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

Originally posted by texasgirl

Originally posted by TheLieWeLive
Does anyone on here know if this satellite was to have a nuclear reactor powering it and a warhead was used to destroy it, could it create a Electro Magnetic Pulse big enough to affect whatever country it was over or near?

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

No It would not cause an EMP. A nuclear reactor, hit by a warhead would not go critical. If you shot a Nuclear warhead at it, yes it could cause an EMP, but at that altitude I'm not sure of the effects it would have some 500km below. Would have to be a really big nuke, to mess things up on the ground and the satellite is the size of a beer fridge. If they really wanted to destroy it, all they'd need would be the kinetic impact.

And isn't Kim Jong Il's son supposed to be crazier than his dad? Would he do something like this?

Sorry, I misread this post. Never mind.

edit on 13-12-2012 by texasgirl because: (no reason given)

I don't think he's crazier than his dad, I think the MSM might have gotten to you a little bit. Have a beer, go relax lay off the MSM.

What about a satellite that is designed to tumble? Intresting concept.

Sneaky commies!

Gotta watch your 6.

Oblivion
.

My first thought went to the "kill shot" sequence via Major Ed Dames.

What is supposed to happen in the near future... before the "kill shot"...
1) North Korea explodes nuclear weapon
2) Space shuttle-like craft is downed by meteor shower

So.... I will be keeping an eye out on this thing and what if any havoc it reeks.

My next thought was IF this thing is in orbit (what didnt fall back to earth) then it could be in future conflicts with other satellites in orbit as well.

North Korea has violated (once again) sanctions via the UN.

Originally posted by TheLieWeLive
Does anyone on here know if this satellite was to have a nuclear reactor powering it and a warhead was used to destroy it, could it create a Electro Magnetic Pulse big enough to affect whatever country it was over or near?

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

Just when I thought nothing could possibly freak me out more than your avatar. And I don't even have a clown thing.

That's a sincerely sinister idea. I'd erase it if I were you.

to the people wondering about nuclear devices/EMP -

they would not use a nuclear device to knock a satellite out of orbit... it would have been vaporised if a nuke hit it.

also, if a nuclear reactor were to be included on the satellite (highly unlikely given the likelihood of satellite being a success, and even then it would not be using masses of power so solar should be plenty.) - the size of the reactor would be tiny - despite the fact that hitting a reactor with a nuke wouldnt cause a new nuclear reaction in the reactor's fuel, even if it did it would only be a tiny one.

Of course there is the possibility that this is some kind of north korean silly-christmas-nuke-in-a-box that they just lobbed up into the atmosphere to wish everyone happy holidays wherever it lands, but... I wouldn't bet on it

A lot of people in this thread are talking of shooting the satellite down, but wouldn't that be a declaration of war on North Korea?

It seems to me like there are 3 ways it can come back to earth:
- Freefall (someone somewhere is going to have a bad day and then NK will claim #3 happened anyway)
- Being shot down by NK (unlikely, they won't admit it's not working as intended)
- Being shot down by someone else (war, unless NK allow them to shoot it down, which won't happen)

Might as well shoot it down. No matter the outcome the U.S. will be blamed for any malfunction that occurs.

Good Job North Korea!

You have just failed to achieve something even a US college kid can achieve. DO they even realize that people have succeeded in launching legos and beer cans into space using weather balloons. Heck a energy drink can even parachute a man from space but North Korea is too stupid to even figure out how to achieve what the rest of the world figured out 60 years ago and what college kids can do with hobby shop parts.

Thanks for proving to the rest of the world how pathetic North Korea actually is good job kim Jeong Un. or whatever your name is.

Gotta wonder if the leader of their satellite program is named Yu Stin Ki Pu.

Originally posted by TheLieWeLive
Does anyone on here know if this satellite was to have a nuclear reactor powering it and a warhead was used to destroy it, could it create a Electro Magnetic Pulse big enough to affect whatever country it was over or near?

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

If they could fit that kind of stuff in a 100kg payload, then yes. I don't think that is the case however, as 100kg is quite small. Too small to fit a nuclear device, I think.

