an "eye in the sky" type where it's used for spying and reconnaissance among other non-military applications. There are talks that the satellite may contain on board harmful agents that could cause problems. Such is the case as one report claims the satellite might contain beryllium a light weight metal with a high boiling point that if heated could cause harmful effects if breathed by people. But these are speculation's because not much is known about the craft as it is deemed as top secret by the government. Rest assured the appropriate government groups are monitoring the situation very closely and hope to have a possible solution as the satellite begins its fall into the atmosphere.

So what does this mean for us all? Can this cause minor or major damage? The potential is there depending on where it lands. What happens if it hits the U.S.? What kind of harmful effects can we expect from this and what would be the appropriate actions to take for us citizens? But let's not stop the train of thought there. Despite as bad of a scenario this presents there is more bad news. Because this satellite is a spy satellite what does this mean for National Security? We all know there are groups out there to who do not feel all warm and fuzzy for the U.S. But how does this tie in with the satellite you ask? The spy satellite obviously used to gather information around the world, how could lets say a terrorist group use this information? If they were to acquire our spy satellite could they not use it for their own agenda's? Would this satellite dropping into their lap, metaphorically speaking, harm the U.S. far more then it simply dropping into a secured area that we control? It has been noted that U.S. spy satellites when no longer of use are brought in through a controlled reentry and disposed of because of the harmful secrets they could possibly carry. So that leaves us to ponder what could a group who does not favor the U.S. possibly gain from a falling spy satellite. My guess would be technology that they might not presently have, government secrets, access to computer networks via the satellites computer. In theory, speaking as a networking major, if you have a piece of software and/or technology that regularly access a particular network then you gain control over said software then you in turn can use its ability to access said network.

Among the many worries the U.S. government should have, crashing down to the earth should not be the only worry they have, allowing government technology and secrets into the hand's of those not aligned with the U.S. could be devastating for U.S. security and all of it's citizens. Let's hope for the sake of all the U.S. that our government can find a positive solution so that collateral damage and the loss of government secrets does not occur from this unfortunate event.

**Edit**

forgot to show where I read this article about, sorry about that folks~
Article to be found by clicking " Here "