+Jimbib 747 Posted February 21, 2008 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7254540.stm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sparkomatic 7 Posted February 21, 2008 Eh...wasnt this what we complained to China about doing? Nice...you cant test ASAT because it causes space-junk...wait...LAUNCH THE MISSILES!...and we are concerned about the environment/space... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Dave 2,322 Posted February 21, 2008 Eh...wasnt this what we complained to China about doing? Nice...you cant test ASAT because it causes space-junk...wait...LAUNCH THE MISSILES!...and we are concerned about the environment/space... Yes but their satellite didn't have a half ton of hydrazine on it. That stuff having worked with it in ICBM maint is deadly. Besides we had already shot down satellites back in 85. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sparkomatic 7 Posted February 21, 2008 ASAT program, copy...actually, I had no idea that SM-3 was that capable...I mean, proof of concept is one thing, but frakk...schwacking a sat at 133 miles out...poop Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Dave 2,322 Posted February 21, 2008 ASAT program, copy...actually, I had no idea that SM-3 was that capable...I mean, proof of concept is one thing, but frakk...schwacking a sat at 133 miles out...poop And it did it without a warhead. Total kinetic energy weapon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JediMaster 451 Posted February 21, 2008 China's satellite was at over 500 miles altitude. It will take years for that debris to reenter and in the interim it's a hazard for other satellites and spacecraft. This was at 133, right at the edge of the atmosphere. The only things there are the ones on the way up or the way down, and that's far easier to avoid. Think of it this way...you have to blow up a car to prevent a bomb in the car from going off and causing worse damage (this is one of those bombs like a nuke where detonation is worse than blowing it up). Where would you rather blow it up, in the far corner of the lot or right in the middle where all the other cars are? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TX3RN0BILL 3 Posted February 21, 2008 Congratz U.S.Navy! Hope that took care of it! Heck, I don't mind them shooting missiles at satellites, as long as they aren't hitting anything civilian... Always better to shoot anti-satellite missiles around space for a good purpouse, rather than shooting ICBMs at targets on Earth... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DWCAce 19 Posted February 21, 2008 Dang nab it people!!! How am I supposed to post news events when you all beat me to it!? No Worries! JB Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Fates 63 Posted February 21, 2008 I wonder if their painting a silhouette of the satellite on the side of the USS Lake Erie right now? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Typhoid 231 Posted February 21, 2008 I wonder if their painting a silhouette of the satellite on the side of the USS Lake Erie right now? I would be astonished if the paint hasn't already dried! A great Navy BMD Morning! It will be lots of fun now hearing from all the BMD skeptics who claimed it would never work! sparkomatic, Jedi Master is exactly right. This stuff is all coming down and there are NO, ZERO, NADA satellites threatened by this debris. If they were that low, they'd be coming in too. All of this debris will be burning in within a month. The Chinese converted one dead satellite in an operational satellite belt into thousands of deadly fragments in an ever increasing cloud that will be there for a thousand years. Which we all really appreciated......... So no complaints from China have any credible basis at all. They can go pound, uh, fortune cookies..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JediMaster 451 Posted February 21, 2008 They know it, too. They're just trying to milk this for all it's possibly worth among the more ignorant. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Typhoid 231 Posted February 21, 2008 They know it, too. They're just trying to milk this for all it's possibly worth among the more ignorant. "among the more ignorant" which unfortuneatly includes a signficant portion of the brain-washed masses/electorate of much of the world's representative democracies....... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
echoco 0 Posted February 22, 2008 When I first read the news I thought it was a SM-2 Block III hahaha, but yeah go Navy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites