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US satellite shot down

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RudyGarmisch
Posts: 25443 - Karma: 13,845
I'll do a quick brief to catch everyone up so we can have a better discussion:

About a year ago, China blew up one of its satellites with a missile, creating massive debris and micrometeorites in a heavy traveled orbit lane. By many estimates, up to 45% of the junk up there originated from this act . International outrage followed, but not much was done other than verbal reprimand.

Fast forward to last week. The Pentagon releases a report that the launch of one of our spy satellites has failed and that theres a fuel tank filled with nasty crap that's going to fall out of orbit next month and potentially crash and effect human populations.

Last night; A missile from a US ship nails the satellite, destroying it and the threat, according to the Pentagon.

Today; China complains because we apparently told other countries, but not them. They basically throw everything we told them last year back at us.



So, what do you think this all was? A real potentially hazardous situation that the Pentagon quickly solved? Or a sham operation to test our missile defense system? An affront to China's act last year? Maybe to send a message? All of the above?
Feb 21 2008 12:23PM
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wilkesyachtingco
Posts: 4425 - Karma: 41
if you can kill two (or more) birds with one stone (missile) why not?
Feb 21 2008 12:25PM
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IcePointa
Posts: 1879 - Karma: 19

video of both launch and impact at press briefing

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7250000/newsid_7256400/7256494.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&asb=1&news=1&bbcws=1

Feb 21 2008 12:25PM
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whattheshit
Posts: 6562 - Karma: 107
china can go fuck itself.
Feb 21 2008 12:27PM
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skiminnesota
Posts: 9093 - Karma: 429
exactly,

im no scientist but i would rather have all those little particles floating around space then the thing leaking all the gas and whatever else was on it, onto earth..
Feb 21 2008 12:34PM
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IcePointa
Posts: 1879 - Karma: 19
How was this SM3 modified to be accurate in a head on collision with a little satellite moving at 22,000 mph? I had heard that it was heat-seeking but it doesn't make much sense that the satellite had any heat signature unless it had already entered the atmosphere, which it wasn't supposed to do till a few weeks later. Or unless the satellite had a radioisotope-thermoelectric-generator (RTG), but that would mean it was carrying radioactive material.
Feb 21 2008 12:39PM
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whattheshit
Posts: 6562 - Karma: 107
first of all, it was 15,000mph  and secondly, the missile was initially built to take out icbms, but over the course of two weeks they modified the missile in a rush program to take out satellites as well...
Feb 21 2008 12:41PM
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whattheshit
Posts: 6562 - Karma: 107
nevermind, you're right about the speed.  somewhere around there.  but the later is correct.
Feb 21 2008 12:49PM
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IcePointa
Posts: 1879 - Karma: 19
You're right, the satllite itself was moving at a somewhat lower speed, but the combined velocity of the missle and the satellite hitting eachother was 22,000 mph.

ICBM have a pretty hefty heat signature compared to a satellite that has lost power, thats why I'm wondering how exactly they managed that shot.
Feb 21 2008 12:55PM
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Benedetto.
Posts: 2526 - Karma: 64
thats why that one spaceship had to land first because the missile was heat seaking

yeah navy
Feb 21 2008 1:00PM
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whattheshit
Posts: 6562 - Karma: 107
yep.

and as i said, there is an article in the new york times that addresses what you're saying and they said that it was modified to cold-track missiles.  they said that this modification is only a one time thing, but of course in the grand scheme of things thats bullshit. 

it was something like 10million a missile and the whole operation costed 30million.


its not the first time a satellite has been shot down.  in like 1986 or something a fight jet at 80,000 feet above earth launched a air to air missile that took out a satellite in orbit.


when i said the chinese can go fuck themsevles is because when they did it, they took out their satellite that was much higher in orbit that fragmentted it into a few thousand little peices some 4 inches wide.  now we can't use that orbit for a decade because of that shit floating in it.  on top of that they didn't annouce what they did till 2 weeks later.

china is just pissed off because their ambitious aim to have a military as technologically as america has just been put further out of grasp.  (to blow up a satellite cleanly not fragment it into thousands of peices.  nasa said that what the chinese did was a huge fucking disaster) i guess china should go back to their million man army as their only saving grace.  forget about the technology aspect.
Feb 21 2008 1:25PM
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Schmidnj
Posts: 387 - Karma: 10
Sounds like the right thing to do.
Feb 21 2008 2:04PM
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Tasche
Posts: 5422 - Karma: 99
It was obviously a test of our missle defence system. To prove to ourselves and China that we have the ability to destroy satelites. I also feel that there might have been sensitive technology on the satelite that we dont want falling into chinas back yard.

There was an anti missle to satelite distruction act a while ago but the US declined it. So ya we are trying to stay above the technology curve.
Feb 21 2008 3:48PM
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Shpadoinkle
Posts: 10437 - Karma: 84
To show that Bush has a big, powerful missile.
Feb 21 2008 3:53PM
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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24703 - Karma: 29,679

He wont have anything come January 09..

