Pentagon Can't Explain "Missile" off California

http://www.cbsnews.com ^

[tired1]

The Pentagon Tuesday said it was trying to determine if a missile was launched Monday off the coast of Southern California and who might have launched it.

[OneWingedShark]

>They have more than just EMP weapons, they favor the one weapon Jimmy Caddaa killed, the neutron warhead. Besides their national pride,...they are looking for wives.

Somebody, then, should point out that Neutron Bombs [or the missilized version] do not discriminate between male and female. Using such weapons would kill the women they want... unless they plan to get their women elsewhere and move into the towns which had been depopulated by the neutron attack [THEN it makes sense].

[doorgunner69]

I know about the Sprint. Impressive rocket, but not relevant, as you know. Nothing other than an artillery round, followed by small anti-air SAMs has that sort of acceleration.

What is being tossed around here, is the possibility this was a heavy ballistic missile of some unknown type and size, not a purpose built interceptor. You know how slow those big guys take off, and how long it takes to get really moving.

[tired1]

[Lmo56]

Chill out - it was just Uncle Martin goin' home

[doorgunner69]

Since it would be impossible for a foreign sub to get within the coast of Catalina

LOL...that was good for a hearty chuckle..........Tell that to the swabbies that had one surface in the middle of a carrier battle group.

Not a sub guy, and they won't talk, but I hear howling laughter out there that a sub could not sneak in close.

Read "Blind Man's Bluff" for what was possible decades ago.

[kingattax]

mystery solved

[Talisker]

Nothing went wrong. It was an airplane. Now we know.

So planes spin as they fly? It's not only obvious to everyone just looking at the massive exhaust plume it was a solid rocket booster, it's also obvious - and tedious - that you're paid to push the ridiculously stupid airplane cover story.

From Cameraman who filmed “mystery missile” describes spectacular sight:

"The KCBS helicopter cameraman who captured the footage of the "mystery missile" launch offered more details about the dramatic video he shot Monday evening. Cameraman Gil Leyvas shot video of a luminous point hurtling through the sky followed by a long vapor trail. He said he was aboard the television station's helicopter shooting footage of the sunset over the ocean about 5:15 p.m when he noticed the spiral-shaped vapor trail and zoomed in to get a better look.

The onboard camera showed a plume twisting up from the horizon and narrowing as it climbed into the sky near Catalina Island, about 35 miles west of Los Angeles, he said. "Whatever it was, it was spinning up into the sky kind of like a spiral," and was easy to distinguish from condensation trails from jets, he said. "It was quite a sight to see. It was spectacular."

Missiles are supposed to spin - planes aren't - genius.

Stability of Spinning ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) in First Stage Boost Phase.

[D-fendr]

For the Pentagon, NORAD and the FAA to miss this seemingly obvious possibility for so long — while telling the public they have “no clue”

I think that's the media emphasis. They aren't saying they have no clue exactly. DOD says it ain't anything of their's missile or otherwise. NORAD says it ain't anyone else's missile or any threat of any kind.

DOD says not a missile of theirs, NORAD said not anyone else's missile either. The headline could as well read: "Government says no missile, no attack, no threat."

That leaves a lot of jet contrails to have "no clue" which one it is.

[doorgunner69]

Spinning airliners, eh? No wonder so many get airsick....

And hey, with the cost of fuel being such a sensitive issue with airlines, why not try solid fuel boosters, even if not so "green". Kick it up a notch, so to speak..........

[jimbo123]

Why won’t Contrail Science tell us who they are? What are they hiding? Why won’t anyone associated with their site use their real names?

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[roses of sharon]

(new WP article out tonight 10:19pm, with weird quote, don’t you think?)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/09/AR2010110903136.html

Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, told reporters and editors at The Washington Post that it “wasn’t a Navy missile.” He declined to go into more detail. He did, however, appear to be smiling when he said it.

[jimbo123]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704635704575604572211398234.html

And from the Wall Street Journal:

The North American Aerospace Defense Command ruled out that any foreign power had fired a missile or rocket at the U.S.

[roses of sharon]

I can’t tell if this is bad journalism, incompetent military spokesmen, a show of force by an enemy, or a US missile test.

And it started first thing this morning with a retired DOD saying it was a “big missile”.

