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......"
Asia Pacific ringside view.
Eagles Up!
Despite the horrendous, overwhelming flood of illegals taking over and pushing us into a third world nation on the installment plan, in FACT the good old USA ain't down for the count yet.
The libs piss and moan. Means we are on the right track. I'm lovin it. Going out now to git a Macudonarudo as a celebration.
LOL!
I mean
Every aspect of the debate and the consideration
that is given this whole program
is... is troubling to me.
I... I mean... I...there's a disconnect there.
I mean...It just seems common sense....
I mean...there's no brain..
This isn't rocket science here...
Long live US engineering, technology, and mathematics dominance. More Reagan legacy spinoff.
“Nothing special was needed”
“All they had to do was get the missile in the orbital path and the Satellite ran into it essentially.”
“Really nothing to celebrate”
Your post is full of “wow”.
“After all that is getting the most for our money.”
And that’s what everything’s all about, isn’t it? Especially for our rivals, right?
“US obviously. But, If we had sent up a spy satellite that worked and didn’t have to be shot down in the first place we might not seem to be jingoistic morons bragging that we fixed our own F***-up.”
Yes, because we never send up spy satellites that work, do we?
People are “bragging” because we’ve demonstrated the capacity to fix our f*ck-up (and more) should it be required, which is substantially better than NOT having a solution to the problem. If you can’t separate the f*ck-up from the fix, that’s your shortcoming, but most people don’t suffer same.
Putin will be "putin" his chair cover for weeks.... :-)
You must have DISH Network.
My DirecTV is working OK.
(I can't watch the news, either. Brian Williams' eyebrows creeps me out....)
I thought only Karl Rove had access to "the button"....
LOL!
About enough to treat 2 patients and employ 57 bureaucrats to administer to the 2 patients....
Multiply the above by 100 mil, and you'll get some idea how "free" health care will be when Osama Obama or Hitlery run it....
But for the Navy, YEAH, BABY!
I ask out of ignorance - how is this acheivement much different from China recently shooting one if its own satellites in space? I realize the difference of the excess space junk vs. allowing the debris to burn up. Primarily interested in contrasting the technology.
To the USS Lake Erie and the rest of the Navy, THANK YOU!!
BRAVO ZULU!
Totally agree. This is GOOD use of our tax dollars.
I’m smiling big time this morning. Nice work!!!!! We may never know all of the story on this mission but I am even more confident in our ability to defend ourselves from ICBM’s. Ronald Reagan would be very proud to see these results. :-)
IIRC physics, it turns into potential energy as it ascends and slows down. It would be the same as throwing a ball into the air, it slows, stops and then picks up speed as it returns to the ground.
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