Disabled spy satellite photographed over Japan

Looks like we'll be able to watch first hand as the US attempts to blast its failed spy satellite from the heavens on Thursday as rumored. That's the first picture of the tumbling spacecraft as taken from the Kumamoto observatory in Japan. That picture was taken with a 20 second exposure but it may still be visible with the naked eye. A certainty if that thousand-pound, hydrazine fuel tank lands in your backyard.

[Thanks, Kaztm]

[huggles @ Feb 19th 2008 8:46PM]

Hard not to back conspiracy theorists on this one. Hydrazine in space shuttles, hydrazine in satellites and well over 4000 of those (some containing it) have burned up. Heck Hydrazine is touted as an alternative to hydrogen fuel cells...

I think this is a pretty clear signal to China/Russia, for very different reasons but also a cheap (400odd million) statement to make. Lets hope they hit the target this time unlike the many failed Patriot and missile shield tests to date.

[engadget @ Feb 19th 2008 5:59AM]

Yeah, but this one has never worked since it was launched, so its tanks are fairly full. And, I'm sure that as a spy satellite, it is armored against attack, and less-likely to burn up well on its own.

[Josh @ Feb 19th 2008 6:07AM]

@engadget: just because they say it's never worked, doesn't mean it has. And they're not exactly going to provide proof it's never worked because it's a spy satellite...I think you need to buy a bag of salt.

[Superprime @ Feb 19th 2008 6:21AM]

Satelites don't have armor. Spy sats are just as frail as civilian satellites

[Tom Oliveri @ Feb 19th 2008 7:31AM]

oh i must say i ( australian ) hope they hit that damn sattelite.

some are calling it a testing of the US missile defence system, if this fails funding goes down the drain.

[Tom Oliveri @ Feb 19th 2008 7:32AM]

haha imagine if china or russia shot it down first!

awkwarddd....

[Wwhat @ Feb 19th 2008 9:13AM]

F16's have hydrazine, and when one crashedlanded once here the people that got near the site had to be checked at the hospital, because that shit is bad news, even in small amounts.
Not that I buy the hydrazine story, I'm sure the tank will at the very least crack during re-entry and there will be no content left.

[James Ollier @ Feb 19th 2008 5:34AM]

Yes but will it blend?

[Tom Oliveri @ Feb 19th 2008 7:27AM]

oh wow, i have to give credit for this one, that was the last thing on my mind.

presumably there wont be any chunks large enough to blend.

[nak @ Feb 19th 2008 5:38AM]

As soon as this hits my backyard it's on eBay. Look for it. I have a pretty big backyard. And a giant magnet.

[IndiaTech @ Feb 19th 2008 2:07PM]

BEWARE. DOESN'T SHIP ITEMS. DOESN'T RESPOND TO EMAILS. WILL NOT BUY AGAIN.

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Feb 20th 2008 3:49PM]

The feds will stop you in a heartbeat from selling highly confidential and top secret information. Expect life in prison or the death penalty for your treasonous act.

[Anne @ Feb 20th 2008 8:29PM]

But then it'll be stuck on an island with polar bears and black fog! Ohnoes!

[Tits @ Feb 19th 2008 5:45AM]

as long as it doesn't fall on the Takoyaki making robot...

[Ryan @ Feb 19th 2008 5:51AM]

I dunno about anyone else, but this is going to be sweet.

[Leo M. @ Feb 19th 2008 5:57AM]

I have to agree.

[Danger mouse @ Feb 19th 2008 6:36AM]

They'll need a faster shutter speed than that to photograph the accompanying alien.

As an aside, the translations on that Asahi website are hilarious.

[Crass @ Feb 19th 2008 11:22PM]

Indeed the prefecture writing obtrusive-online logger of the internet has correctly concluded!

Any notes about WHERE it is supposed to land?

[Ellianth @ Feb 19th 2008 6:43AM]

"Look ma, a falling satellite!"
"Quick honey, make a wish!"

[Tom Oliveri @ Feb 19th 2008 7:28AM]

it's not nice to stereotype countries.

[Boing @ Feb 19th 2008 8:30AM]

i wish it falls on someone else's house ma.

[Kevin M. @ Feb 19th 2008 8:37AM]

I heard that someone hacked into the spy satellite so the government decided to shoot it down since it was in total control of the Chinese hackers

[Wwhat @ Feb 19th 2008 9:15AM]

Haha, that would be amusing if true, and it's not even that far-fetched, I doubt they developed too complex a system to prevent that because they don't expect it.

