Mysterious light with spiral tail seen in Aussie sky

I can buy the rocket then (dad was a rocket scientist) but why spiral crap all of a sudden?

These look awfully controlled...I can't imagine the science behind controlling roll like that? My dad told me we sent men to the moon on 64k computers, so no wonder what we can do today...but still.

It looks a little TOO controlled to be a rocket...although, that IS what I have to side with for the time being.

Still doesn't explain why we're seeing these now when we've been testing rockets for decades. Maybe a new booster technology? Maybe spirals are easier or more fuel efficient for controlling vectors/trajectories?

Originally posted by FOXMULDER147
What do you mean "these spiral events"? There was more than one?

Obviously if an object is high enough it can be seen by the whole country, especially on a cloudless sky.

[edit on 5-6-2010 by FOXMULDER147]

Understandably. However, if this is the case Fox, where are the reports from 'the whole country'?? I mean, sightings from people living in Perth, Alice Springs, Darwin, rural towns and suburbs in those and other states or even just the rest of the east coast? I live in north Queensland, no indication of sightings here and yet my city is approximately 1,000 - 1,100km from Brisbane and the Gold Coast where there have been many reports. Surely if people in Canberra, Victoria - at the opposite end of the country - saw this apparently single sighting then people in my city would also have had a clear view of this occurrence. Am I right? There are beautiful, clear skies here today.

??

The 'object' in question would have to have been quite massive to have been witnessed by a majority of the population of Australia. However, it wasn't witnessed by a majority of the populace. Additionally, peoples' accounts of this object vary in what they heard and what they saw. Admittedly, this can be due to personal perception just as much as variance in the actual event.
Consider the size of the area that the sighting/s span across - it's quite substantial.

Originally posted by Bob Down Under

Originally posted by FOXMULDER147
What do you mean "these spiral events"? There was more than one?

Obviously if an object is high enough it can be seen by the whole country, especially on a cloudless sky.

[edit on 5-6-2010 by FOXMULDER147]

I hope you realise the land mass of this country its not Malta

Indeed, Bob. How are people not getting this?

reply to post by Maybe...maybe not

Orbital launches are almost always made in an easterly direction in order to take advantage of the Earth's rotation for a velocity boost. This one was no exception as can be seen in the videos of the launch.

I agree about visibility. The key to the visibility of this event is the same as being able to see most any event in orbit. The object is high enough to be illuminated by sunlight while the vantage point is still in darkness (or semi-darkness). A happy coincidence of timing.

Originally posted by Phage
reply to post by Maybe...maybe not

 

Orbital launches are almost always made in an easterly direction in order to take advantage of the Earth's rotation for a velocity boost. This one was no exception as can be seen in the videos of the launch.

I agree about visibility. The key to the visibility of this event is the same as being able to see most any event in orbit. The object is high enough to be illuminated by sunlight while the vantage point is still in darkness (or semi-darkness). A happy coincidence of timing.

Which again would seem to rule out the possibility of the sighting being due to nothing more than stage separation ... as this would have completed long before the Falcon even began to cross the western Australian coast and heading towards the east coast.

reply to post by tauristercus

The Falcon is a two stage rocket. The first stage was dropped over the Atlantic. The second stage takes the payload into orbit. Once in orbit there is no hurry to separate the payload (the Dragon mockup) from the second stage. In fact, being the first orbital flight, it is reasonable to assume that they would have waited until the spacecraft was within tracking range of Woomera to perform the separation.

reply to post by Phage

I agree about visibility. The key to the visibility of this event is the same as being able to see most any event in orbit. The object is high enough to be illuminated by sunlight while the vantage point is still in darkness (or semi-darkness). A happy coincidence of timing.

I have a question Phage or anyone else would the seperation look like the size of the moon like the reports have said, where most witnesses have said pics of this do not show its actual size or do it justice

Just a question

Still not happy with the west east direction thing either, conflicting reports

Wal

Originally posted by guavas
I can buy the rocket then (dad was a rocket scientist) but why spiral crap all of a sudden?

These look awfully controlled...I can't imagine the science behind controlling roll like that? My dad told me we sent men to the moon on 64k computers, so no wonder what we can do today...but still.

It looks a little TOO controlled to be a rocket...although, that IS what I have to side with for the time being.

Still doesn't explain why we're seeing these now when we've been testing rockets for decades. Maybe a new booster technology? Maybe spirals are easier or more fuel efficient for controlling vectors/trajectories?

Spirals are warning signs of sort from what I read. If it was a separation of a rocket. Then How come now we see this effect and not before during the Apollo days???

Originally posted by Phage
reply to post by Maybe...maybe not

 

Orbital launches are almost always made in an easterly direction in order to take advantage of the Earth's rotation for a velocity boost. This one was no exception as can be seen in the videos of the launch.

I agree about visibility. The key to the visibility of this event is the same as being able to see most any event in orbit. The object is high enough to be illuminated by sunlight while the vantage point is still in darkness (or semi-darkness). A happy coincidence of timing.

