If we don't let the islamofacist barbarians or socialist take over the country! 
Posted on 02/20/2008 7:51:05 PM PST by TexasBeth
Edited on 02/20/2008 8:10:37 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
WASHINGTON (AP) - A missile launched from a Navy ship successfully struck a dying U.S. spy satellite passing 130 miles over the Pacific on Wednesday, a defense official said. Full details were not immediately available.
It happened just after 10:30 p.m. EST.
Two officials said the missile was launched successfully. One official, who is close to the process, said it hit the target. He said details on the results were not immediately known.
The goal in this first-of-its-kind mission for the Navy was not just to hit the satellite but to obliterate a tank aboard the spacecraft carrying 1,000 pounds of a toxic fuel called hydrazine.
U.S. officials have said the fuel would pose a potential health hazard to humans if it landed in a populated area. Although the odds of that were small even if the Pentagon had chosen not to try to shoot down the satellite, it was determined that it was worth trying to eliminate even that small chance.
Officials said it might take a day or longer to know for sure if the toxic fuel was blown up......"
LOL!
Might have known that picture was posted by you. Still giggling.
Can you imagine the report that pissant would file if we’d decided not to try to strike it and the satellite fell to earth with the fuel tank intact? Or, if the tank hit a major population center...?
Get’r Done!
News flashback 1984
The Case Against Star Wars Weapons (TIME MAGAZINE)
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,954303,00.html
Among the doubters were moderates like John Glenn as well as liberals like Massachusetts Democrat Paul Tsongas.
Lest there be any doubt that the issue will figure in the presidential campaign, Democratic Front Runner Walter Mondale last week denounced the plan as “dangerously destabilizing” and called for a freeze on military uses of space. The Democrats believe that the President’s embrace of antimissile weapons will fan fears that he is a trigger-happy nucl ear cowboy.
“SHACK!”
Boy am I glad they didn’t miss.
If we don't let the islamofacist barbarians or socialist take over the country!
Ping #299 & 210
Hooray. Hope the Chinese see this!
So, what do you think happens to the kinetic energy of the kill vehicle? The control model might be based on positioning the kill vehicle in the path of the target, but that doesn’t mean that the kinetic energy of the kill vehicle is not dissipated during the impact.
(And kudos on hitting the target).
Missile Strikes a Spy Satellite Falling From Its Orbit
*************************EXCERPT*********************
Military officials said their goal had been to carry out the mission before March 1, when the satellite was expected to start skidding against the upper reaches of the atmosphere.
That initial friction would bump the satellite into a more unpredictable Earth orbit, even before it started a fiery descent through the atmosphere.
Providing new information about how the mission would be carried out, a senior military officer on Wednesday described the vessels, weapons and command structure for the operation
The senior military officer said the mission would be launched in daylight to take advantage of radar, heat-sensor tracking and visual tracking equipment. The Navy had a window that lasted only tens of seconds as the satellite passed overhead, military officers said.
An Aegis cruiser, the Lake Erie, has two Standard Missile 3 rockets that were adapted to track the cold satellite, as opposed to the heated enemy warheads for which it was designed.
US missile hits 'toxic satellite'
****************EXCERPTS******************
The US has successfully struck a disabled spy satellite with a missile fired from a warship in waters west of Hawaii, military officials say.
Military operatives had only a 10-second window to hit the satellite - USA 193 - which lost control shortly after it was launched in December 2006.
Officials said they were worried fuel on board could pose a threat to humans.
But Russia suspects the operation was a cover to test anti-satellite technology under the US missile defence programme.
The US denies the operation was a response to an anti-satellite test carried out by China last year, which prompted fears of a space arms race.
Precision needed
The BBC's Jonathan Beale in Washington says this operation was hugely ambitious - like trying to fire a missile through the eye of a needle.
The operation went ahead hours after the space shuttle Atlantis landed, removing it as a safety issue for the military.
1 SM-3 missile launched from a US Navy cruiser in Pacific Ocean
2 The three-stage missile heads for collision location, where the relative "closing" speed will be 10km/s (22,000mph)
3 Satellite reaches desired altitude of 240km (130 nautical miles), close to edge of atmosphere
4 Missile makes contact and breaks fuel tank, freeing hydrazine into space
5 Debris scattered over hundreds of kilometres
Yes...liberals everywhere are DEEPLY SADDENED...and will focus on the cost—as that money could have been much better been spent in ‘handouts’ to the ‘more deserving’....lol
Stockstrader, you’ve got the Left pegged!
Yes...liberals everywhere are DEEPLY SADDENED...and will focus on the cost—as that money could have been much better been spent in ‘handouts’ to the ‘more deserving’....lol
Stockstrader, you’ve got the Left pegged!
Hitting a bullet with a bullet. A truly amazing shot! Congrats to all involved!
Auntie sat on the deck of a ship...
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