Russians: Satellite shoot down a military test.

[Easy90]

Russia: US Satellite Shot a Weapons Test

MOSCOW (AP) - 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. LINK (http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8URMG5G0&show_article=1)

So...is the US afraid of the wrong people getting hold of sensitive equipment? Or is it a weapons test?

[PatrickHenry]

Hard to say Easy.

If the military is planning to test something, I would assume they would devise a cover story.

Without evidence, though, why should we believe the Russkies?

[lily]

Either way, they better hope it works.....all eyes will be on us to see if our equipment does what we say it does.

[MrHappy]

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.


Yeah, but I bet that if the satellite smacks down in Outer-Siberia, then the Russians would probably get all huffy about that as well.


"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,..."


Well, yeah, probably. And the problem is....?


So...is the US afraid of the wrong people getting hold of sensitive equipment? Or is it a weapons test?


I have no idea. Both? Neither? Something else? I figure that it's our missile, and we can damn well do what we want with it.

[BoogyMan]

Everything that I have read about this seems to point to a directed missile shot at the satellite and not the use of the missile defense system. I don't think it would be problematic if the missile defense system hardware were used for this, but I think this is just more bluster from Russia. This fits the Russian anti missile defense propaganda so they simply seem willing to use it.

Military and administration officials said the satellite is carrying fuel called hydrazine that could injure or kill people who are near it when it hits the ground.

This tells me that we simply need to blow it out of the sky and move on.

[December]

If this thing "accidentally" drops on Moscow then Russian missiles will be flying towards Washington.....

Russian Missile systems

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Cna3xz-TcjM

[Easy90]

Military and administration officials said the satellite is carrying fuel called hydrazine that could injure or kill people who are near it when it hits the ground.

Hydrazine is really pretty common. It's nasty, but a lot of airplanes use it...
I pretty much share Mr. Happy's sentiments. Hitting something moving that fast in a decaying orbit is a challenge. Hope it works. If it scares the Russians, cool!

[lily]

If this thing "accidentally" drops on Moscow then Russian missiles will be flying towards Washington.....




I doubt it, they'd be too busy collecting all the information and technology they could get!

[December]

I doubt it, they'd be too busy collecting all the information and technology they could get!


Ha-ha-ha.... Very funny....

I think it was not a spy satellite but big empty box.
Pentagon planed to do this est from the very beginning.... No wonder this satellite malfunctioned almost immediately:
Quote: The satellite was launched in 2006 and malfunctioned almost immediately.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080215/99347040.html

[Truth_and_Power]

So the question is, are we using our anti-satellite capability or just testing it? Or are we showing it off since the chinese made such an impressive job of it recently?

I vote for #3, but I'm really not sure it matters.

[PatrickHenry]

Destruction of satellites needs careful management to avoid contaminating the orbits.

Carelessness could ruin what we have (peaceful use of space) for centuries with space debris.

I think what the Chinese did was reprehensible...

They should probably be fined by some international court for contaminating the commons (near-earth orbit). But I don't think there is a law governing that.

[potter]

If this thing "accidentally" drops on Moscow then Russian missiles will be flying towards Washington.....

Russian Missile systems

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Cna3xz-TcjM


I doubt it. Just because the US is unreasonable and is constantly looking for nations to destroy and people to kill doesn't mean other countries do the same. The US is a petty juvenile and immature country. Russia is not.

[lily]

I doubt it, they'd be too busy collecting all the information and technology they could get!


Ha-ha-ha.... Very funny....

I think it was not a spy satellite but big empty box.
Pentagon planed to do this est from the very beginning.... No wonder this satellite malfunctioned almost immediately:
Quote: The satellite was launched in 2006 and malfunctioned almost immediately.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080215/99347040.html


Really.....because the first paragraphs of your article states differently.

MOSCOW, February 15 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Defense Ministry is closely monitoring a U.S. spy satellite that has gone out of control and may have nuclear material on board, a high-ranking defense source said on Friday.

"The Defense Ministry is using its space surveillance systems to track the satellite's movement in orbit," he said.

Russian military experts suggest the satellite could have an on board nuclear power source, a senior parliament member said.

[apdst]

I bet it has depleted uranium, too. If it burns up in the atmosphere, billions of people will die.

[PatrickHenry]

More likely enriched uranium than DU.

Some satellites use it as a power source.

But I think the ones with reactors are mainly used for interplanetary missions.

[apdst]

DU is used as ballast in space craft.

[PatrickHenry]

DU is used as ballast in space craft.
Really? Do you have a link?

[Go Fish]

DU is used as ballast in the S-3B Viking aircraft stabs, and as sub-caliber penetrators in several types of sabot ammunition and projectiles. It's a low-level Alpha emitter, so make sure you wear long sleeves!