NASA - UARS

Sorry NASA, seeing as it's my belief that for years you folk have been lying to me about U.F.O's etc, my being fortunate enough to find a chunk of satellite and it wasn't embedded in my head, will definately for once be a case of "finders, keepers!". I find it a sad joke that those at NASA actually believe that the piece I hand over to a cop will still be exactly as it was, when he hands it to them! Stupid effers...you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out!

reply to post by Phage


Not to mention maybe, just maybe, contaminating yourself with hydrazine residue from the propellant tanks. Not a fun chemical to expose yourself to. I wouldn't even breathe deeply near the debris, but then I'm a little over-cautious when it comes to hazardous chemicals...

May be fatal if absorbed through the skin.... Contact with liquid is corrosive and causes severe burns and ulceration. Contact with the skin may dissolve hair.
...
Inhalation: Harmful if inhaled. Irritation may lead to chemical pneumonitis and pulmonary edema. May cause liver and kidney damage. Causes severe irritation of upper respiratory tract with coughing, burns, breathing difficulty, and possible coma. Vapors may cause dizziness, nausea, itching, burning, and swelling of the eyes.

fscimage.fishersci.com...
Realistically you're not going to be exposed to enough to cause the worst symptoms unless you handle the propellant tank itself, but still, why jeopardize your health?

reply to post by PsykoOps

You can find your shopping list here:
www.nasa.gov...

I think I would have to keep a piece of it, finders keepers.

After all, my tax dollars paid for it and I want a little return on my investment.

Possession is 9/10ths of the law.

To everyone that wants to keep a piece of this thing...Have you even considered that the fuel this thing uses could be highly toxic and THAT is why NASA doesn't want you to touch it? Perhaps there is a possibility that there could be remnants of the fuel left. If something fell out of the sky into my back yard, Id take hundreds of pics and vids but I sure as hell wouldn't touch it.

reply to post by Phage


Thanks If I get lucky and it lands here and not on my head and I survive I know what to look for
That part of the post was just fodder. Point was about who it belongs to if it lands here

reply to post by DerbyCityLights


I would take my chances that the intense heat of the re-entry would have destroyed any remaining chemicals that could be of any harm.

reply to post by Phage


So if i launch something into orbit and then carelessly let it rain back down onto a precious government building, i should wait for them them to call the number i left on it and expect it be returned?

reply to post by Burnerz

Sure. Why not?
There's a lot more ocean and wilderness in between 57N and 57S than there are backyards or government buildings. (Do you live in a government building?) If something lands in yours go ahead and keep it. I don't care.

I can't seem to find what powers UARS. I hope it is not one of those little nuclear reactors that spreads plutonium into our atmosphere as it burns up on re-entry. Hydrazine would be the least of our worries.
UPdate: it is powered by a solar array that had some problems.

reply to post by Phage


I was asking a question and expecting a legitimate answer not a deflected response with another question.

Do you honestly think, if a flaming piece of my scraped satellite landed on the home of somebody with higher authority, it would be tolerated? If not, then why is acceptable for an organization like NASA to carelessly put ones possessions at risk from raining material.

We jointly own this piece of equipment, we all paid for it so we could watch the weather. It does not belong to one group, it is ours, so people can't have big chunks of it, we gotta split it up.

reply to post by Burnerz

A legitimate answer to an absurd hypothetical question.

How many satellites have you got in orbit? How many does the US? Russia? Japan? What about commercial satellites? How many homes have been hit by debris from those satellites?

It's a problem, yes. Acceptable? Not really. But what do you suggest be done about it? Rather than whining, how about offering a suggestion. Should no satellites be allowed to be placed in orbit?

Radioactive elements burning up and dissipating from re-entry into the atmosphere ?
Surely you jest...

So what kind of goodies could be attached to chunks of metal coming in from outer space ?

Here are just a few possibilities:

- Space bacteria able to survive and thrive in any hostile environment (aka: won't burn up in re-entry)
- Potentially dangerous non-terrestrial nanoparticles (unknowns)
- Toxic fuels
- Toxic chemicals
- Toxic metals
- Radiated parts from 20 years of being bombarded with cosmic gamma rays and whatnot
- Highly charged ions clinging to said radiated parts



...Yup, you guys should keep anything that lands in your backyard and place it on your coffee table for display so your family and friends can look at it, touch it, lick it, etc.

Well worth "sticking it to those evil NASA people", don't you think ?

reply to post by Phage


hypothetical - existing only as an idea or concept

Who are you to determine whether or not my idea be absurd or not.

I was just interested on the view of somebody, such as yourself, that seems to have a strong interest and exceptional knowledge on the topic. Given my hypothetical scenario is only switching the roles of the two parties, NASA who owns the satellite and myself somebody who has been warned about falling debris i would hardly call it absurd.

I am definitely not whining, just asking a question and above all things not expecting such a defensive reply.

Making a suggestion? Well i dont know how many hours went into the planning and research of the thing but within however long its been since you asked me to offer a suggestion i can think of one thing.

Measures to be taken to insure the disposal of a satellite does not pose a threat to the safety of people or their property.

The amount of times i had to pick up rubbish cause of littering at school..

It's a problem, yes. Acceptable? Not really.

Edit: No i do not have any satellites in orbit, however if at some point i do. Please contact me if you find a piece of it. A team will be dispatched and you will be assisted.

reply to post by CranialSponge


Then how come they never say to leave meteorite fragments alone and call the authorities to come remove it if pieces are found. I would think these pieces of rock would hold the same risks as you state(and I am not implying you are wrong), except of course for the human made materials.

reply to post by CranialSponge


Right on! My thoughts exactly! Just hope it's not one of my neighbors that end up with that junk....

reply to post by uSNUUZuLUUz


What goes up might be theirs, but what falls from the sky I find....is MINE!

This has become quite a funny thread people joking about grabbing satalite parts and then these uber serious people chime in about radiations, chemicals, burning metal and flesh eating viruses, touch it, lick it ahhh good ole know it all ATS. It's made of this, if you touch it this will happen, no stealing government property, arrgggh

Originally posted by mileslong54
This has become quite a funny thread people joking about grabbing satalite parts and then these uber serious people chime in about radiations, chemicals, burning metal and flesh eating viruses, touch it, lick it

ahhh good ole know it all ATS. It's made of this, if you touch it this will happen, no stealing government property, arrgggh

"Uber serious" ?
"Flesh eating viruses" ?
"It's made of this" ?
"If you touch it this will happen" ?

Hyperbole much ?


Quite frankly I don't give a damn if you eat the thing, sell it on Ebay, or give it to your kid to take to show and tell at school. That's your choice of risk assessment and it doesn't effect me and mine one bit.

All I'm doing is giving people food for thought before they get all excited and run around collecting satellite parts not understanding what they may or may not be touching.

Joking or not, uninformed naivety is not always a good thing.

Or are you simply saying these potential hazards are absolutely non-existent and just a figment of scientist's imagination ? Or maybe you just didn't catch the part in my post that specified the word "possible" because you seem to have comprehended the entire post in a completely "matter-of-fact" type of way instead.

Learn to comprehend what you read before jumping up on your soapbox.