Looks like the Pentagon needs to prove who's who in terms of space wars.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/serv...ry/Science/home

"Gen. Cartwright said this will be an unprecedented effort; he would not say exactly what are the odds of success.

“This is the first time we've used a tactical missile to engage a spacecraft,” Gen. Cartwright said."

In theory this should be an easy hit, after all the anti-missile missiles that the US has been firing off. If they miss it's going to be one hell of a black eye in the millitary ego.

i don't think there is anything easy about this. the speeds, trajectory and the fact that the missle has to negotiate outer space once it leaves the atmosphere and hit the fuel tank, it's mind bottling.

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Originally posted by atbell Looks like the Pentagon needs to prove who's who in terms of space wars. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/serv...ry/Science/home "Gen. Cartwright said this will be an unprecedented effort; he would not say exactly what are the odds of success. “This is the first time we've used a tactical missile to engage a spacecraft,” Gen. Cartwright said." In theory this should be an easy hit, after all the anti-missile missiles that the US has been firing off. If they miss it's going to be one hell of a black eye in the millitary ego.

I thought the Chinese had already done this, which would put the Americans as also rans not as innovators?

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Orbax At that point you kind of crossed the rubicon and you might as well lay siege to Rome

its not the first time ever, but first time since the 80s. And ofcourse shooting down a satellite in space is no easy task. The success rate of Patriot Missiles used to shoot down Saddam's Scuds was less than satisfactory.

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On April 7, 1992 Theodore Postol of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Reuven Pedatzur of Tel Aviv University testified before a House Committee stating that, according to their independent analyses, the Patriot system had a success rate of below 10%, and perhaps even a zero success rate. In response to this testimony and other evidence, the staff of the House Government Operations Subcommittee on Legislation and National Security reported, "The Patriot missile system was not the spectacular success in the Persian Gulf War that the American public was led to believe. There is little evidence to prove that the Patriot hit more than a few Scud missiles launched by Iraq during the Gulf War, and there are some doubts about even these engagements. The public and the United States Congress were misled by definitive statements of success issued by administration and Raytheon representatives during and after the war."[9]

They are not using Patriot Missile for this operation, but these type of missions are said to have very low success rates. So yeah the satellite may still fall on earth and fall on Manhattan and may create a chemical hazard due to its rocket motor propellant, in an area of the size of 2 football fields.

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Originally posted by twilightki : It feels like something you'd listen to at 4 in the morning, or listen to in your car while you're going in a tunnel.

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Originally posted by Omega_M They are not using Patriot Missile for this operation, but these type of missions are said to have very low success rates. So yeah the satellite may still fall on earth and fall on Manhattan and may create a chemical hazard due to its rocket motor propellant, in an area of the size of 2 football fields.

can you imagine if that happened..... damn.... Watching the morning news this morn they had some cat on there talking about the chemical, kind of like chlorine's and ammonia's worse cousin..

isn;t this like how shawn of the dead started?? a satellite fell to earth?? sorry, not to make light but its on the tube in the backround'

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Originally posted by Omega_M its not the first time ever, but first time since the 80s. And ofcourse shooting down a satellite in space is no easy task. The success rate of Patriot Missiles used to shoot down Saddam's Scuds was less than satisfactory. They are not using Patriot Missile for this operation, but these type of missions are said to have very low success rates. So yeah the satellite may still fall on earth and fall on Manhattan and may create a chemical hazard due to its rocket motor propellant, in an area of the size of 2 football fields.

Are you all on crack ? It was done last year by the Chinese! I'm pretty sure there was even a thread about it here.

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China launched a ground-based missile into an obsolete weather satellite in January 2007 -- drawing international criticism and worries inside the Pentagon that Beijing now has the ability to target critical military assets in space.

Reuters

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Orbax At that point you kind of crossed the rubicon and you might as well lay siege to Rome

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Originally posted by venomX Are you all on crack ? It was done last year by the Chinese! I'm pretty sure there was even a thread about it here. Reuters

i remember that and i see your point. its not unprecedented.

however i belive weather sats are geosynchronous. this one will be out of control and about to enter the atmosphere. so you can count on that bitch bookin at about 17,000 mph. imo hitting that is enormously more challenging.

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Originally posted by venomX Are you all on crack ? It was done last year by the Chinese! I'm pretty sure there was even a thread about it here.

The technology has been around since the Cold War. This is the first time since the 80s for the US.

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Originally posted by twilightki : It feels like something you'd listen to at 4 in the morning, or listen to in your car while you're going in a tunnel.

The US did this a long time ago.

I have heard various theories about aliens and nuclear weapons, etc. I am not saying any of them are true, but sometimes they make a little sense.

During the Cold War, there were various UFO siting around nuclear silos, even to the point where entire launch systems were temporarily shut down. The theory goes that the aliens are afraid of human technology because of how we've weaponized every environment we've stepped foot into. Land, Sea, Air, and now Space. They are afraid that the miracle of life-support (whether divine or probablistic) which is earth is on the brink of self-destruction because of earthling civil wars. And let's be honest, every war is a civil war among earthlings. We are all humans on one planet, and the notion of national boundries really is archaic, though, at this time, we are not nearly close enough to technological or societal innovations which would unite humanity in a united world order.

It's just food for thought..

The Russian views are well-founded...

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Russia: US satellite shot a weapons test Sat Feb 16, 5:54 PM ET MOSCOW - Russia said Saturday that U.S. military plans to shoot down a damaged spy satellite may be a veiled test of America's missile defense system. The Pentagon failed to provide "enough arguments" to back its plan to smash the satellite next week with a missile, Russia's Defense Ministry said in a statement. "There is an impression that the United States is trying to use the accident with its satellite to test its national anti-missile defense system's capability to destroy other countries' satellites," the ministry said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080216...52qVJuhXXVbbBAF

China alarmed...

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China concerned by U.S. satellite missile plan 2 hours, 46 minutes ago BEIJING (Reuters) - China is concerned by U.S. plans to shoot down an ailing spy satellite and is considering what "preventative measures" to take, the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. "The Chinese government is paying close attention to how the situation develops and demands the U.S. side fulfill its international obligations and avoids causing damage to security in outer space and of other countries," spokesman Liu Jianchao said. President George W. Bush has decided to have the Navy shoot the 5,000-pound (2,270 kg) satellite with a modified tactical missile after security advisers suggested its re-entry could lead to a loss of life, U.S. officials said on Thursday. "Relevant departments in China are closely watching the situation and studying preventive measures," Liu said in a brief statement posted on the Foreign Ministry's Web site (www.fmprc.gov.cn). On Saturday, Russia's Defense Ministry said the U.S. plan could be used as a cover to test a new space weapon. It will be the first time the United States has conducted an anti-satellite operation since the 1980s. Russia also has not conducted anti-satellite activities in 20 years. China launched a ground-based missile into an obsolete weather satellite in January 2007, drawing international criticism and worries inside the Pentagon that Beijing has the ability to target critical military assets in space.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080217...sa_satellite_dc

It'd be silly not to try out your latest satellite destruction system if you had a good reason to.

But really wouldn't surprise me if it was deliberate. I think there is an international treaty against exactly this kind of 'test'.

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