Look Out North America

[Geekyfanboy]

The Sky Is Falling

The failing U.S. spy satellite that is in a decaying orbit and will soon crash somewhere on the surface of the planet looks to be zeroing in to hit a landmass somewhere in the North American continent. Exact impact point is not yet known, but sources in the U.S. military are narrowing it down and have contingency plans in place to handle any damage, loss of life or destruction caused by the debris. They also want to ensure they are among the first on the scene to recover any classified data and hardware before it falls into civilian or even enemy hands. This plan will include participation by the military's U.S. Northern Command, Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, who heads up the 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.

"We're aware that this satellite is out there," Renuart said. "We're aware it is a fairly substantial size. And we know there is at least some percentage that it could land on ground as opposed to in the water." Renuart added that, "....it looks like it might re-enter into the North American area."

Exact location or locations for impact sites won't be well defined until closer to the actual event. The spy satellite is expected to make landfall sometime in late February or early March of this year.

[billybob476]

*looks up*

[iceman]

The sky is falling the sky is falling

[Geekyfanboy]

Bush Decides Navy Will Shoot Down Wayward Spy Satellite

Source: CNN

The U.S. Navy will likely attempt to shoot down a faulty spy satellite Thursday, the day after the space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to land, two officials told CNN Monday.

A Delta II rocket lifts off in December, carrying a reconnaissance satellite that failed hours later.

The officials — who spoke on condition of anonymity because much of the planning remains classified — said the idea is to leave as much time as possible so a second attempt could be made if necessary.

Because the 5,000-pound satellite malfunctioned immediately after launch in December 2006, it has a full tank of fuel. It would likely survive re-entry and disperse potentially deadly fumes over an area the size of two football fields, officials have said.

The Navy plans to fire at the satellite as it enters Earth's atmosphere at an altitude of about 150 miles.

Officials want the missile to hit the edge of the atmosphere to ensure debris re-enters and burns up quickly.

Without any intervention, Pentagon officials have said they believe the satellite would come down on its own in early March.

The option of striking the satellite with a missile launched from an Aegis cruiser was decided upon by President Bush after consultation with several government and military officials and aerospace experts, said Deputy National Security Adviser James Jeffrey.

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said there's nothing the military can do to make the outcome worse.

"If we miss, nothing changes. If we shoot and barely touch it, the satellite is just barely in orbit" and would still burn up somewhat in the atmosphere, Griffin said.

"If we shoot and get a direct hit, that's a clean kill and we're in good shape," he added.

[Geekyfanboy]

Navy Hits Target

The U.S. Navy couldn't have done a better job even if that spy satellite plummeting from its standard orbit to Earth would of had a bullseye painted on it.

Wednesday night at approximately 10:30PM ET from a U.S. Naval vessel in the north Pacific, trained Navy seamen shot down the wayward satellite hitting it square on target right on its dangerous fuel tank. The missle used was a SM-3 fired from the deck of the USS Lake Erie.

Officials say the missile likely destroyed its intended target, a 1,000 pound tank of toxic hydrazine fuel.

"There are good first indications the shot was successful. There was an explosion on impact and over 80 pieces of debris were detected after initial assessments," an official said.

It's a sure sign that the targeted fuel tank was hit because there was an explosion and the missle used did not contain an explosive device. but was an impact weapon. (Video: HERE)

You have got to give the U.S. military credit when it comes to its modern day technological wizardry. The spy satellite, about the size of a standard size school bus, was located 130 miles away in space with a decaying, radical orbit, traveling at 17,000 miles per hour. To hit the fuel tank on an object that far away in space traveling at that speed and trajectory is just short of phenonomenal.

A statement released by the U.S. Department of Defense said the debris caused by the missle's impact on the satellite will begin to enter the Earth's atmosphere almost immediately and "nearly all of the debris will burn up on reentry within 24 to 48 hours". The Navy is also confident that any remaining debris "should re-enter within 40 days," and most of the surviving pieces will likely fall into the ocean.

Offically, the greatest concern over the faulty spy satellite was the toxic chemicals in its fuel tank. Scientists made claim that most of the satellite, if left unchecked, would not burn up in the atmosphere in re-entry and would probably fall somewhere in a populated area in North America, prompting President Bush to order the shoot down. However, it became obvious to those familiar with the spy game that there was something on the satellite's hard drive that the U.S. government couldn't chance letting fall into unauthorized hands so its only option was to destroy it while still in its failing orbit.

General James Cartwright, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will be giving a press conference on Friday at 7AM ET to give out furture details on the success of the mission and what is expected from any debris that doesn't burn up in the atmosphere.

Meanwhile, China said this morning (Thursday) it has put its entire population across the country on the alert for possible harmful fallout from the falling spy satellite debris and urged President Bush to promptly release data about the action. The comment from the Chinese Foreign Ministry came several hours after the Pentagon said a missile launched from a Navy cruiser.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said China was "continuously following closely the possible harm caused by the U.S. action to outer space security and relevant countries."

The Chinese government has requested that the U.S. fulfill its international obligations in real earnest and have the Joint Chiefs provide the international community all necessary information and relevant data in a timely and prompt way so that countries that could be targets for the debris could take the necessary precautions.

[Jen]

That was totally amazing. And they had to reconfigure the software to target a satellite that was up higher, moving slower and not as hot as a warhead. And on the first shot too! Wow, it was totally out of a movie.

China needs to chill out... they do missile launches all the time and neglect to tell anyone their going to do it. At least the US gave everyone ample notice. If we allowed it to hit the Earth and it smashed into their country they would have been just at peeved. You can't win for loosing.