Defunct Spy Satellite Falling From Orbit

...And now, on to the next crisis...waiting for debris!
Hopefully, it lands where it should, and everything is okay.

Nice shooting.

Wonder what the next target will be.

Calv.

reply to post by V Kaminski


I'm in southern oregon and viewed it facing eastward towards the eclipse, the bright star just above the moon creating the triangle...go straight up to a pair of italic spaced bright stars. Sorry, clueless to space stuff.

Anyway, it traveled from southern direction upward arcing over that pair of stars. It dropped a green piece early on, so I'm wondering if that was parts burning off or perhaps the first failed launch? so, it continued along it's arc and then suddenly it changed color and then turned the color of fire and fizzled downward in a wobbling pattern to nothingness. Oh, I should mention that it resembled exactly a star in apparent size and coloring beforehand.

If any of this is legible then I'm glad, i just happen to have already seen the better part of a bottle this evening....

So if this thing had plutonium onboard is that now getting showered around the globe?

Should be able to get an idea of what will hit in the next hour and a half if they merely winged it. Two orbits seems to be the guess as to how long whatever might possiby still be there will be visible.

If they really pulverized it? Let's hope they did and with as small an ellipsoid of debris as possible. If any bits were "knocked" up 60 or so miles? Hmmm. Don't know. Voodoo physics ain't my thing.

They didn't "have" to shoot it. If there's radioactive material on it? It will be detectable in air sampling. Who does that? OMG. They killed Hoaglund's astronaut. We'll never hear the end of it. LOL.

We should hear international reaction very shortly. Russia and China will not be amused... I'd shoot something down just to PO the POTUSA and I'd give Iran cart blanche at some arms fair or something. The Chinese will be compelled to react by demonstration.

New overt arms race time perhaps. Stupid Cowboy Americans, they knew it worked, so did everyone else. Why now? Hydrazine? BS. It wasn't really even a test but more a demonstration... a message. Tidings of great joy.

Now I wonder what bits will fall where if any. Hopefully in the drink. maybe not. I bet there's a few ships out and about. OMG. Don't shoot Bush, then the boss will be pissed and we'd be up a creek without a shotgun. This is his work; Cheney. This is his MO. Punk with a chip on his shoulder and flaccidity troubles from Wyoming. I'm a bit miffed with these particular American AH's. I bet they don't leave office... and this was a first step in that direction maybe.

I wonder if the spacejunk guys at NORAD or Space Command will have a busy day or so.

I can't wait to see video of the hit and what actually happened and what will happen.

Vic

[edit on 20-2-2008 by V Kaminski]

I sure hope it was the right satelite. If it was the fox satelite we are in trouble. That stuff is way more toxic!

Anybody else find it odd that they chose to shoot the satellite down when every amateur astronomer and piece of equipment/telescope had their eyes trained on the lunar eclipse?
.

reply to post by LockwithnoKey



Awesome! Thanks for the description. Oregon over you. They shot it over the USA. You were looking East. yeah, they shot it over the USA. So it would have crossed Alberta and Saskatchewan... I wonder what altitude... some international legal-eagle crap. UN stuff. US already owns that biatch and the US is the same to a ME state.

Green. Hmmm. Thanks much... geez they'll be video for sure. It'll start raining heavy somewhere maybe.

Vic


[edit on 20-2-2008 by V Kaminski]

reply to post by Gools


Or that they tried to play the deke with the weather... I, no matter. Or a bunch of seemingly unrelated orchestration to what ends domestic and export? Glad I live in Canada.

Vic

reply to post by Gools



I think they chose to shoot it down "while" we were all watching because the military is way better at pr than NASA is. Helps recruitment, budget hearings, foreign intimidations I mean relations, etc.

Also, Hey Vic....can't you just hear the people at NASA screaming into their cold coffee that "sure the military shoots something down and it's headline news...we moved an asteroid and we aren't even allowed to tell anyone about it aaarrrghhhh."

