NASA: Is Approaching Space Object Artificial?

Originally posted by Rapscallion
Am I missing something here? How can a stage, or booster from a 30 year old mission still be firing to change it's trajectory?

Firing? You mean directional thrusters! If that's the case, thus implying that it is intelligently controlled by ETs, then it seems strange that these advanced ETs millions of years ahead of us would still be using decrepit technology like directional thrusters for changing direction in their mega advanced spacecraft!!

Sheeesh! Some things don't change, do they?!! lol:

So no. This ain't no indication that this is an alien craft!! As I've mentioned earlier, it's a spent rocket booster (Probably Russian or even from a secret U.S. military mission). As to why it's sometimes seen to be minutely 'changing direction', could be the result of space debris hitting it an enormous speeds or due to electromagnetic/gravitational anomalies in some pockets in space. Remember the Pioneer spacecraft? It suffered the same anomalies.

My question on this may seem strange but I will explain. Can anyone tell me how far this item has traveled , since being thrown from the craft it bore into space?
I only ask because I am having a thought. This item has come back into trackable range and seems to have altered its course in the last little while, and I am wondering if changes to its temperature might have caused trapped gasses inside the object to be released, causing the effect of the object appearing to change course. Of course when tracking this sort of apparantly free floating space junk, things like gravity of passed planets and so forth are taken well into account. What might not have been taken into account is the possibility of residue gasses pushing the object from one course to another.

Originally posted by OrionHunterX

So no. This ain't no indication that this is an alien craft!! As I've mentioned earlier, it's a spent rocket booster (Probably Russian or even from a secret U.S. military mission). As to why it's sometimes seen to be minutely 'changing direction', could be the result of space debris hitting it an enormous speeds or due to electromagnetic/gravitational anomalies in some pockets in space. Remember the Pioneer spacecraft? It suffered the same anomalies.

Minutely??

Really??

www.abovetopsecret.com...

The best data site I can find on the object is this which hopefully be updated over the next few weeks.

reply to post by badw0lf

Nothing extraordinary here. That curve is not due to integral propulsion but due to orbital mechanics in the Solar System, taking the Earth, Moon and most importantly the gravitational pull of the Sun into account. This could also be the Helios-1/2 launched in 1974 and 1976 respectively. Though both are non-functional, they are still in heliocentric orbit with Helios 1 in a very unusual orbit. This one could possibly be the Helios 1.

Then as pointed out by the poster above, it could also be the Centaur booster (1974-097C) or space "debris" (1974-097D) which have gone into heliocentric orbits too.

Originally posted by k3rm1t

A recently discovered space object which has shown some unusual behavior is a part of a Russian-made Proton carrier rocket, scientific reports say.

Propeller The object was first discovered on May 16 this year during the Catalina Sky Survey – research aimed at discovering new asteroids orbiting the sun. The parameters of the unknown object’s orbit, labeled 2010 KQ, allowed observers to suggest that was an asteroid, but a short time later astronomers said that it was most likely man-made. They believe that 2010 KQ is a stage of the Russian-made carrier rocket Proton that was used to launch the Luna-23 lunar station in October 1974. The object currently sits in an approximately one-year orbit around the Sun.

From PTR Source
Has a nice video to it as well.


[edit on 30-5-2010 by k3rm1t]

What this report tells me is that, even when they have no clue WTH it is they are talking about, they will talk about it anyway. They don't know what it is. And the fact that they wasted time to identify exactly which piece of space junk they thought it was either means that the whole thing is a lie (as they just pulled a name for the junk out of their butts), or they are wasting lots of time and money figuring out irrelevant facts. If it is ours, then that is what matters most. If they cannot absolutely identify it, any research put towards speculation (which they then present as fact) is superfluous.

The explanation just has too many elements of BS to make me believe that this is anything more than scientists trying to appear smart. They rarely say "We just don't know", and when they do it makes headlines, like it is some big secret that we really don't know much.

Originally posted by bc010101
It is Apollo 19.

Lost due to error during lunar insertion 1975.

Three bodies aboard including the first female in space who is also the first African American in space.

Facts, or be quiet.

I apologise for this in advance mate, I seem to remember you're a Texan, which is almost an uber-American, but...

Originally posted by bigfatfurrytexan


What this report tells me is that, even when they have no clue WTH it is they are talking about, they will talk about it anyway.

