US may shoot down satellite Wednesday

ap / yahoo news ^ | February 19, 2008 | ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer

[prairiebreeze]

The three-stage Navy missile, designated the SM-3, has chalked up a high rate of success in a series of tests since 2002 — in each case targeting a short- or medium-range ballistic missile, never a satellite. A hurry-up program to adapt the missile for this anti-satellite mission was completed in a matter of weeks; Navy officials say the changes will be reversed once this satellite is down.

Interesting stuff. May be Wednesday night now...

[Rudder]

I just read that “the window was about to be opened.” Although it sounds strange to be shooting this down by firing a missile through
an open window in the Pentagon

[Dog]

Marvin is on the job.....did they need a death ray?

[whipitgood]

Any chance we will be able to see this when it happens? Or will we just have to wait for the youtube?

[prairiebreeze]

LOL!

If we can pull this off, it’ll be quite sobering to our enemies. (fingers crossed)

GO NAVY!!

[Dog]

Go Army!

Beat Navy!

[prairiebreeze]

I honestly don't know. There may be some discussion of that in the comments on this thread

[M Kehoe]

US may shoot down satellite Wednesday

"May?" May nothing, "will." Like Yoda said, "either do, or do not." There's no "may" in there.

I'm sure we will shoot it down. Then, watch the Chicoms and Ivan pee in their collective pants.

I'm hoping for; film at 11, so I can watch too.

5.56mm

[cpdiii]

What is the fuel on board the satellite? Is it plutonium? If it is, that would be damn good reason to shoot it down so it all burns up in the atmosphere on reentry.

[MinuteGal]

I may be a lone voice here but IMO the space engineers know approximately where the missile will land......but our government wants to blast it to smithereens for a reason.

What reason? Because of top secret technology on board which we don't want to see fall into enemy hands if some parts actually survive the plunge and impact.

Leni

[bmwcyle]

It takes the Navy to clean up after the Air Force.

[pipecorp]

Come on GW, shut up and get on with it. Do you honestly believe any other country would be pussy footing around this if they had the means to do it?

[prairiebreeze]

LOL, dang our guys ARE good, aren’t they!

[bannie]

Who gets to yell,

PULL!

[prairiebreeze]

Positive thinking there, M. I like that!

[prairiebreeze]

Good thought, Leni. Could well be, the article also mentions

It carried a sophisticated and secret imaging sensor.

[prairiebreeze]

LOLOL! BTTT

[MediaMole]

using a Navy heat-seeking missile

What kind of idiot fact checked this story?

[prairiebreeze]

I’ll leave it up to the pro’s to decide on the timing. I wonder if the upcoming lunar eclipse is factoring in any way?

[ASOC]

"It takes the Navy to clean up after the Air Force."

It takes the Navy to clean up after the Air Force's low bidder contractor. Never made it orbit, never entered into operations, so, not accepted.

There, as they say, fixed....

Could be some cool video, and maybe I will be able to collect a souvenir if the Navy's shot "misses". Make no mistake, hitting a object traveling 17K mph is no simple task.