Spy Satellite to Hit Earth by late February to March |
  |
Spy Satellite to Hit Earth by late February to March |
 Feb 27 2008, 12:01 PM
Post
#106
|
|
|
Senior Member  Group: Members Posts: 1870 Joined: 20-February 05 Member No.: 174  |
A better intermediate term disposal solution for hubble would be to boost it into a higher "disposal" type orbit, one of those orbits above the masses of low orbit constellations of sats, where almost nothing will have any chance of intersecting it before a future vehicle can retrieve it for an orbital museum.
|
 |
 
|
|
Feb 27 2008, 12:26 PM
Post
#107
|
|
 Member Group: Members Posts: 321 Joined: 6-April 06 From: Cape Canaveral Member No.: 734 |
QUOTE (dvandorn @ Feb 26 2008, 10:39 PM)  As Jim said, some mods would have to be removed, and an orbiter would have to be *significantly* modified in order for HST to fit in its payload bay (for a variety of reasons, Columbia was the only orbiter whose bay was suitable for returning HST, and plans said that it was going to be used for that task prior to its destruction). But while landing with a significant payload in the bay can make things a little dicey under some circumstances, it's just plain impossible that a Shuttle would be allowed to lift off with a payload it can't land with. Otherwise, most all of the ascent abort modes would be worthless -- you can't take time in an RTLS abort, for example, to open the payload bay doors and dump the contents...  -the other Doug They are moving the docking system from Atlantis to make room for the "servicing" hardware. Another "issue" for the retrieval mission, is that the payload bay would have to be empty at launch. This would make the mission really cost prohibitive. The ASAT idea also has holes in it. HST is large enough that a hit isn't going to obliterate it. Large pieces of the mirror and CMG's from the hit could still survive entry |
|
|
|
|
Feb 27 2008, 12:39 PM
Post
#108
|
|
 Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8783 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
Jim, what's a CMG?
-------------------- A few will take this knowledge and use this power of a dream realized as a force for change, an impetus for further discovery to make less ancient dreams real.
|
|
|
|
|
Feb 27 2008, 01:07 PM
Post
#109
|
|
 Member Group: Members Posts: 903 Joined: 30-January 05 Member No.: 162 |
{Psst: Control moment gyro}
|
|
|
|
|
Feb 27 2008, 02:42 PM
Post
#110
|
|
|
Member Group: Members Posts: 688 Joined: 20-April 05 From: Sweden Member No.: 273 |
QUOTE (Jim from NSF.com @ Feb 27 2008, 01:26 PM) The ASAT idea also has holes in it. HST is large enough that a hit isn't going to obliterate it. Large pieces of the mirror and CMG's from the hit could still survive entry Still, they would be a lot smaller and perhaps fewer after an ASAT hit. I doubt if any very large pieces of mirror would survive a hit at 8+ kms-1 for example. |
|
|
|
|
Feb 27 2008, 04:01 PM
Post
#111
|
|
 Member Group: Members Posts: 753 Joined: 23-October 04 From: Greensboro, NC USA Member No.: 103 |
And besides, it's bad luck to break a mirror.
-------------------- Jonathan Ward
Manning the LCC at http://www.apollolaunchcontrol.com |
|
|
|
|
Feb 27 2008, 06:11 PM
Post
#112
|
|
|
Member Group: Members Posts: 321 Joined: 6-April 06 From: Cape Canaveral Member No.: 734 |
QUOTE (tty @ Feb 27 2008, 09:42 AM) Still, they would be a lot smaller and perhaps fewer after an ASAT hit. I doubt if any very large pieces of mirror would survive a hit at 8+ kms-1 for example. Not if the hit was the forward part of the spacecraft |
|
|
|
|
Feb 27 2008, 07:42 PM
Post
#113
|
|
|
Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8783 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
QUOTE (tasp @ Feb 27 2008, 05:07 AM) {Psst: Control moment gyro} (Thanks!  Yeah, I imagine that those are a bit hefty.)
