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To: sonofstrangelove

Sorry about the double photo.

I don’t see how there’s room for anything else up there..


4 posted on 11/05/2009 1:15:19 AM PST by D-fendr (Deus non alligatur sacramentis sed nos alligamur.)
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To: D-fendr

No problem about the double photo. The biggest problem to any manned program is space junk. It has also become a national security issue.


5 posted on 11/05/2009 1:19:12 AM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld ("We will either find a way, or make one."Hannibal/Carthaginian Military Commander)
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To: D-fendr
I don’t see how there’s room for anything else up there..

The actual collision cross of the satellites and junk is microscopic compared to a single pixel on the scale of the pictures you posted. What counts almost as much is the uncertainty volume for each pair of satellites. The uncertainty volume depends on the confidence level, too. In other words, as you increase the required probability that the satellites won't collide, you need to increase the required prediction distance. What you need to worry about is keeping the uncertainty ellipses from colliding.

Check out this website for a kewl videos of the event. I can tell you that their "statistical model" of the post collision debris (based on a Gaussian distribution) isn't close to the truth.

16 posted on 11/05/2009 6:49:56 AM PST by Lonesome in Massachussets (The People have abdicated our duties; ... and anxiously hope for just two things: bread and circuses)
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