WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- The attempt by the U.S. Navy to use an anti-missile missile to shoot down a potentially hazardous satellite will cost between $ 40 million and $ 60 million , Pentagon officials told CNN on Friday . A missile is launched from the Navy guided missile cruiser USS Shiloh during a 2006 test . The missile alone costs almost $ 10 million , Lt. Gen. Carter Ham said at a Pentagon briefing . He declined to give an overall cost estimate . `` I think we 're working with all the parties to [ find ] how much did it cost to modify the missiles , the fire control , that kind of business , '' he said . Pentagon officials argue the effort is worth the expense because of the slim -- but real -- chance that the satellite 's unused fuel , 1,000 pounds of toxic hydrazine , could land in a populated area . Because the super-secret spy satellite malfunctioned immediately after launch in December 2006 , its fuel tank is full , and it would probably survive re-entry and disperse harmful , even potentially deadly fumes over an area the size of two football fields . The missile will carry no warhead ; the objective is to break the satellite apart through the force of impact alone , defense officials said . Learn more about the mission » . One Pentagon official -- who spoke on condition of anonymity because the planning for the operation remains classified -- told CNN that since early January , a Navy team , including 200 industry experts and scientists , has been working furiously to modify its sea-based Aegis missile defense system so it can shoot down a satellite in low orbit . Among the challenges is modifying sensors designed to detect the heat from an incoming warhead so they can spot the much-cooler satellite , which has no heat source and is warmed only by the sun 's rays . In addition , the official says , a floating X-band radar has to be modified to track the satellite 's trajectory , and the `` fire-control '' systems on the Navy ships also needed modification . No attempt will be made to shoot down the satellite until after the U.S. space shuttle lands next Wednesday . `` The window will open when the shuttle is on the ground , '' Ham said . Pentagon officials say three missiles have been modified for the mission , so in theory , the Navy may get three shots at the satellite , although only one at a time . `` They want the period of a day or two to assess the effect of the first missile ... to probably get an orbit or two , to get an understanding of what effect the first intercept had on the satellite before launching another interceptor , '' Ham said . The Aegis cruiser USS Lake Erie was chosen for the mission . It 's fully equipped with sea-based missile defense systems , has long been the Navy 's primary ship for the sea-based missile defense program and has the technology needed for the operation , officials said . It will be accompanied by two destroyers -- - the USS Decatur and the USS Russell -- at an undisclosed location in the Pacific Ocean north of the equator . The Decatur will feed trajectory information to the Erie , and the Russell will back up the Decatur . Defense officials say the ships ' radars and software were modified to track targets much faster than the ballistic missiles they were designed to track . A host of ground-based radars , telescopes and sea-based radars will help determine if the satellite was hit . The Air Force also will have a plane in the air that can detect the release of hydrazine gas . The USNS Observation Island , a ship that uses telemetry to monitor objects in space , will collect information on the satellite both before and after the missile launch . The Navy will use its $ 9.5 million Standard Missile 3 in the shoot-down . The combined speed of the missile and satellite at impact is expected to be about 22,000 miles per hour . The government started thinking about how to approach the satellite problem in December . And on January 4 , President Bush and various senior officials agreed to begin planning for the shoot-down . On Tuesday , the president approved the plan . E-mail to a friend . CNN 's Mike Mount contributed to this report .
Navy to shoot down a potentially hazardous satellite with anti-missile missile . Pentagon official : The missile alone costs almost $ 10 million . Comment: Fuel tank likely to survive re-entry and disperse harmful , potentially deadly fumes .