Topic: Spy satellite.

[Sam Green Racing]

I think the easyest way to do it would have been to plant a radio activated bomb in the thing before sending it into space.

I realise that weight is the essence in these Sat's but what would a small blob of Semtex and a triggering device weigh.

Plus it wouldn't miss like the missile might.

Sam 

[aptech77]

Just heard on the Chicago news, JUST NOW, it was shot down earlier. 100 miles up........blammmmo...RIP

[Sam Green Racing]

I wonder if it would have been visible from earth ?

Sam.

[mattcb350f]

That would have been cool to see...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/02/20/satellite.shootdown/index.html?pc=no_id

Now there are thousands of little satellites to worry about.

 Matt.

[Sam Green Racing]

Matt, there are no satellites where this one was, it was near as damn it back into the atmosphere.

Sam.

[BobbyR]

Um, no.  I'm very clearly a skeptic, not a paranoid.  And, just so you know, a paranoid is worse.

Ed, I don't know what is worse; a skeptic or a paranoid.  But you seem to have hit both ends of the spectrum in one sentence.

Having been a kid during the Cold War, we did all the drills in school and it really had an effect on us. We were told by our Teachers it could happen any minute. Then the Cuban Missle Crisis came. I never saw my old man drink more beer either before or since. That stuff stays with you stuck somewhere in the back of your mind.

[SD750F]

Being an engineer, I find the whole lead-up and concluding story issued by our current government too convenient. Hydrazine is a toxic compound composed from Hydrogen and Nitrogen. Yes it is used as a fuel, it is also used as a foam blowing agent all over the United States, everyday! So was the tank for this fuel made out of refractory materials that was designed for re-entry? Must have been considering the concern about the fuel surviving the high temperatures of punching its way through our atmosphere... And get this, the boiling point of Hydrazine is 113°C or 235°F!

Here is the warning with respect to exposure:
"Symptoms of acute (short-term) exposure to high levels of hydrazine may include irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, dizziness, headache, nausea, pulmonary edema, seizures, coma in humans. Acute exposure can also damage the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system. The liquid is corrosive and may produce dermatitis from skin contact in humans and animals. Effects to the lungs, liver, spleen, and thyroid have been reported in animals chronically exposed to hydrazine via inhalation. Increased incidences of lung, nasal cavity, and liver tumors have been observed in rodents exposed to hydrazine."
And there has been only ONE death caused by Hydrazine exposure, one... I think bees have killed more...

The Space Shuttle has hydrazine on board inside the APUs and they even have special "sniffing" devices and big fans to blow away Hydrazine as well as other gases after every landing. So if this is so dangerous, why would NASA blow the stuff into the wind???

Okay, my thoughts are these. One maybe some technical hardware might survive reentry that some rouge government might be able to use... Sure! And my CB750 is worth $1M! I think the real story is that the satellite had a nuclear thermal to electric power core used for part, or all of it's power needs. And they knew where the de-orbit was going to take place... Somewhere were they didn't want it to, like American soil.

Food for thought, and my two cents...

Scott

[bill440cars]

Having been a kid during the Cold War, we did all the drills in school and it really had an effect on us. We were told by our Teachers it could happen any minute. Then the Cuban Missle Crisis came. I never saw my old man drink more beer either before or since. That stuff stays with you stuck somewhere in the back of your mind.
[/quote]

         Bobby, I remember that stuff too! A number of folks bought bomb shelters (not o be confused with "Storm Shelters") also.

                                   Later on, Bill    

[Bob Wessner]

Remember this one?



Like it would make a difference.