US to try to shoot down spy satellite

[Swimmy]

US to try to shoot down spy satellite

How much do you want to bet this is in response to Iran's promise to put its own spy satellite into orbit in the near future? I am willing to wager 10 martinis this is a show of capability that Iran may be able to put up spy satellites but they won't stay in orbit for very long.

[Swimmy]

I forget which news channel reported Iran's promise late last night.

[rrogers40]

Saw that coming- it bet its more because they don't want Russia to know that they have already launched a missile deterrent system. Or because they don't want China to know that we can see through their the roofs. Or because its afraid that the Nuclear Core will explode over California Washington DC.

There reason for shooting it down, "safety", is classic though.

[Swimmy]

The Russians have known about the missile deterrent system since we pulled out the anti-missile defense treaty. The Chinese have known about our spying capabilities long before now. It's simply an issue of flexing our muscles for Iran. Pentagon officials have said that the toxic fuel would pose minimal health risks, according to msnbc news at the 6 o'clock hour update.

[kim]

I just hope they don't give Cheny the gun. We all know he can't shoot! ;-)

[Swimmy]

He might shoot the space station by accident. lol

[frankcor]

The Pentagon insists this is not a show of strength or threat to anyone. After all, (and as swimmy points out) they claim "we've been successfully targeting satellites for more than 20 years now."

I sort of believe them. I hate the way the media is covering this story. How do you shoot down something that is in zero-gravity? They are going to hit the target with a big bullet to rupture its fuel tanks. The satellite has tanks full of toxic nitrogen that will represent a hazard if it reaches a land mass. There's no way to shoot down a satellite. It's orbit is deteriorating and it is coming down all by itself. Even if it is smashed into lots of pieces, the center of mass will continue mostly on its original path although some deflection is to be expected.

The only thing new about the attempt is that this they are going to use a tactical missile, part of our anti-missile defense network but not a strategic one capable of intercontinental strikes. What that says to the world is, not only do we have quality, we also have quantity.

The price of poker just went up.

[Swimmy]

I think shoot down is being used in the sense that it will no longer be in orbit. But that aside, the pentagon has insisted on many things only for us to find out otherwise later on. This could be just another one of those situations. Their timing of this certainly raises the issue.

[frankcor]

The satellite, or all its pieces will remain in orbit which will continue to decay. At most, the center of mass of all the pieces may be pushed to a higher orbit and delay the eventual return to earth. It should be quite a display. Breaking up the tanks may reduce the chance of bigger pieces reaching the surface.

If the test is successful, I think it's monumental. It means Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) between the US and whatever coalition Putin is able to pull together is off the table. They will be in the same position as China. Launching an attack against the US will only serve to ensure their own destruction. We may be hurt, but we may be able to survive.

It hugely destabilizes the situation. Fortunately the instability is on their side. But I don't know if that's comforting.

[frankcor]

I say it's destabilizing because it puts Russia and China in the same position as Japan in 1941. The US was blocking their expansion. Their only hope of continuing their expansion was to defeat the US by sneak attack. We know how they decided.

[Swimmy]

We were the only military that was able to defeat theirs. The knew that if they were to be successful in securing their huge empire plans they needed to take out the U.S. The attack did just that. Thank God our carriers weren't at port, otherwise the war may have turned out differently

[dgriffin]

In "Flyboys," (not the damned movie, the totally different book), the author spends a good deal of time on how miltaristic Japan was leading up to the war. Nazi Germany paled by comparison. Japan's complete society was riddled with War Thought, internal propaganda and psychology. The generals and admirals "group think"ed themselves into believing they could beat a country which could call upon an immeasurable industrial capacity and do it relatively quickly to roll right back over them. Many military historians feel America stumbled their way to victory (probably always the case for any victor), but relentlessly and with never a doubt as to the outcome. Sorry, just some thoughts. It's late.

[frankcor]

I picked this up from Drudge this morning:


Russia: US Satellite Shot a Weapons Test
Feb 16 05:45 PM US/Eastern

MOSCOW (AP) - Russia said Saturday that U.S. military plans to shoot down a damaged spy satellite may be a veiled test of America's missile defense system.

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Perhaps Putin isn't as stupid as he looks.

[Swimmy]

Those plans have been around since the mid 1990s. I remember reading an article about it in Popular Science magazine and seeing nothing until last year on Discovery Channel's Future Weapons. The U.S. has had a solid missile defense program for many years. The only place we aren't protected is with ICBMs, until recently. The Patriot Missile System is a perfect example of some our "Missile Defense" systems.

[Clipper]

I have little knowledge of scientific matters, but will not breaking the satellite into smaller pieces facilitate a better chance of the pieces burning up when they re-enter??

Inquiring minds want to know!! LOL