Spy Satellite to Hit Earth by late February to March |
Spy Satellite to Hit Earth by late February to March |
Guest_Bobby_* |
Jan 27 2008, 04:47 AM
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#1
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Guests |
Just read at MSNBC that a large U.S. spy satellite will hit Earth by the end of February or early March.
Better keep our hard hats ready??? Here is the article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22857051/ |
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Feb 20 2008, 11:31 PM
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#2
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Member Group: Members Posts: 611 Joined: 23-February 07 From: Occasionally in Columbia, MD Member No.: 1764 |
A couple of things crack me up about this whole business
1. the hydrazine cover story..... as if stuff like this doesnt re-enter all the time. If anything gets decomposed or dispersed during the entry, it'll be the hydrazine. This has to be a total non-issue that the spin doctors have figured would be a good angle for public consumption (NB hypergolics are a problem for launch failures where their toxicity etc sticks around, but for hypervelocity entry, I think not....) 2. the way all the TV coverage seems to use Magellan and Cassini footage or models.... I guess to a lot of people a spaceship is a spaceship... 3. And now they are talking about delaying the shot because of weather... let's hope the Iranians/Koreans/whoever don't play nasty and try to attack us on a cloudy day........ :-) (I know, I know, it's for the observations to see how it all went, not for the intercept itself...) |
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Feb 20 2008, 11:34 PM
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#3
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Member Group: Members Posts: 321 Joined: 6-April 06 From: Cape Canaveral Member No.: 734 |
A couple of things crack me up about this whole business 1. the hydrazine cover story..... as if stuff like this doesnt re-enter all the time. If anything gets decomposed or dispersed during the entry, it'll be the hydrazine. This has to be a total non-issue that the spin doctors have figured would be a good angle for public consumption (NB hypergolics are a problem for launch failures where their toxicity etc sticks around, but for hypervelocity entry, I think not....) You haven't been keeping up with things, it is solid hydrazine. Many propellant tanks (Delta II, Columbia, etc) have survived hypervelocity entry |
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Feb 21 2008, 06:31 AM
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#4
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Member Group: Members Posts: 611 Joined: 23-February 07 From: Occasionally in Columbia, MD Member No.: 1764 |
You haven't been keeping up with things, it is solid hydrazine. Many propellant tanks (Delta II, Columbia, etc) have survived hypervelocity entry I know *empty* propellant tanks can survive entry because of their low ballistic coefficient e.g. http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~rlorenz/spaceball.pdf Have any full tanks ever done so? They would surely experience much higher loads. I wonder, can solid hydrazine detonate? (Columbia doesnt count as it started the entry with thermal protection) |
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