The story

The U.S. military may try within days to shoot down a failed satellite using a missile launched from a Navy ship, officials announced Thursday.

Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon that the window to accomplish the mission could begin in three to four days, and remain open for seven to eight.

While much space trash and debris have safely crashed to Earth after burning up in the atmosphere on re-entry, authorities said what makes this 5,000-pound satellite different is the approximately 1,000 pounds of frozen toxic hydrazine propellant it carries. Read full article »

CNN's Mike Mount and Kate Tobin contributed to this report.

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