Spy Satellite To Fall Out Of Orbit

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FSTargetDrone
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Spy Satellite To Fall Out Of Orbit

Post by FSTargetDrone »

It's outta control!
US spy satellite falling to earth

By staff writers

January 27, 2008 08:11am

A LARGE US spy satellite is falling from orbit and could hit the Earth in late February or March, government officials said.

The Associated Press reports the defunct satellite has lost power and propulsion and can no longer be controlled.

Officials said the satellite could contain hazardous materials and it is unknown where it might hit the Earth.

“Appropriate government agencies are monitoring the situation,” said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council.

“Numerous satellites over the years have come out of orbit and fallen harmlessly.

“We are looking at potential options to mitigate any possible damage this satellite may cause,” he said.

He said it would be inappropriate to discuss whether the satellite could be shot down by missile.
I like this part:
He said it would be inappropriate to discuss whether the satellite could be shot down by missile.
P-shaw. It's never inappropriate to discuss it. I think they should try and see what happens!

:P
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Post by Phantasee »

I would like to know where it's landing. If it's in the northern hemisphere, I might be able to swing a trip nearby...
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Post by Admiral Valdemar »

F-15E and ASAT. What's not to love?

Failing that, let it fall on the Australians. They love it.
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Post by Siege »

Admiral Valdemar wrote:Failing that, let it fall on the Australians. They love it.
Great, now I've got this image in my hand of a burning spy satellite crashing into Ayer's Rock...
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Post by Ritterin Sophia »

SiegeTank wrote:
Admiral Valdemar wrote:Failing that, let it fall on the Australians. They love it.
Great, now I've got this image in my hand of a burning spy satellite crashing into Ayer's Rock...
Your hand generates images?
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Post by Broomstick »

SiegeTank wrote:
Admiral Valdemar wrote:Failing that, let it fall on the Australians. They love it.
Great, now I've got this image in my hand of a burning spy satellite crashing into Ayer's Rock...
Ya'll handled Skylab pretty well.
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Post by Ubiquitous »

Well as a recent hollywood blockbuster has shown us, satellites falling into the sea can have terrible consequences for nearby cities...
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Post by FSTargetDrone »

Admiral Valdemar wrote:F-15E and ASAT. What's not to love?
See, that's what I'm thinking. Fire off one of those puppies and let's see the fireworks.
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Post by DrMckay »

Hell, Put it on pay-per-view and have the federal government take the betting action on whether it will hit or miss.

That oughta do something about our deficit....
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Post by Shroom Man 777 »

Have a MIG-31 shoot a sputnik-shaped ASAT missile at it :P
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Post by CaptainChewbacca »

Ubiquitous wrote:Well as a recent hollywood blockbuster has shown us, satellites falling into the sea can have terrible consequences for nearby cities...
Which blockbuster was this?
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Post by Phantasee »

The Pacific handled Mir pretty well. Although if it does go down into Oz, I probably couldn't go to see it.

Fucking frequent flyer mile restrictions...
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Post by tim31 »

We're more than happy to accept space debris here in the antipodes.
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Post by Dartzap »

It'll land somewhere in the UK, I bet. We also get the bizarre things these days.
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Post by hongi »

It'll land somewhere in the UK, I bet. We also get the bizarre things these days.
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Post by The Guid »

I would love to read what the spy satelleite was saying as it went down, (if it still had power and was anthropomorphic)

"OK the Earth's still there just zooming in on and.... what the Earth is getting bigger! Seriously! Check it out! It's getting, it's coming closer! It's getting even bigger! I'm in the mothafucking athmosphere! It's getting even BIGGER! Unless of course... oh.... oh well you could have warned me..."

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Post by Vanas »

"Hey, cool, the ground! I've always wanted to go there. I wonder if it will be friends with me?"
*whump*

So, it might contain hazardous substances, might land somewhere inconvenient and might be able to be shot down?

It's nice to know they're sure about these things.
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Re: Spy Satellite To Fall Out Of Orbit

Post by Havok »

Officials said the satellite could contain hazardous materials and it is unknown where it might hit the Earth.
Isn't this just a basic math problem for all the smarty pants monitoring the situation?
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Post by Sea Skimmer »

Several Soviet reconnaissance satellites with nuclear reactors onboard have crashed (a rocket system was supposed to boost them into very high orbits) and burned up on reentry…. And the effect on the world has been zero. The worst any current US satellite is going to have is an RTG, which would be designed to survive reentry intact.
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Post by Admiral Valdemar »

It's where it lands that's the issue. An RTG, even if not blown open and scattered to the four winds, will still give you a nasty bump if it falls on you. I should hope they had enough control to allow the orbit to decay with a degree of accuracy that puts it over the vast spaces that are totally uninhabited by humans anyway.
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Post by Havok »

Hmm. I know it is kinda morbid, but I hope this thing ends up going for a major, highly populated city. Not because I want to see people die, but I want to see how the military is capable of coping with it. I want to see what they do to try to destroy it. I would imagine there will be enough time to evacuate people from the immediate impact area and the only bad thing would be property damage.
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