Military says missile hit spy satellite

You do know that space is big, right? Pretty much infinite, as it is constantly expanding. The earth is big in it's own right, so maybe the shuttle was really far from it anyway, if it had anything to do with it?

Secondly, see my comment about the video. It isn't conclusive, as we see the missile launch, but we only see a fireball...no light trail, no visible object striking another. Just an explosion.

See my response. Lasers don't make things blow up that aren't explosive. If you had bothered to watch the orbit of the shuttle/ISS you would have seen the orbits cross many times. The ISS commander even said they crossed. They chose to be safe rather than risk 7 lives.

Compressed hydrazine is explosive:

stinet.dtic.mil...

Anyway, there was probably oxygen tanks aboard, too. And lasers create heat...

www.mda.mil...
www.mda.mil...
www.mda.mil...
www.mda.mil...
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www.mda.mil...

Is that one of the engines?


And what point are you making by posting it?

reply to post by V Kaminski

Coooool. I wonder if they made the interceptor motor, too.
Is there more under her skirt or is that the top of the rocket?

[edit on 21-2-2008 by apc]

That's an EKV. It's what's at the pointy end of Uncle Sam's ASAT capability. They aren't all that big. That's an old pic. The other photos show land based launches from a while back. Nothin' special. The current EKV may be more sophisticated... likely classified top secret or some such. Some say likely sensitive to rads as well as infrared. Don't know. There are some line drawings of something like NRO L-21 on the net. Not very exciting.

Cheers,

Vic

Guys I believe that shooting down satellites was done using an F-15 strike Eagle in the 80's. I used to fly test missions at Edwards and i believe they have done this. And on the Hydrazine, just about all fighters have this to power the APU in the event of engine failure. The test aircraft at Edwards released it more than once while on the flight line. It is very nasty stuff, but from what we were told it dissipated very fast and didn't present an immediate danger. I also had a friend that was responsible for servicing the Hydrazine tank on the U-2 and he said that it was not all that dangerous. Anyway it seems like more of a show than anything. Found the info
Satellite killer


ASM-135 ASAT test launch.
From January 1984 to September 1986, an F-15A was used as a launch platform for five ASM-135 anti-satellite (ASAT) missiles. The F-15A went into a Mach 1.22, 3.8 g climb of 65° and released the ASAT missile at an altitude of 38,100 feet (11.6 km). The F-15A computer was updated to control the zoom-climb and missile release. The third test flight involved a retired communications satellite in a 345 statute mile (555 km) orbit, which was successfully destroyed by sheer kinetic energy. The pilot, USAF Major Wilbert D. "Doug" Pearson, became the only pilot to destroy a satellite.[32][33]
The ASAT missile was designed to be a standoff anti-satellite weapon, with the F-15A acting as a first stage. The Soviet Union could interpret a U.S. rocket launch with a spy satellite loss, but an F-15 carrying an ASAT would blend in among hundreds of F-15 flights.

Raytheon isn't "hiding" anything. If one clicks "I accept" there's a great many photos in their newsroom gallery. Here. It's been in their product lineup for quite some time, here. I imagine Lockeed or Boeing or many MIC interests might have something similar.

That junk cloud is still up there... came down about 500-600 feet or so since they took the shot at 10:26 last... no real change in velocity. Min altitude still in the 150's.

It'll be interesting to see what the DoD says in the next day or so... they "slide" stuff until Friday afternoons sometimes I think.

Cheers,

Vic

reply to post by steak taste good


Yes, that's what General Cartwright said on the DoD site video. F-15 1980's. That's what I might have thought the natural "least costly" choice. Ah, they wanted a show... a naval show. The full DoD vid is worth watching. Watch his eyes and and "grasp" of science. "Plume of flame" in space? Sir, Yes Sir. Watch his eyes. See what bubba says tomorrow if anything. I'd deal out a different talking head or McCormack over at Condi's silo to prop up her sagging hand.

Cheers,

Vic

reply to post by V Kaminski

Oh that is the interceptor. Cool! Not at all what I had imagined having not seen an image.

A link for anyone else as clueless as I.

Originally posted by V Kaminski
That junk cloud is still up there... came down about 500-600 feet or so since they took the shot at 10:26 last... no real change in velocity. Min altitude still in the 150's.

What junk cloud? You've been arguing for 24 hours that they did not hit it. How can a junk cloud from a satellite that was inoperative for one year still be sending live telemetry to a paypal-supported amateur astronomy site? This is amazing stuff! Wow!!!!

reply to post by Netstriker


Ok. You da man. No more data? Then you provide it Mr. Wizard show us your logic and great resources. You can't. You can't even get the data an old guy like me can... come back with some ammo at least. Please entertain and edify one and all within the ATS community. Please. Be my guest.