And the Fox news satellite by accident...way more toxic...yep...that was just plain beer spittin funny!

Peace.

Originally posted by DancedWithWolves
I think they chose to shoot it down "while" we were all watching because the military is way better at pr than NASA is. Helps recruitment, budget hearings, foreign intimidations I mean relations, etc.

But that's my point.
Everybody was watching the eclipse not the satellite.

They picked the one night over the next month that people would not be looking for that sucker.

Coincidence?
.

Um, hey gang, it's still being tracked at n2yo and "elsewhere". Wink. DWW, you rock.

Vic

EDIT: The velocity and altitude are pretty close to what it was before... comin' up on Aus.

[edit on 20-2-2008 by V Kaminski]

Originally posted by Gools
Anybody else find it odd that they chose to shoot the satellite down when every amateur astronomer and piece of equipment/telescope had their eyes trained on the lunar eclipse?

.

no.... that's how magicians perform their tricks, divert everyones eyes & attention to something else.


what i find odd is that the 'Navy' was given the task of satellite intercept
from one of their Aegis Cruiser ships, launching a SM-3 missile...

i believe the 'AirForce' did the launch...
so this tells us, or infers, that there is no seperate/independent missile defense squad,
the U.S. missile shield is centered on the Navy Department.
at least for shooting down our own defunct spy satellites- or even enemy satellites, in the future -

reply to post by Gools


Consider this then. Trained observers were watching the eclipse... just in case we miss(ed) still uncertain. The General Public was looking at the sky...not American Idol.....and feeling Horton Hears A Who small and helpless in big old space...and enter White Horse to save us. Ask NASA how hard it is to get any "ratings" on anything above sitcom level. "We" were already looking up focused on the night sky thanking our hero for keeping it so very, very peaceful. Just a thought. The "We" didn't need to see it hit...just know that it did on a nite when we were focused on the heavens above. Brand marketing campaign and a fine job it was. Then again...

Peace.

cnn is going to cover this story next... (now)

Originally posted by DancedWithWolves
"We" were already looking up focused on the night sky thanking our hero for keeping it so very, very peaceful. Just a thought. The "We" didn't need to see it hit...just know that it did on a nite when we were focused on the heavens above.

Ahhh... now I see your point.

Makes sense.
Well done!
.

It hasn't slowed much if any, it was 153 miles altitude over the equator headed generally just North of HI... hmmm.

This site "says" they don't track debris. Two orbits I'll have a solution for the 400,000ft entry interface. Uh, I think think they might want to shoot it again just to make sure. LOL. It'll be over North America shortly maybe 20 minutes-ish. It'd be interesting to see if the moon occults it and makes whatever more visible.

Vic

reply to post by St Udio


What makes you think USAF? The THAAD system which could have done it is not operational and where it is based currently would not have allowed the itnercept I think. The ASAT system is perhaps operational but it was only used once or twice before put into storage.

The interceptors at Ft. Greely may have been able to do, but the Navy had a system with high reliability in an advantegous position. Why would they coverup who hit it?

reply to post by V Kaminski


Vic, I seem to have my directions confused. Not only are you still seeing this thing being tracked.....LockwithnoKey reported (great report by the way) seeing a "hit" towards the moon east of Oregon...not over the Pacific as is being reported by network media?

Scratches head...

reply to post by DancedWithWolves


At the time the Oregon sighting was reported that was "about" where it should have been... n2yo was down and I only have email with some buds in Novosibirsk. If he was looking East and saw what he saw? It would seem that the strike "was up the exhasut pipe" or from behind. Listen I need another orbit to confirm but based on my earlier calculations and the current data... instead of the 27th of Feb I now get something about 18 hours or so earlier.

If they hit it they didn't really take any energy out of it. Maybe blew through or just winged it or maybe plain missed. It's unclear why the orbit has changed so little.

Vic

[edit on 20-2-2008 by V Kaminski]