Missile Hits Dying US Spy Satellite

AOL ^ | 2008-02-21 02:31:31 | ROBERT BURNS,AP

[BellStar]

WASHINGTON (AP) - A missile launched from a Navy cruiser soared 130 miles above the Pacific and smashed a dying and potentially deadly U.S. spy satellite Wednesday, the Pentagon said. Several defense officials said it apparently achieved the main aim of destroying an onboard tank of toxic fuel.

[Leftism is Mentally Deranged]

The commentary posing as “news” on this has been negative. Because Bush is president.

[sneakers]

LOL! Never mind. I see it was the USS Lake Erie that launched the missile.

[yldstrk]

Congratulations USS Erie!! Congratulations US of America!! Awesome job!

[TexasCajun]

"My little Iranian friend best pay attention! "

[chilepepper]

Here's a picture of the USS Erie... One of the older US Navy ships upgraded with Aegis...

[toddlintown]

The real story here is a realtime response to the ChiComs shooting down a satellite last year. The fuel tank story is cover. Satellites and debris fall all the time.

[agere_contra]

there is no atmosphere up there, and thus no heat signature.

IR propagates just fine in a vacuum, and satellites (IIRC) can get very hot out in the sun. My guess (and it is only a guess) is that they used heat-seeking in combination with AESA. After all, they wanted to make damn sure they hit this one.

[yldstrk]

LOL!

[sgtyork]

We really need to bring back the stocks for leading edge stupidity. Make it a reality show.

[LibLieSlayer]

dims say US may win Space race... cannot allow it to happen... must love china.

Did I ever tell you how much I despise dims?

LLS

[Always Right]

Reagan was brilliant beyond his years. JFK was a visionary for stating we would put a man on the moon within the decade. Reagan's star wars initiative was even more visionary. It already paid huge dividends in being a huge player in ending the cold war. Soon it will play a huge role in defending our country from terrorist regimes. Here's to you President Reagan.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Do they have any idea how big "space" is?

Do you have any idea how long forever is? (OK, centuries.) When the Chinese shot down the that satellite a couple of years ago they cluttered space with thousands of pieces of junk that will remain aloft for centuries. The probability of a collision with a satellite is not neglible over that time.

View of LEO Satellites (green) and Debris Ring (red) from Chinese ASAT Test

Plot of Orbital Decay Rate of ASAT Debris
Blue = nominal, Grey = upper and lower estimated excursions.

The expectation is that the Navy's intercept took place at a much lower altitude and therefore the debris should quickly decay, within hours. But if the kind of testing (rather "stunt") that the Chinese performed becomes routine, low earth orbits (LEO) may not be useful for peaceful purposes anymore.

[PurpleMan]

Some 4-star Marine general (Cartwright?) is giving a briefing. He’s brilliant. Put him and Petreaus together and I’ll bet you’d have one great conversation.

[Moonman62]

I wonder which ship launched it? My son is on a destroyer out of Japan!

I believe it was the Lake Erie.

[Humble Servant]

“... The local news idiot here was saying the Navy was using a heat seeking missile to shoot down said satellite. Umm, Mr. anchor, there is no atmosphere up there, and thus no heat signature. Plus...”

I’m out of my expertise area, but to be fair, the account I heard was that they were using heat-seeking guidance, relying on the sun’s heating of the surface of the satellite.

[not2worry]

SWEET!

God Bless Ronald Reagan. IMHO, this is one facet of the many things that our “Star Wars Defense” program is able to do to protect our Country.

GOP should use this piece of history to show how our Country must be protected....ONE SHOT...>>>>BOOM

CONGRATS UNITED STATES NAVY!!

[Thermalseeker]

They were probably worried about other stuff more.

SHHHHH! That's supposed to be a secret!

[SampleMan]

A hurry-up program to adapt the missile for this anti-satellite mission was completed in a matter of weeks; Navy officials said the changes would be reversed once this satellite was down.

Yea. Like I change my tagline on FR. I'm guessing that this was a software restriction to prevent the system from auto-engaging satellites. Nothing more.

[Leisler]

There is no mirror on it. It is a radiation bird, so what they want out of your pool is the antennas.

p.s.

You may notice more that usual amount of dead frogs in your skimmer basket. Keep the dogs and kids out of the pool for the next 400 years. On the plus side, the water should be algae free for the next few months.

[Sig Sauer P220]

Take note commies and ragheads.