Posted on 01/11/2007 3:01:28 PM PST by HAL9000
Excerpt -
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. officials are unable to communicate with an expensive experimental U.S. spy satellite launched last year by the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), a defense official and another source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.Efforts are continuing to reestablish communication with the classified satellite, which cost hundreds of millions of dollars, but "the prognosis is not great at this point," said the defense official, who asked not to be identified.
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(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
That's just what they want you to think.
IBFBF
Space is a harsh environment. I'm surpised we don't lose more of them.
It seems the satellite has adopted a liberal work ethic.
Look for the union label
That one was Gore's fault.
If NASA wasn't so PC since they now refuse to allow the shuttle to work on classified military missions, they could repair it. It's one of the things the shuttle was designed for.
Sounds like when the monkey was flown to space but the Russians got the real blue print, instead.
It don't matter. They will just buy another one and deduct it from your paycheck tomorrow. No worries.
Back in the 80's the Air Force used to have trained crews for classified missions like deployment or repair. Did something change?
Ummm. No. Complete nonsense.
Virtually all US reconnaissance satellites are in polar (north-south) orbits - thus as the earth rotates you can cover the entire earth. Given that this one was launched from Vandenberg AFB in California, it's almost certainly in a polar orbit.
There were plans for a Shuttle launch facility at Vandenberg for the sole purpose of launching and servicing military polar payloads that were abandoned after the Challenger disaster.
It would be a physical impossibility for the Space Shuttle to get anywhere NEAR this satellite because you can't launch into polar orbits from the KSC.
Yes. During the Clinton administration, NASA decided that the shuttle would not be used for classified military missions anymore. Only civilian missions.
ping for future.
That's what I said. It was a political decision not to support those classified missions anymore.
It would be a physical impossibility for the Space Shuttle to get anywhere NEAR this satellite because you can't launch into polar orbits from the KSC.
That's correct. But if NASA had not chosed to be PC and not support those classified military missions, that launch complex would be operational and the shuttle would be able to repair this satellite by launching from there. That's what it was designed for. The shuttle's payload bay was enlarged during the design phase to allow for the recovery of such satellites. Were it not for NASA's decision to no longer support classified military missions, they would be able to repair this satellite -- just like I said.
Which occured in the REAGAN adminstration, though people have gone so kooknut-batty in attempting to blame Clinton for every evil on the planet whether he had anything to do with it or not I don't know why I bother to point that out.
And the decision to abandon Vandenberg had nothing to do with political correctness. The Shuttle program would never have been able to meet the needed scheduled launches of the military anyway.
I'm certain President Bush could get it repaired if need be.
Anyone know of a satellite that is not expensive?
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