Spy satellite gonna crash down ...

freeanipper

rumours already on the net that it contain nuclear material. seems the us gov are notifing a lot of agencys local and international about whats on this satellite. could be interesting times ahead. time to go and buy meself a tin hat.:D

Redshift

When you start a thread with a news item like this it's better to link a source especially since you provided little information in your post
otherwise people just go "WTF" is this.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080126/ap_on_go_ot/dead_satellite

Zirconia

No mention of any nuclear or radioactive material on board that I can find, just beryllium which can be toxic and dangerous, but isn't radioactive.

mike65

Sure it'll proberbly hit something empty like Laois.

Mike.

The Hill Billy

It may contain hydrazine, which according to BBC News is a "colourless liquid with an ammonia-like odour, the fuel is a toxic chemical and can cause harm to anyone who comes in contact with it."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7211443.stm

Captain Chaos

But as reported on other sites, its fuel tanks are still largly full as the satellite failled almost straight away when it was put in orbit in December 2006. Due to them being nearly full they will almost 100% explode when it re-enters due to the high temp of 7,500 oC it will reach.

themole

Hill Billy wrote: »

It may contain hydrazine, which according to BBC News is a "colourless liquid with an ammonia-like odour, the fuel is a toxic chemical and can cause harm to anyone who comes in contact with it."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7211443.stm

Or all mentions of dangerous materials could be a rouse to prevent people from trying to retrieve a supposidly classified satellite

Pat Dunne

Just got told about this. An astoroid will pass Earth by 350.000 or so miles around now folks and we will be able to see this from UK/ Ireland. NASA has kept this well quiet!

TU24 is an asteroid headed our way on January 29, 2008 . It's the largest potentially hazardous asteroid for the next 19 years.

Although the chances of a direct impact are nearly non-existent, there is a much greater chance that there will be a degree of electromagnetic interference as TU24 traverses Earth's magnetosphere in the manner of Tunguska 100 years ago. Here's what scientists think of plasma discharge (or "magnetic reconnection"). You can also download the NASA video.

There could possibly be an even higher chance of electromagnetic interference occuring on Mars on Jan. 30 as asteroid WD5 approaches it, making for some interesting celestial effects.


http://www.tu24.org/

maquiladora

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military is developing contingency plans to deal with the possibility that a large spy satellite expected to fall to Earth in late February or early March could hit North America.

Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, who heads of U.S. Northern Command, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the size of the satellite suggests that some number of pieces will not burn up as the orbiting vehicle re-enters the Earth's atmosphere and will hit the ground.

Renuart added that, "As it looks like it might re-enter into the North American area," then the U.S. military along with the Homeland Security Department and the Federal Emergency Management Agency will either have to deal with the impact or assist Canadian or Mexican authorities.

Military agencies, he said, are doing an analysis to determine which pieces most likely would survive re-entry. But he cautioned that officials won't have much detail on where or when it will crash until it begins to move through the atmosphere and break up.

Video images of the satellite captured by John Locker, a British amateur satellite watcher, show it to be about 13 feet to 16.5 feet across. He believes it weighs a maximum of 10,000 pounds. Locker calculated its size with data on its altitude and location provided by other amateur satellite watchers, using the International Space Station as a yardstick.

Satellite watchers — a worldwide network of hobbyists who track satellites for fun — have been plotting the satellite's degradation for a year. They estimate it is now at an altitude of about 173 miles, and Locker believes it is dropping about 1,640 feet a day.

Saruman

Pat Dunne wrote: »

Just got told about this. An astoroid will pass Earth by 350.000 or so miles around now folks and we will be able to see this from UK/ Ireland. NASA has kept this well quiet!



There could possibly be an even higher chance of electromagnetic interference occuring on Mars on Jan. 30 as asteroid WD5 approaches it, making for some interesting celestial effects.


http://www.tu24.org/

Pat, why did you use the future tense in your post when the article claimed this would happen two days before you posted it?

Can a satellite make it through earth's atmosphere? They are usually not made of heat resistant tiles etc.

The Hill Billy

Saruman wrote: »

Can a satellite make it through earth's atmosphere? They are usually not made of heat resistant tiles etc.

There are several instances where satellites (or substantial parts of them) have survived re-entry. Skylab being the most notable.

According to The Register the US Military are considering shooting it down.

ronbyrne2005

I think the satellite being out of control is a cover story so usa can test shooting down a satellite like the chinese did last year.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8UQ7CEO0&show_article=1

Captain Chaos

ronbyrne2005 wrote: »

I think the satellite being out of control is a cover story so usa can test shooting down a satellite like the chinese did last year.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8UQ7CEO0&show_article=1

Why the cover story, the US has tested this before in the '70s and '80s, the US do what they want to anyway.

A reason why they might want to shoot it down could be to make sure that anything sensitive that makes it to the ground cannot be checked out by unwanted third parties.

bogwalrus

i just heard on the pat kenny show today that satellite collectors (they exists yes) pay big bucks for parts of satellites that have been in orbit. some farmer in the us bought a piece of metal off a satellite for $50k a few years back.



any1 know where this is going to crash down?:D

oh and another thing. there could most definitely be nuclear components to this satellite. just cause its not reported dont mean it aint there=)

Captain Chaos

bogwalrus wrote: »

i just heard on the pat kenny show today that satellite collectors (they exists yes) pay big bucks for parts of satellites that have been in orbit. some farmer in the us bought a piece of metal off a satellite for $50k a few years back.



any1 know where this is going to crash down?:D

oh and another thing. there could most definitely be nuclear components to this satellite. just cause its not reported dont mean it aint there=)

Well, the US are going to shoot it with a missile, the firing window opens in two days when the satelliete will be 130 miles or less above us. So after a missile hit and then a re-entry I don't think there will be much left, then there is the fact that 70% of this planet is covered in water.

bogwalrus

i really dont think they are going to be able to hit a satellite moving over 1.5k miles in orbit. imagine the variables in trying to calculate where it will be. there would need to be a fair bit of calculations made (and maybe guesses).

then again i suppose they could use a homing missile.