On the subject of visability Phage if the rocket was that high up for most of the Australian continent to see, would the propellent plume still be visable out of the atmosphere?

[edit on 5/6/10 by Bob Down Under]

I detest the way that those in "the know" dismiss these incidents as space junk and satellites.

As other posters have stated before, for so many people so faraway from each other to witness this, the thing must have been huge. I also thought maybe more than one.

I am disappointed I did not see this but I live in Kariong (central coast NSW ans we loads of weird stuff at night).


Those satellites must be big mothers!!!



res

ok....as I was typing previous post... Channel 9 Sydney just gave an update of the top stories for news at 6pm.


They are going to cover the event. Layla McKinnon (newsreader/journo) said "you won't believe what it turned out to be".



Hmmm




res

[edit on 5-6-2010 by resistancia]

Originally posted by Phage
reply to post by tauristercus

 

The Falcon is a two stage rocket. The first stage was dropped over the Atlantic. The second stage takes the payload into orbit. Once in orbit there is no hurry to separate the payload (the Dragon mockup) from the second stage. In fact, being the first orbital flight, it is reasonable to assume that they would have waited until the spacecraft was within tracking range of Woomera to perform the separation.

According to astronautix

All Falcon designs had only two stages and only one stage separation event – the minimum practical. All stage separation bolts were all dual initiated, fully space qualified, and had a zero failure track record in prior launch vehicles.

Am I correct in my understanding that there is actually NO physical 2nd stage separation once the 2nd stage motors have been shut down ?

Originally posted by resistancia
ok....as I was typing previous post... Channel 9 Sydney just gave an update of the top stories for news at 6pm.


They are going to cover the event. Layla McKinnon (newsreader/journo) said "you won't believe what it turned out to be".



Hmmm

res

[edit on 5-6-2010 by resistancia]

Yep an hour to go Res we will see what it was or what they think it was??

Originally posted by tauristercus

Am I correct in my understanding that there is actually NO physical 2nd stage separation once the 2nd stage motors have been shut down ?

The launch payload (satellite, whatever) is typically separated from 2nd stage booster once the correct orbital profile is achieved.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/8ad72fecfb04.gif[/atsimg]

reply to post by auswally

The Moon is not really all that large. It covers an angular distance of about 1/2º. The spacecraft is in a 155 mile orbit, directly overhead at that distance an object the size of the Moon would be less than 1 mile across (larger as it gets closer to the horizon and more distant), not an unreasonable area for the dissipating fuel to cover. Remember the "urine dump" from the space shuttle that was seen all across the US a while ago.
www.space.com...




[edit on 6/5/2010 by Phage]

It clearly wasn't a rocket...as Doug Moffett said "why would anyone launch a rocket on a maiden test flight with a trajectory that would take it over the most heavily populated parts of Australia?"

It's as simple as that...no one would conduct a maiden test flight of a rocket over those areas...my Mum and sisters live in Canberra, hopefully one got a glimpse of this phenomena.

[edit on 5/6/10 by CHA0S]

reply to post by CHA0S

There was no danger. The rocket was launched in Florida, over the Atlantic Ocean. If there had any danger the rocket would have been destroyed over the ocean. It was in orbit when it passed over Australia. Things don't just fall out of orbit without warning.

reply to post by Phage


ok...so that's normally what rockets look like when they're in orbit? Sorry to sound repetitive, and if you've already answered this, don't bother. But Doug also asked:

"where was the glow from the boosters or from the friction created by the craft moving through the atmosphere, where was the tail of the rocket?"

"And how big must this rocket have been to be seen so clearly, at the same time, over such a vast distance?"

EDIT:

Originally posted by Phage
I agree about visibility. The key to the visibility of this event is the same as being able to see most any event in orbit. The object is high enough to be illuminated by sunlight while the vantage point is still in darkness (or semi-darkness). A happy coincidence of timing.

...mmmmkkkk...I'll have to read up on that...

[edit on 5/6/10 by CHA0S]

Phage, I admire your patience, but you know as well as I do there is nothing you can say or do to explain reality to certain folks around here. The ignorance level that is required to overlook a mundane and highly probable explanation in favor of some outlandish belief or desire is a huge reason why people make fun of this subject....i.e. we all look like ignorant fools.

I see nothing in this "incident" thank can't be answered by mundane, Earthly origins. I have seen (personally) this type of rocket stuff in the past, and fully understand what certain events look like at such altitude, so I can't really jump in the UFO bandwagon here for sure.

But I can see how someone who is ignorant of science/rocketry and with a desire to believe in the least probable conclusion first would use stuff like this to reinforce their beliefs//desires. No different than religion, really.

reply to post by Phage


Thanks mate, i am still confused why its only Eastern Australia that has noticed this thing thou, Time distances perhaps to the West Coast, dunno

Wal

reply to post by CHA0S

Rockets do present this appearance under the right circumstances. I provided one example in my first post in this thread.

The rocket was not moving through the atmosphere. It was well out of the atmosphere when seen over Australia.

The rocket was not seen. Effluent, residual fuel, was seen.