Feb 21 2008 5:45PM
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Nicholas.
Posts: 10905 - Karma: 60
fuck china. they better not start any shit. ill fuck them up.
Feb 21 2008 5:47PM
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2+2=5
Posts: 3676 - Karma: 18
its obviously so the US can flex some muscle. they are scared that china can shoot down sattelites, and obviously americans dont like it when theyre not the greatest country in the world so they shoot down one of theres.
Feb 21 2008 5:50PM
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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24703 - Karma: 29,679
Lol. They may have more man power... but we have more robot power.. courtesey of Japan.
Feb 21 2008 5:53PM
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RudyGarmisch
Posts: 25443 - Karma: 13,845
I'm just kinda pissed we're contributing to the massive amount of high speed debris up there. That shits just not cool for the scientific communities massive million dollar investments up there.
Feb 21 2008 5:53PM
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comeatmebro
Posts: 10720 - Karma: 66
fuck china. what pussies.

anyways, my history teacher was telling us about this today...i told him about the theory that it was to test our defenses, or to "flex some muscle" as some of you said. he then tried to sound like a smart ass and try to rip me apart about how stupid i was for thinking about that. i was then giving some, what i think to be good reasons why we would. he then interrupted me and told me if i disrupted class anymore i was getting detention. and he told us to discuss our thoughts. i fucking hate that guy.
Feb 21 2008 6:00PM
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fujarome
Posts: 8630 - Karma: 1,561
i think it was just a practical situation to prove that we can do it too. The satellite probably would have come down with no problems, but then they saw an opportunity to just be like "yea, no big deal China, we can do it too" by shooting it down. Simple as that, governments have been doing stuff like that for years. Like say...the space race. Same concept, only on a much larger scale.
Feb 21 2008 7:00PM
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DrStrangelove
Posts: 1948 - Karma: 3
To begin with, we didn't fail to launch a new satellite. The one we shot down has been orbiting for years and just burnt out and went derelict, but you're right, they were afraid it might hit someone because they weren't able to steer it into orbit at the proper place for a controlled destruction. 

As for China bitching about the US not telling them what we were planning to do, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I'm pretty sure every government on the planet checks CNN on a daily basis, and they've been talking about shooting this stupid thing down for 3 weeks. If I fucking knew about it, I would expect the government of a country containing a billion people could have been abreast of the situation as well...
Feb 21 2008 7:07PM
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2+2=5
Posts: 3676 - Karma: 18
i can derelict my own balls thank you very much
Feb 21 2008 9:22PM
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DrStrangelove
Posts: 1948 - Karma: 3
hahahahaha fuck
Feb 21 2008 9:34PM
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adamlw
Posts: 12 - Karma: 10
master put the broom in my fanny
Feb 21 2008 9:53PM
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Luc.
Posts: 7540 - Karma: 59

I THINK THAT ALOT OF PEOPLE ARE THICK IN THE SKULL.

think about this...

this shit is in the atmosphere. at the amount of friction that would work against the falling satelite would burn it up long before if fell to earth, in any case, at LEAST destroying the "harmful" gas on bored.

do u honestly think for one second that the US gives a SHIT about some fuel landing and hurting the planet? compared to the BILLIONS of litres of gas that is improperly disposed of annually? NO THEY FUCKING DONT.

they are blowing the sun of a bitch out of the sky becasue:
1. they can.

and 2. To show that they can now launch intercontinental bollistic missiles...which i do beleive has never been done before. 

so...in newschoolers terms...they are flexing their arms and saying WHAT NOW BITCHES.

in doing so they are attempting to show their supperiority and might possibly start an arms race a la the cold war.

thoughts? 

Feb 21 2008 10:07PM
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KLovelace
Posts: 2118 - Karma: 289
definetly gonna have to go with the power trip option... we have big missiles that can fly into any target we want them to.
Feb 21 2008 10:10PM
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Luc.
Posts: 7540 - Karma: 59
i think soon it will be intergallactic missiles. a target can be selected from anywhere in the world to anywhere in the world and will shoot into space and back into earth to stop radar/evacuation from being possible.(obv. more technology needs to be created to help with the atmosphere problem...) 
Feb 21 2008 10:17PM
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Tasche
Posts: 5422 - Karma: 99
wow there is so much wrong with that statement. Intergallatic? haha
Feb 21 2008 10:28PM
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.d.
Posts: 927 - Karma: 12
holy fucking wierd....
right as i read the part where u said, the fuel tank is filled with crap, my dad is watching the news next to me and the news said that the fuel tank was filled with debres right as i read that part. wierd.
Feb 21 2008 10:32PM
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Ryno
Posts: 31125 - Karma: 336
From what brief info I have heard on the subject, the satilite failed shortly after launch due to a failed computer on board and the US lost control of it.


Now I'm going to go out on a limb here and ask why they couldn't just repair the s.o.b? Its been busted and floating in space since 2006...they've had plently of time to jimmy up a side mission on the space voyages to fix it, so why didn't they?

