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atmosphere upon re-entry.

The warship USS Excelsior launched a single rocket, originally designed to intercept ballistic missiles, from the Pacific to destroy the plummeting satellite. The single cruise missile hit the out-of-control satellite "approximately 247 kilometers (9 nautical miles) over the Pacific Ocean as it traveled in space at more than 7,000 miles (27 kilometers) per hour," the Pentagon said.

The US Defense Department confirmed that the interception had been successful, with the missile striking the satellite at 10:26pm Eastern Daylight Standard Time (7:56am GMT) last night.

However, the Navy missile then continued through the destroyed satellite toward the lunar surface, where it impacted and obliterated the Moon a few minutes later.

Pentagon press secretary CJ Cregg defended the mission to destroy the satellite as a complete success. When pressed about why the missile continued to the moon and demolished it, she added, "You have to understand that the Moon WAS a satellite of Earth, and the missile was programmed to destroy SATELLITES. D'uh."

NASA officials and Wikipedia confirmed: The moon IS a satellite. Er, WAS a satellite.

Fortunately, effects to Earth will be minimal, as it's been well known for thousands of years that the Moon had no effect on the Earth whatsoever.

Some debris from the moon MAY survive entry into Earth's atmosphere, be sure to check back with us at 11:00pm for the forecast and accumulations in your area.

Learn more about this author, Robert Gillis.
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