Cool but hypocritical. After excoriating China for doing similar we are going to, let's not mince words here, "do a live test of an anti-ballistic / anti-satellite defense system."

So much for non-proliferation.

Oh and BTW, the cover story of Hydrazine being used as a propellant and it being deadly has, I think, only marginal merit.

Looking at my "DoD drill depth chart", I mean the NASA safety booklet for White Sands Missile Range; it states that Hydrazines are toxic and a suspected carcinogen. Further they degrade at atmospheric pressure with no residual toxic hazards. While hypergolic oxidizers (Nitrogen Tetroxide) also degrade at atmospheric pressures.

I guess the party line is that these are deadly because of the side effects -- combustion and the possibility of asphyxiation if the cloud of either is big enough.

Interestingly, if smell Hydrazine (smells like rotten fish) you have already been exposed to 100-150 times the minimum exposure limit. At least for Nitrogen Tetroxide you smell it (like chlorine) at 1/5 of the minimum exposure limit in parts per million.

Let's be real here, they are gonna try to blow the sucker up so that the bad guys (or e-bayers) don't get their hands on sensitive materials.

Iwan - i have to admit the whole Hydrazine thing seemed like of ridiculous to me.....good points, dude.