Overheal

which is exactly what they are doing, ya goose

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SM-3#RIM-161_Standard_Missile_3_.28SM-3.29_Block_I.2FIA

redspider

Yes, they are gearing up to shoot this USA193 satellite down:
http://www.breakingnews.ie/world/mheysnqleyey/

I think the US authorities are not concerned by the chemicals that are on board, but are more concerned that the technology thats on board will fall (literally) into the wrong hands, or perhaps some of the information in it (eg: the UK would not be too enamoured to find out that the US is spying on it, for example).

It wont be an easy take-out due to the satellite's speed but as its trajectory, although decaying, is well known, they should be able to get a direct hit with their laser-guided missile. Its also a show of strength like the Chinese did last year which is a 'nice-to-have' rather than a raison d'etre.

I dont think they did it on purpose as it was launched back in 2006 and its orbit is decaying for sometime since the beginning, which is a clear physical indication that the satellite didnt function as planned.

Whilst I would have no problem allowing the satellite to crash to earth, I can see the merits of blasting it into smaller chunks (of which most may burn in the atmosphere) rather than allowing the possibility, even if remote, to hurt someone or damage the environment somewhere. Although the US authorities aren't doing it for that reason I dont think.

Redspider

The Hill Billy

Update from the Wikipedia entry:

On 18 February, a NOTAM was issued, announcing the closure of airspace west of Maui on 21 February between 02:30 and 05:00 GMT. USA 193 will pass over the closed airspace at around 03:30 GMT. It is believed that the first attempt may occur at that time. On 19 February, another NOTAM was issued for the same times on 22 February, which is believed to be for a backup shot, in case the first one is unsuccessful, or is scrubbed.

CNN also has an updated report on the situation.

sirpsycho

If they do manage to shoot it down then get the last glimpse of it tonight around 9-ish...

http://www.heavens-above.com/gtrack.asp?date=39498.8418469907&lat=53.63141&lng=-6.26513&alt=0&loc=Unspecified&TZ=CET&satid=29651

The Hill Billy

That's strange. If I select Dublin as my viewing location Heavens-Above gives me the following sighting info for tonight:

Magnitude 3.3, appearing at 18:40:25 at 10 degrees S.
Reaching max altitude at 18:41:57 at 16 degrees SE.
Ending at 18:42:41 at 14 degrees ESE

Magnitude 4.9, appearing at 20:12:03 at 10 degrees WSW.
Reaching max altitude at 20:12:15 at 12 degrees WSW.
Ending at 20:12:15 at 12 degrees WSW.

No sightings after that until 21st Feb at 18:32 - by which time it will be at the bottom of the Pacific. Maybe.

sirpsycho

Strange that indeed. I had selected Balbriggan area from the google map and the times were off yours.

I just redone it and selected Stamullen area and got:
20 Feb 3.4 18:40:32 10 S 18:42:00 16 SE 18:42:41 14 ESE
20 Feb 4.9 20:12:04 10 WSW 20:12:15 12 WSW 20:12:15 12 WSW

They must have updated their database.

MarkR

PFt. Already done on the hush hush. Link:D

The Hill Billy

MarkR wrote: »

PFt. Already done on the hush hush. Link:D

Pft. Already done over North County Dublin on Friday night/Saturday morning. Linky :D

aphex™

Well, they hit the thing in the end. Only had a 9 second window to fire from I think. They don't know if the hyrazine tanks ruptured, they will in a few days though.

There are lots of animations of the incident on tv this morning, presumably from nasa or similar. It shows huge bits flying off the satellite including solar panels. Obviously this is a simulation, but it's another 10,000 bits of space junk flying about at a few thousand miles per hour. How this was done just a year before space tourism is due to take off in a real way is shocking.:eek:

redspider

aphex™ wrote: »

but it's another 10,000 bits of space junk flying about at a few thousand miles per hour. How this was done just a year before space tourism is due to take off in a real way is shocking.:eek:

Most of those bits should drop down to earth (or what's left of them after re-entry, for those bits that don't get flly burned up) but perhaps someone that does modelling of such blasts/collisions (22,000 mph) would be able to define exactly the probability of large parts remaining in orbit. Of course, the actual explosive strength of the warhead hasnt been revealed so we will never really know, I presume.

Redspider

aphex™

redspider wrote: »

Of course, the actual explosive strength of the warhead hasnt been revealed so we will never really know, I presume.

Redspider

One news report said there was no explosive and the velocity/momentum of the missile was expected to explode the fuel tanks. It is not known if the tanks ruptured at this point.Therefore It's possible parts were flung up into higher orbits. That's my reading of it.

The Hill Billy

Apparently it was a kinetic warhead that they used. These rely on their high velocity to do the damage, rather than relying on an explosive charge.