-------------------- A few will take this knowledge and use this power of a dream realized as a force for change, an impetus for further discovery to make less ancient dreams real.
|
|
|
|
|
Feb 28 2008, 03:03 AM
Post
#114
|
|
 Senior Member Group: Admin Posts: 4763 Joined: 15-March 05 From: Glendale, AZ Member No.: 197 |
Does anyone have a link to a map of the debris orbit(s)?
I just saw the most amazing little fireball to the Northeast of me around 6:15 local time. It was unusual in so many ways, that it made me think it might be some kind of debris reentering. -------------------- If Occam had heard my theory, things would be very different now.
|
|
|
|
|
Feb 28 2008, 03:26 AM
Post
#115
|
|
|
Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8783 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
Was it kind of slow compared to normal meteors? That's usually the big observational difference; real meteors are fast!
-------------------- A few will take this knowledge and use this power of a dream realized as a force for change, an impetus for further discovery to make less ancient dreams real.
|
|
|
|
|
Feb 28 2008, 03:43 AM
Post
#116
|
|
|
Senior Member Group: Admin Posts: 4763 Joined: 15-March 05 From: Glendale, AZ Member No.: 197 |
Slow, and quite bluish in color with a much longer tail than any I have ever observed. It also seemed to be traveling in a discernible arc downward. 60 degrees or so above the NNE horizon traveling from North to East.
-------------------- If Occam had heard my theory, things would be very different now.
|
|
|
|
|
Feb 28 2008, 04:47 AM
Post
#117
|
|
|
Member Group: Members Posts: 599 Joined: 26-August 05 Member No.: 476 |
I saw this too from South Bay. I had just finished an ATM transaction and the timestamp on the receipt says 6:15. It was also to the Northeast about 20-30 deg up from horizon. Bright fireball, bluish, with faint trail, slight angle down. Speed was slower than most meteors in showers, maybe 3 times slower than a Leonid.
|
|
|
|
|
Feb 28 2008, 05:15 AM
Post
#118
|
|
|
Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8783 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
Boy howdy, and I can't say for certain, but this sure sounds like a debris reentry event. I saw a Molynia booster come in about 30 years ago in dark skies, and it was painfully slow compared to a meteor (albeit spectacular nonetheless). You guys might have gotten lucky indeed!
-------------------- A few will take this knowledge and use this power of a dream realized as a force for change, an impetus for further discovery to make less ancient dreams real.
|
|
|
|
|
Feb 28 2008, 06:06 AM
Post
#119
|
|
|
Member Group: Members Posts: 599 Joined: 26-August 05 Member No.: 476 |
Looking on a map, the direction to the fireball from my location was also NNE. If EGD was in Elk Grove, he is also NNE of my location by about 130 km. Given my elevation of 25 deg and EGD's elevation of 60 deg would place the object about 83 km over a location about 48 km NNE of EGD.
|
|
|
|
|
Feb 28 2008, 07:17 AM
Post
#120
|
|
|
Senior Member Group: Admin Posts: 4763 Joined: 15-March 05 From: Glendale, AZ Member No.: 197 |
I agree. That would have put the ground track between Auburn and Grass Valley heading along a path South of Lake Tahoe. Probably nothing left of it, but if something did survive as far as the lithosphere, it would have impacted in a very remote section of the High Sierras or Eastern Nevada.
-------------------- If Occam had heard my theory, things would be very different now.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 27th April 2024 - 06:31 AM |
|
RULES AND GUIDELINES Please read the Forum Rules and Guidelines before posting. IMAGE COPYRIGHT |
OPINIONS AND MODERATION Opinions expressed on UnmannedSpaceflight.com are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of UnmannedSpaceflight.com or The Planetary Society. The all-volunteer UnmannedSpaceflight.com moderation team is wholly independent of The Planetary Society. The Planetary Society has no influence over decisions made by the UnmannedSpaceflight.com moderators. |
SUPPORT THE FORUM Unmannedspaceflight.com is funded by the Planetary Society. Please consider supporting our work and many other projects by donating to the Society or becoming a member. |
|
