Space | February 20, 2008 | 11 comments

US military hits home run

source: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/02/20/satellite.shootdown/index.html

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Tori
Going...going...GONE!!! An inoperable U.S. spy satellite orbiting about 150 miles above Earth was struck Wednesday by a missile fired from a U.S. Navy cruiser, military sources told CNN.

The Pentagon said the window of opportunity to strike the 5,000-pound satellite opened Wednesday, when the space shuttle Atlantis landed in Florida. The Pentagon wanted to be sure the shuttle would not be struck by any debris from a destroyed satellite.

It says the exploded parts should dissolve upon re-entering the atmosphere...and then it says the US is offering assistance to mitigate the effects of satellite debris. Great!

But what the heck happens to the cloud of toxic gas when the missile hits the satellite? Is my poor home state slated for toxic rain, not to mention falling missile and satellite parts?!
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    Space
  2. tags:
    Current Radio News,  Space,  Navy,  Satellite,  3 more
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11 comments // US military hits home run

  • Frobot
  • uroborus8
    • 0
      uroborus8  

    • Whether the U.S. wanted China or Russia to interpret the satellite knock down as an aggressive measure is inconsequential. The perception remains that the U.S. was showing off.

    • 5 years ago
  • constantskeptic
    • 0
      constantskeptic  

    • either way, I think the US sent a message to the international community, intentional or not, that we can shoot down things that don't have heat signatures... so don't try any funny stuff. (in the words of the big lebowski)

    • 5 years ago
  • covelogibbs
  • cwhite
    • 0
      cwhite  
    • Image

    • Here's video of some guy talking blahbitty blah blah and covering his ass. OH! And the missile SLAMMING into the "satellite" at awesome speeds! KA-BOOM!!!!

    • 5 years ago
  • Keitarusm
    • 0
      Keitarusm  

    • JesseSanchez- The satellite WAS shot down wednesday. The Chief of Naval Operations just told me so, at the brief he just held here at Naval Submarine Base New London.

      Mulcahey- This was not a space age weapons test, actually it was far from it. The aegis missle system is currently being decommissioned in favor of newer technologies.

      This was a brilliant display of the Navy's ability to solve problems quickly and efficiently.

      Also, to the creator of this story, why does this article show an image of a trident missile being launched from a submerged launch platform? This image has nothing to do with this story.

    • 5 years ago
  • Frobot
  • uroborus8
  • JesseSanchez
    • 0
      JesseSanchez  

    • The US Satellite was not shot down on Wednesday.
      Due to weather conditions it was not shot down.
      It will hopefully be shot down Thursday.

    • 5 years ago
  • Mulcahey
    • 0
      Mulcahey  
    • Image

    • Par for the course, American media refuses to acknowledge the real implications (and motivations) for this event. This post explains the sequence of events that led to this launch, and labels it what it really was: a space age weapons test.

    • 5 years ago
  • theblockbuster
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