[momknowshowtocook @ Feb 19th 2008 9:18AM]

So this is where that Cloverfield monster came from

[Tom Oliveri @ Feb 20th 2008 8:22AM]

oohh, not old at all, this didnt at all get old during the cable cutting thing

[Bob S. @ Feb 19th 2008 10:17AM]

It's a shame it takes something like this to get people to look up. That said, there are plenty of satellite tracking Web sites that can tell you when you can see USA 193 (or, for that matter, hundreds of other satellites). My favorite is www.heavens-above.com (with which I have no affiliation except as a longtime user); it has a special page tracking the satellite and linking to a page where you can enter your location and learn when it's visible.

[Good_Bytes @ Feb 19th 2008 10:50AM]

Hmmm... Who wants a spy satellite?
Microfilm 1 on eBay! Willing to exchange the solar panel with new plants and grass!

[Steve @ Feb 19th 2008 10:54AM]

Will this be like when they blew up the Death Star and the camera pans down to show the Ewoks celebrating on Endor? That would be cool. Then they'll come out with the "enhanced" version with the circular shock wave from the blast, while John Williams' "Parade of the Ewoks" plays in the background.

[Fozzie @ Feb 19th 2008 12:24PM]

Shoot it down? That's impractical. Can't we just send two astronaut crews (preferably with drilling experience) to space with nukes and have them blow it into multiple pieces like we always do?

[Ian @ Feb 19th 2008 1:54PM]

well.... wait YA i want to see bruce willis drill a 500 foot hole in that sucker!!! well ok how but 1 foot?

[IndiaTech @ Feb 19th 2008 2:14PM]

Bruce Willis called. He is not free.

[kempcross @ Feb 20th 2008 10:27AM]

Instead of Bruce Willis, I think it would be more appropriate to send aging astronauts who never actually got the chance to go to space to try and fix this ailing spy satellite, a la Clint Eastwood.

[ghex88 @ Feb 19th 2008 12:46PM]

Journalism likes to calm folks by writing it can "[land] in your backyard."
But facts will let you know that it can land in your room and kill you.
Maybe I should have taken some journalism classes while in college to uncover these mysteries.

[Bill @ Feb 19th 2008 4:45PM]

Hope it lands in my backyard, as I'm all out of fuel for my Messerschmidt Me 163B

[Crass @ Feb 19th 2008 11:25PM]

omg. Literally rolling on the floor...

[DHF @ Feb 22nd 2008 10:04AM]

What if they say they are going to shoot it down and actually shoot down something else instead? This of course to obtain the actual sattelite and all information within without the publicity. hmmm

[DHF @ Feb 22nd 2008 10:02AM]

I have the imagination but I spelled satellite wrong :-( heehee

[common sense @ Feb 21st 2008 2:23AM]

@engadget: Remember that when lifting objects into space, weight and size are significant factors. It costs about US$2000 to lift one kilogram into earth orbit. This basically precludes the idea of armor or much of any heavy metal on any satellite. And we're talking about something that is supposed to be roughly the size of a school bus. If it had any kind of metal plating on it, it would weigh several tons (a normal school bus weighs ~10 tons unloaded). Even if cost wasn't an issue, just getting it into orbit would've been a very public major operation, involving lifting it in many separate pieces and then assembling them in space, because no single rocket could carry the whole weight.

@DHF: What else would we shoot down? We can't hit a media satellite-the company would complain and it definitely wouldn't stay classified for long. We can't hit another country's satellite, for obvious reasons. And why would we trade one government satellite for another? that just wouldn't make sense... we'd lose both expensive satellites.

Furthermore, the idea that it's being shot down because the government is afraid that some classified data might survive reentry is ridiculous. Think about it-the satellite is not made to survive reentry anyway, so it doesn't have heat shielding. The interior of the satellite is going to become hot enough to melt any kind of data storage used. Therefore, the only conclusion left is that it's being shot down because of its dangerous nature.

[DHF @ Feb 21st 2008 11:03PM]

What would we shoot down?? Space Trash !!! lol ;-)
Who knows.....just a thought. As far as it being fired upon because of classified data could land in wrong hands is not what I intended to say.
The technology for shielding a satellite from burning upon re-entry has been tested. A Russian company long with DaimlerChrysler Aerospace and the European Space Agency had developed an inflatable type shield some years ago. Saving classified info. is important for any country with spy satellites. Maybe we don't want other countries to know it was saved.......???

[Brian @ Mar 3rd 2008 3:06AM]

Wow!!! amazing, unbelievable, awesome.

The Yanks actually hit the intended target.

Not the French embassy in Libya or the first British fighter plane in the current Iraq war (OK, don't get me started about friendly fire).