Originally posted by Dispo
- Being shot down by someone else (war, unless NK allow them to shoot it down, which won't happen)

Why would it be war? It's just a satellite. During the cold war, and even more recently a number of satellites were shot down, damaged and had to be intentionally deorbited. It's a diplomatic protest, not a shooting war.

reply to post by BASSPLYR


I would not directly compare sending balloons as high as they can go to shooting tons of metal and fuel into the sky and trying to keep it from blowing up or crashing. You especially can't compare balloons to orbital mechanics. If these things are so easy to achieve why haven't you started your own damn space program?

Originally posted by Dispo
A lot of people in this thread are talking of shooting the satellite down, but wouldn't that be a declaration of war on North Korea?

It seems to me like there are 3 ways it can come back to earth:
- Freefall (someone somewhere is going to have a bad day and then NK will claim #3 happened anyway)
- Being shot down by NK (unlikely, they won't admit it's not working as intended)
- Being shot down by someone else (war, unless NK allow them to shoot it down, which won't happen)

Yes, that would be a declaration of war. It's why the pirate bay has plans to launch its servers into space.

reply to post by BASSPLYR

You have just failed to achieve something even a US college kid can achieve. DO they even realize that people have succeeded in launching legos and beer cans into space using weather balloons. Heck a energy drink can even parachute a man from space but North Korea is too stupid to even figure out how to achieve what the rest of the world figured out 60 years ago and what college kids can do with hobby shop parts.

You are soooo incorrect.

A balloon goes straight up and rides with the winds, the payload falls back down by parachute.

NK accelerated a payload to greater than 17,000 mph on a controlled path. A far greater achievement than what any college kid can do.

reply to post by Cosmic911


They used to make things to last in the 50s. Too bad they wouldn't do that with our satelites so we wouldn't have to keep putting more junk up there over and over. I think technology is getting too Capitalized forcing upgrades every few years while cost ultimately goes down to the consumer. Society has gone crazy.

Why doesn't the US or Russia contact North Korea and ask them if they want that satellite shot down so it doesn't hurt someone. It sounds like it's stabalizers arent working right, something I doubt they can fix. Maybe they will say ok. We don't have to blow it out of the sky without trying to talk to them.

reply to post by rickymouse


We don't have to blow it out of the sky at all. It's eventually coming down all by itself. The odds of it landing anywhere but ocean are really high. If it's going to come down on land, then shoot it down.

Originally posted by Zaphod58

Originally posted by Dispo
- Being shot down by someone else (war, unless NK allow them to shoot it down, which won't happen)

Why would it be war? It's just a satellite. During the cold war, and even more recently a number of satellites were shot down, damaged and had to be intentionally deorbited. It's a diplomatic protest, not a shooting war.

Because North Korea would take it as one. They seem like they want to fight, so they'll take any provocation as an excuse to attack.

If you're in a bar and you knock in to someone while walking past, most people will just get on with it and not care. North Korea is the short guy with the abandonment issues who will start swinging at the first chance.

reply to post by Dispo


But how would this be any worse than active shooting by both sides across the DMZ? Or any other of a dozen provocations that occur yearly on the Korean Peninsula?

reply to post by Zaphod58


Because it's NK who does the shooting. Sticking to my little guy analogy, NK would get drunk and go round the bar calling people all sorts and trying to get them to respond, but they never do so NK can't rationalise hitting them.

reply to post by Zaphod58


Where do Americans get off taking down other nations satellites

No I am not a Kimmy lover, but taking down or nudging/disabling other
satellites means the following

IT MEANS YOUR SATELLITES NOW ARE FAIR GAME

China or Russia could do it from North Korean territory so that it looks
as if NK is doing it.

Think about this, I know this is a novel idea for Americans,

You live by the sword, you eventually die by the sword.

You are Not Gods
You are Not owners of Earth
You are Not some special group of people who everyone else should ask permission to go to toilet and make number 1 or number 2.

USA has networks upon networks upon networks of satellites, and North Korea can't have one because you happen to not like them

WHO DIED AND MADE YOU BELIEVE SPACE IS YOURS