Well... that's American's for you!

EDIT: Bloody 'ell! Course you're Texan! It's in your name!

[edit on 31-5-2010 by triplesod]

This reminds me of the other, 'mystery object due to flyby earth'. The 2010 AL30. This object created quite a bit of media attention as nasa say it looked man-made, it flew close by the earth but no pictures had been taken and there are no reports as to what it was. AL30 was quickly forgotten about.

This article certainly says something about NASA's tracking abilities. Was it a quirk that they saw it or is it suggesting there is some system I haven't heard of to detect artificial objects in space?

Odd, i was born in March 1975 (early 1975) when it came "near" earth and now that is coming back, i'm exprecting my daughter to be born.

I think it's a piece of us though.

2010 KQ's spectral characteristics do not match any of the known asteroid types, and the object's absolute magnitude (28.9) suggests it is only a few meters in size.

How could this be a rocket booster if its thought to be only a few meters in size?

Maybe this is the "accention"
.
.
.

reply to post by Visiting ESB


How would an 'earth-orbital' rocket stage move millions of miles out into space, then come back again, make a close pass of the earth, and then turn in the opposite direction (away from the gravitational influence of the earth & sun)? I'm not an astronomer, but this is highly unlikely, to say the least. Reminds me of the 'tether' incident, when UFO's came to look at the abandoned tether, passing both in front and behind it, some were 2 miles across, and NASA reported 'what you are seeing now are ice crystals'.
Right! like we are all that stupid

reply to post by OrionHunterX


I disagree. The 'orbital' plot clearly shows the object passing earth, and it should have left in a more or less straight line, it's new course at a tangent to the sun. Intead of which, it makes a sharp curve in the opposite direction. I would like to know what kind of 'mechanics' would allow this.
Pioneer suffered from Jupiter's magnetic field, which was about 50 times stronger than anticipated, this would produce a potential difference across the craft (much like it does an aircraft, only Earth's mag field is so weak it's not really noticeable)-this would cause all kinds of problems.

[edit on 1-6-2010 by playswithmachines]

Originally posted by Darkwing Nightmare
This article certainly says something about NASA's tracking abilities. Was it a quirk that they saw it or is it suggesting there is some system I haven't heard of to detect artificial objects in space?

It is a system to track potentially hazardous near-earth objects, such as asteroids.

And yes, this means that they can find and track some pretty small stuff if it emits light or IR.

reply to post by ararisq


so i guess no pictures of it yet right?

cmon hubble, get at it!!

in any case, id like a mars attacks scenerio when we do get visited in public.

Originally posted by ararisq

Originally posted by weedwhacker
BUT..."life" and intelligent technologically capable life? Two very different things.
[edit on 30 May 2010 by weedwhacker]

I would ask why? Why are we so special that we are intelligent and technologically capable and yet among all the other trillions of stars no other species has done it? Given our constant wars and hold backs it wouldn't be hard to envision a species that would be ahead of us.

Don't forget that we are not even the only intelligent species to have evolved on our own planet. Neanderthals were a different species to us.

Although, I would like to point out that you should realise that our constant wars are actually why we are as technologically advanced as we are today and that they have done quite the opposite from holding us back. The majority of modern technological advances have come from the military and space travel in itself is a direct result of the cold war, which has led to many technological advances.

As they say: Necessity is the mother of invention.


[edit for spellnig]


[edit on 1-6-2010 by nik1halo]

Originally posted by triplesod
I apologise for this in advance mate, I seem to remember you're a Texan, which is almost an uber-American, but...

Originally posted by bigfatfurrytexan


What this report tells me is that, even when they have no clue WTH it is they are talking about, they will talk about it anyway.

Well... that's American's for you!

EDIT: Bloody 'ell! Course you're Texan! It's in your name!

[edit on 31-5-2010 by triplesod]

Of course I am a Texan. "Uber-American" isn't the word for us, either. Too bad there isn't a stronger word.

Our Republic's history has led to a somewhat unique viewpoint in America.

But, just like that great fighter in your avatar, it would seem that lots of American's like to bloviate, huh? Didn't the "morning talk show" originate in America? LOL

Anyone who thinks that aliens wouldn't have wars amongst themselves is being overly optimistic. Even animals on Earth have wars between tribes over food or territory.

War arises from competition over resouces, and there will always be competition wherever there are finite resources. I.e EVERYWHERE