IMO (read: uneducated for the most part on the issue and critical of anything that comes out of the US governments mouths), its was a test of their missle tech and the chance to get up on the world stage and say to everyone "watch yo back foo's"
Feb 21 2008 10:44PM
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cottonwoodarmada1651
Posts: 1734 - Karma: 40
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I think you might be retarded.


Feb 21 2008 11:10PM
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colin13
Posts: 2201 - Karma: 216
i think it was partly to test the missile. that was definitely part of their decision process.
Feb 21 2008 11:16PM
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RudyGarmisch
Posts: 25443 - Karma: 13,845
Apparently this thing was a big boy. Chunks of it could have landed on earth, and the hydrazine fuel was encased in a pretty layer of spacecraft. Shit that large can hit ground even after the atmosphere has had its way with it, Skylab and the Colombia disaster have proven that. If the fuel tank survived the drop, or if even part of it did, that stuff landing near people would have been... bad. Inhaling that stuff basically freaks your nervous system out and causes organ failure.

And yeah, we've had the capabilities and have tested using missiles to nail stuff in space long before this. If anything, this was just a badly timed incident with the whole China thing or at most us trying to one up a rising superpower.
Feb 22 2008 12:28AM
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ferrinski86
Posts: 774 - Karma: 10
i agree with you. it was just a coverup to test out the missile, which by the way is an extreme accomplishment for the U.S. think about it. we launched a missile, from a ship FLOATING in the ocean, into outer space and it an object the size of a mini-van with a missile that was the size of a microwave. the knowledge and technology that went in to this was amazing.

oh, and you also have remember that we are in a time of war. china is not found of us, as well as a lot of other nations, its Bushes last term in office. he wanted to prove that U.S. is still number one, you don't think that he would go out without a bang, do you? (no pun intended). haha
Feb 22 2008 12:35AM
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whattheshit
Posts: 6562 - Karma: 107
not not really, because the satellite was in such low orbit that it was all going to come down eventually anyways.  they said that the time for the remaining debris to come back through the atmosphere is 30-40 days.  if you were talking about chinas attempt then that is true.
Feb 22 2008 3:16AM
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Billiards.
Posts: 6853 - Karma: 816
Im going in a month so lets have them fuck themselves after my trip is over k?
Feb 22 2008 5:49AM
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WikiWiki
Posts: 5584 - Karma: 426
i just realized that we blew a fucking sattelite out of outerspacer- thats pretty sick but anyway i think if it was a test they wouldnt have told the public- oh yeah there is only 18 members on right now
Feb 22 2008 6:19AM
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brokebutitsworthit
Posts: 2279 - Karma: 27
Thats pretty wicked how they say they are not sure if they managed to get rid of all of the toxic shit and yeah there is a 25% chance it will now land on Canada, thanks dicks. I am glad that you got to flex your muscles like that congrats, i'll be sure to send you the bill for my toxic fuel induced cancer etc. 
Feb 22 2008 9:09AM
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Boodje.
Posts: 1394 - Karma: 21
hahah true dat son.
Feb 22 2008 9:29AM
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VT_FLO
Posts: 3806 - Karma: 147
too bad everything you own is made there dumbass
Feb 22 2008 8:06PM
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eastcoastsoloMAN
Posts: 1048 - Karma: 16
ha the one china took down was probly made out of duct tape and going 50 mph, china sucks and the only thing ilike about china is its food and some ski equipment
Feb 22 2008 8:46PM
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396222687862
Posts: 0 - Karma: 350
rightttt. k2 skis are built like shit, oh wait, they're from china....


that was a stupid comment
Feb 22 2008 9:59PM
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Inbred_Redneck
Posts: 2776 - Karma: 28
The satellite was already in a decaying orbit, so whatevers still up there won't really stay up there for long. As for the shootdown, the U.S. had spy equipment in that they didnt want anyone finding after reentry, plus the hazard with the fuel, Hydrazine thats pretty much a poison and extremely flammable.
Feb 22 2008 10:13PM
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whattheshit
Posts: 6562 - Karma: 107
yea and its all broken or hazardous to my health.
Feb 23 2008 7:25AM
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Ryno
Posts: 31125 - Karma: 336
Anyone know why they didnt just repair it?
Feb 23 2008 8:33AM
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VT_FLO
Posts: 3806 - Karma: 147
yet you still buy it.
Feb 23 2008 11:11AM
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salamander
Posts: 815 - Karma: 16
civilians will NEVER know the full capability of it's government and it's government's technology. that shit is kept tight. i'm sure they can do things now that we think is purely futuristic and impossible.
Feb 23 2008 12:43PM
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S-Titterington
Posts: 578 - Karma: 1,323
im with him.
Feb 23 2008 1:15PM
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whattheshit
Posts: 6562 - Karma: 107
i guess i offended you.  you must be chinese or something.


good.
Feb 23 2008 1:41PM
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