It's still there bub. Maybe wait until the General or someone speaks? You should read my words there bubba, I have never claimed it was "not" hit. Enjoy your "expertness". You are now on my opposite of "ignore" list... But maybe you are the real deal. Whatever. Do you spray paint tags for fun? LOL.

Thanks you've got a friend and colleague for life.

Vic

Hi Vic, you really have to wonder why all the whop la. I am actually very surprised that they made such a big deal about this to the public. They could have very easily done this with no fan fare. I bet very few people even knew it was in orbit. I would chalk this up to a publicity stunt. And the technology they used is probably very old. If you were doing this would play your best hand for all to see? I'd say no.

reply to post by steak taste good


Pretty much. Maybe not "old" old but yeah, not new... now the sat NRO L-21, that does interest me.

The whole "why don't we do it in the road" aspect is so novel when sold as public safety by one's space capability to save one from the said same capability. Lotta folks have mentioned the Chinese shootdown of their own com sat as "bad"... now this is "good". Four legs good... I'm really looking forward to what DoD and State will say and how this will be leveraged in US foreign policy. Most though... most, I want to see how the Chinese and Russians and the other spacefaring nations react.

No question this could have been done "silently".

Cheers,

Vic

reply to post by V Kaminski


Hey Vic;

Ok, so, obvously, I didn't catch it last night..'duh! not the same orbit...lol
My bad.
Here's what I believe, in my gut, based on what I have been able to track and LEARN with my womanly(snicker) limited capabilities (aka.. "on the fly"):
Conjecture: ( before you all start flaming my butt, and I KNOW how this site operates...hahahahaha):
We did NOT hit it.. I KNOW we hit 'something' (if you believe the vid)--- and I DO NOT. Period.

Vic, for Pete's sake- I cannot U2U you (not enuff posts), tell me where and when it's gonna be at Lat. 42.7547° and Long. -71.4798° ... 'coz what I'm getting is BS. (I don't have Russkies and Germans...lol-- well, I DID, but not anymore.. lol) U2U me...

'n I'll tell ya what's there.... there's not gonna be any debris...there's not anything to HAVE debris for ....for christ's(insert Deity Here) sake.. I know that much...yes, the vid showed we hit a "thing"(whenever)...was it USA 193? Maybe, but I'm willing to say it's still there...maybe in pieces, definitely with a full tank, but there, nonetheless...
Good thing you don't live here, Vic... you'd be too busy laffing all the time to get anything done.
Be Well.

Anyone have a clue about what a small green illuminated object breaking off of the satellite a good 20 sec or so before the missile is to have impacted the satellite?

reply to post by althea041724


I'm waiting until the DoD gives it's promised confirmation. n2yo is still up lemme plug in those co-ords... if they hit it as claimed... (see the vid on the China thread) the tank is pretty thin... it "should" have failed. That collision on the video has some interesting aspects.

Feb 23 - 00:00:55 UTC almost straight overhead at your locale. Velocity has dropped a bit. Photos of the debris or whatever will turn up. Wink. Some claim to have photos of 193 in orbit before the shot heard round the world. UTC clock.

Ah, the green thing 20 seconds... check this Windows media vid and see if it looked "right" to what was seen over Oregon... it may have been the EKV separating from the upper stage of the SM-3 here.

I was a bit surprised that Gates was in China speaking about ASAT stuff just back in Nov.

Cheers,

Vic

reply to post by V Kaminski


Vic,
See? This is what I mean... I am getting 19:14:30 UTC time on 02/23.. UTC (and yes, I do understand the conversion to EST)... and that's n2yo data... makes a big difference as to when and where you are looking. I can't get into the two "other" sites right now to track and get data, so that's what I'm going on...so, I'll go with yours.
Waiting to see someone , (heck... anyone!) confirm any debris at all... yea... riiiight...uh-huh...It was a pretty explosion tho, wasn't it? As far as explosions go. They created maximum effect for albeit minumum effort.
( altho I don't consider 10 million or so a small amount, apparently to our g mt it was...hah.)
It's not like I don't wanna believe it... i do, I wanna be a kid again, knowing that TPTB have everything all taken care of...I just know better. I'm an American, dammit! lol. Friday. Cap'n n Coke.
Thanks very much!

reply to post by althea041724


If you are on a windows machine check your region and local time settings is about all I can think of that might mess with... but wait, it shouldn't matter that site knows your IP. Bizzare althea. Lemme double check maybe I inputted it wrong... nope, 00:55UTC the 23rd.

Vic