North Korean satellite 'tumbling out of control,' US officials say

520km and dropping fast.

reply to post by Spacespider


Phage help!!!! We are all doomed!!!

Why those North korean don't clean up their mess????????????????????

reply to post by CALGARIAN

I now see the importance in this matter.

Actually I find this alittle scary.

NK wants to be recognized, in the worst and wrong way.

They have been systematically fed paranoia for generations.

There will be no Perestroika moment for them, I'm afraid.

SO!

Just saw on CNN that US has not destroyed it yet because they want to see if the North Koreans have actual control of this satellite. They are observing the NK's technology.

To me this means, they WILL blow it out of the sky soon. So...... then what?

I just watched the tracker for a couple minutes when it was going over the equater and we can safely say this will not be dropping on any target. The lowest it goes is 500 km then it rises back up. So don't get paranoid over a drop in altitude. It isnt a perfect orbit.

Originally posted by sonnny1
NK wants to be recognized, in the worst and wrong way.

No they see weakness in the U.S. leadership, and have successfully tested it.

Emboldened defiance isn't going to be exclusive to the North Korean regime.

Looks like it's gone back up 10km!

Maybe they engaged the retro rockets

Originally posted by ausername


No they see weakness in the U.S. leadership, and have successfully tested it.

Emboldened defiance isn't going to be exclusive to the North Korean regime.

They see weakness with EVERY Country.

China also is not immune to this either.

reply to post by Cruff

Retro rockets are used to deorbit by slowing a satellite down.

The North Korean satellite is in an elliptical orbit like most satellites are. Its altitude changes as it goes from apogee to perigee.

reply to post by Phage


I was joking about the retro rockets hence the smiley.

I could've also gone with something about Captain Sulu engaging something or rather but decided against it.

A quick reminder that physically interfering with the DPRK rocket launch would be counterproductive to Western interests for a couple of reasons.

First, it is difficult to evaluate the technological sophistication of a military project if you shoot it down before you can study it. You can be sure that there was a huge amount of telemetry and data collected from every intelligence platform available, all the easier to kill one for real if the need arises.

Second, the DPRK is quite frankly volatile and unpredictable. Pyongyang has threatened to take any interference with the test launch as an act of war and with some 30,000 KPA artillery rockets and field guns within 50 Km from Seoul nobody is interested in finding out how serious the threat really is.

Lastly, the West doesn't need to sabotage a rocket launch to make the DPRK "look bad", they do a fine job without our help. If it was proven that the West had interfered ( U.S., Japan and ROK all have sophisticated ABM programs) it could serve to generate sympathy for the North Koreans and force a protracted dialogue regarding North Korean space/ballistic missile program.

Of course, as the orbit degrades.... ?

On a related note, the MSM alarmist narrative suggesting the DPRK has proven an intercontinental nuclear capability with a quasi successful launch and orbital insertion of Kim's sock drawer are exaggerated. Successfully detonating a fission weapon delivered to a mine shaft Wiley Coyote style ( via hand pump rail car )and designing a warhead capable of being delivered via an ICBM are very different levels of technical sophistication.

The Unha/Taepodong-2 missile tested has a reported LEO throw weight of 100 kilos. As a reference point the highly refined U.S. standard W88 and W62 warheads both weigh around 350 kilo's with their reentry shrouds.

While the news is cause for concern, the KPA Strategic Rocket Forces wont be capable of projecting a legitimate intercontinental nuclear threat for a few years yet ( if ever. The PRC is reportedly very PO'd )

Regardless, the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense ABM system is functional now and enough interceptors have been deployed to negate a limited threat.

While North Korea might have the reach, it still faces the problem of perfecting a nuclear warhead — a much larger obstacle than simply exploding a nuclear device, which North Korea first accomplished in 2006.

"The North Koreans have demonstrated some of the capabilities they would need to have in order to develop an ICBM," Greg Thielmann, a senior fellow at the Arms Control Association, tells NPR. "But that doesn't mean that they are ready to build one."

Warheads need to be relatively small, able to withstand the intense heat and vibration of re-entry, and land on — or at least near — their intended targets.

"They are not there on the nuclear end and would have to have many more tests to have enough confidence that they have a reliable mode of delivery," says Jim Walsh, an expert in international security and a research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Security Studies Program. "You need reliability. If you shoot one, you better be pretty confident it is not going to malfunction, hit your own territory and explode."

Thielmann agrees that producing a useful warhead is fraught with difficulty. "Based on the testing we've seen and some other assumptions about North Korean abilities, we don't think they're ready to arm an ICBM with a nuclear warhead yet even if they had an ICBM, which they don't yet."

What North Korea's Rocket Launch Means — And What It Doesn't

I haven't come across this answer yet, so I'm hoping someone here can answer this.

Why did they choose this time to conduct this mission.

I was thinking weather. But since I'm just learning about this, Im sure there could be other reasons.

reply to post by Yngvarr


You got it. We actually have a couple of those that stay in orbit for a while. Notice how we launched one two days before this N.Korean launch.

Is this doodad visible? I'm in the Chicago area, and I'm not sure what time it was...maybe 6pm CT? Perhaps earlier? Later? But anyway. I was out on the balcony looking at the sky as I do, and saw a satellite - which isn't uncommon. This one piqued my curiosity, however, because it appeared low in the western sky and must have been pretty bright for me to see at that hour (with the light pollution and whatnot). It seemed to travel SSE, then disappeared from view after a minute (still pretty low in the sky from my perspective). This is definitely one I've not seen before.

Could it have been this Korean satellite? I went to the live tracking site, but didn't see an option to view a map of its route.

As far as the implications, I'm hoping it will explode and blanket the earth with candy.

ETA: I thought there was some international agreement about weaponizing space (amongst which I would include shooting satellites?) Please correct me if I'm misinformed.

reply to post by HolographicPrincipal

Could it have been this Korean satellite?

Nope. It would not have been visible to you.
www.heavens-above.com...

You may have seen one of these:
www.heavens-above.com...

You'll have to adjust the date.

I thought there was some international agreement about weaponizing space (amongst which I would include shooting satellites?) Please correct me if I'm misinformed.

Since a ground based missile would be used it wouldn't fall under the treaty but no one is going to shoot down the satellite.

Originally posted by rockymcgilicutty
reply to post by Spacespider

 

Phage help!!!! We are all doomed!!!

edit on 12-12-2012 by rockymcgilicutty because: (no reason given)

Oh come on , what , are you 12 ?
what can Phage do to help ?
He is wise ( on most things) but he does not hold the master key to the universe .

Breaking news on CNN a few minutes ago, North Korea is not in control of the satellite. No other information was given.