Good grief!

[JouleZ]

LOL, I have been to Roswell and Alamagordo. Funny stuff!

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

It's certainly media emphasis, but they should have seen that coming when they issued the statement. I'd be willing to bet this is the first time the DOD ever told the public they had “no clue” about something of this potential import.

All the various agency statements have done nothing but feed into the media's sensationalism and the public curiosity. It was 18 hours before anyone even referred to it as a contrail. If it's such an obvious possibility, it's hard to believe so many people could go so long without floating the theory to assuage the growing public concern. Honestly, they floated a “rocket enthusiast” theory (which is almost as unnerving as the hostile sub theory) before they got around to this one. They were clearly scrambling for an explanation and throwing sh*t against the wall in the early going. How did something so obvious and logical elude them for so long?

That aside, I've seen many contrails in many forms (including your pictures) and more than a few missile launches out of Vandy. I never mistook one for the other. But that's just me.

[D-fendr]

Bellow is a section from a story from 9 this morning. Pretend you are a journalist trying to sex it up. And look for what are direct quotes and what are not, and what is a named source and what is not, and imagine you have a phone book, rolidex, and over an hour's worth of telephone interviews from which to pick what you want and write this story:

“more likely caused by an airplane than anything else,” a senior military official told Fox News Channel Tuesday, though another official said authorities continue to investigate to rule out a possible missile launch.

The contrail caught on video by a news helicopter “was more likely caused by an airplane than anything else, because the other possibilities of rockets or missile are turning up negative,” the senior military official said.

But a US Defense Department official told Fox News that a missile has not been ruled out, saying US Strategic Command (Stratcom) and US Northern Command (Northcom) have both been asked to “count noses,” or ensure all missiles are in their arsenals.

The official did not rule out the possibility that a missile could have been launched as part of a covert operation.

Earlier Tuesday, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) confirmed that the incident was not a threat to the US.

“NORAD and U.S. Northcom are aware of the unexplained contrail reported off the coast of southern California yesterday evening,” NORAD said in a statement, according to Fox News Channel. “At this time we are unable to provide specific details, but we are working to determine the exact nature of this event. We can confirm that there is no indication of any threat to our nation and we will provide more information as it becomes available." A spokesman for NORAD and Northcom also told Fox News the US was “confident this was not fired from foreign military.”

Meanwhile, the US Navy confirmed to Fox News Channel that the incident “was not associated with any Navy operation,” while a NASA spokesman said the apparent missile launch was not a satellite launch or a satellite re-entry. NASA also said it was investigating whether the incident was a meteorite but said that was unlikely.

Separately, a military official told Fox the US was getting close to determining the cause and would have an explanation for the bizarre incident soon.

The Pentagon had said the incident remained “unexplained” and that its mysterious origins meant that it was not possible to rule out any threat to the homeland, Fox News Channel reported.

Pentagon Spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said the incident did not appear to be a regularly scheduled test, since no warnings to mariners or airmen appeared to be issued ahead of its launch.

Could the storry have alternatively been: "Official government spokesmen say "no missile threat, no foreign missile launch" while other un-named yappers say 'they don't know some stuff."

Often the problem with press stories is folks talking to reporters who have no authorization or training to do so.

[D-fendr]

Why won’t anyone associated with their site use their real names?

Perhaps for the same reason I and lots of clients don't. Privacy and spam prevention. And, if I was debunking the Chemtrail Conspiracy, I think I'd darn sure protect my privacy.

According to his/her Youtube account, he/she is 55 and lives in L.A.

[Gondring]

Here's the track of US Airways Flight 808 from Honolulu to Phoenix, right through the area on the 8th (NOTAMS? What NOTAMS?):

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AWE808/history/20101108/1955Z/PHNL/KPHX/tracklog
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AWE808/history/20101108/1955Z/PHNL/KPHX
(You can zoom in and put the aviation charts on as an underlay.)

I bet not a single passenger on that jet reported a missile whooshing by them as they passed through that area right as the helicopter was filming.

[Gondring]

Still does not explain the heat source that is clearly visible to the naked eye in the video.

Please don't stare at the sun...even as it reflects off the skin of an aircraft or contrail. :-)

[Gondring]

Because they’re smarter than the average Internet user.