Video proof of the renegade satellite's destruction
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted February 21st 2008 8:34AM
posted February 21st 2008 8:34AM
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
posted February 21st 2008 8:34AM
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Does the cost keep going up for every post or what? It was 10 million and it was far more worth it than some govt program to hand out my money to people too who refuse to find work.
Devo did this song when Skylab burnt up and hit Australia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylab
Space Junk
She was walking all alone
Down the street in the alley
Her name was sally
She never saw it
When she was hit by space junk
In new york miami beach
Heavy metal fell in cuba
Angola saudi arabia
On xmas eve said norad
A soviet sputnik hit africa
India venezuela (in texas
Kansas)
Its falling fast peru too
It keeps coming
And now Im mad about space junk
Im all burned out about space junk
Oooh walk & talk about space junk
It smashed my babys head
And now my sallys dead
Weird. Here in Chicago- the radio station I had on this morning reported that we missed.
That blast came from the Death Star! That thing's operational!
It's a Trap!
Maybe it wasn't a satellite.... maybe it was a Goa'uld Mothership! lmao.
Seems to me it would be smart to retrofit a small ignition device to the fuel tanks of all new satellites, this way if there is ever a problem they could remote detonate them w/o wasting a billion dollars.
Does anyone realize that the video shown is in 3 parts. The first is a very long video of a missile shot from earth heading into space. Then moments before the hit 3 flashes of photos, and only then a video of an explosion with no actual footage of the missile hitting its target. If they have such long videos of the missile launching and of the explosion why no video of the collision or is that classified?!?
Does anyone realize that the video shown is in 3 parts. The first is a very long video of a missile shot from earth heading into space. Then moments before the hit 3 flashes of photos, and only then a video of an explosion with no actual footage of the missile hitting its target. If they have such long videos of the missile launching and of the explosion why no video of the collision or is that classified?!?
I saw video of impact.
fake, conspiracy, cover up, aliens. lol
my question is why use such a dangerous chemical in a spy satellite with no recover plan?...and then have to spend 60 million of my dollars to clean it up.
The hydrazine is rocket fuel, which the satellite would use to correct its flight path over its operational life.
The reason they use hydrazine is that it can be stored for years without going bad, and it ignites as soon as it makes contact with its oxidizer, which simplifies the design of the rocket engines and makes them more reliable.
You paid for the entire missile?
Yes, and so did you if you pay taxes. Couldnt they spend $50 on a self distruct command? lol
@ BeforeSleep.net
You said: "Proof of the satellite's destruction? I dunno... it's definitely proof that SOMETHING blew up."
Well, what do you think it was? A school bus? Wait... the satellite is about the size of a school bus. Perhaps it was a school bus. Hmmmm.... On second thought it... it was probably the satellite.
Sheesh....
Might have been a canadian satellite they hit by accident.
I think I saw it burn down in the atmosphere...
That or a meteor... but I think it was that!
Can someone tell me at what time it occured?
If it was around 6:30 PM (East Coast) then it's probably what I saw!
Thanks!
It was about 10:30 PM on the east coast.
Thanks...
Then I don't know what it may have been...!
Does anyone else see it? Take a gander at the Great Seal on the podium. What does it look like in the first seconds of this video? Does it tell you something about the real reason behind this shootdown? hmm??
Okay I give up, it was department of defense. Who do you think should have handled this? Should we have asked Russia or China to do it for us? Would that have made you feel more comfortable?
LiveLeak is a disgusting site... Many beheadings and other murders... Very sad. I'm surprised that Engadget would embed a video from such a site.
There weren't any beheadings or murders in this video so I don't see the problem.
owned!
I would have loved to see a one board camera on the missle, that would be sweet.
First my girlfriend yells at me for no freakin' reason. Then I read a whole page of Saad Rabia's gibberish. God i feel like throwing up and swallowing a throat full of phlegm at the same time.
THANKS FOR RUINING MY DAY SAAD you depressing little man.
few months back when china launched a missile to destroy its own satellite the US were "concerned" that this will litter space with junk. Now look at this crap~!! Whats the justification for this? taking old satellite out of space? yeah right! the gov just wanna make sure that they're not falling behind china in shooting down satellites!!!
At least somewhere, someone must feel proud. Reading some comments: 'take this China, do that Russia... must come from some of the tax payers contributing to this oh so incredible exploit: more than 6 months preparation & perfect knowledge on timing and trajectory, more than 100's of experts tied up and luckily the weather held up to execute this one single event. What is so great about this? Is this making it easier to clean up the Afganistan & Irak mess? Get off your Island and look around in the world. There is no interest in getting into "mine is longer than yours..." except for a few lunatics.
@medici
You mean the Afghanistan and Iraqi mess?? How did that happen I wonder?? Are you one of those who believes "YOUR" island is in a bubble that nothing can penetrate??? I bet there are no terrorists there either, no threats for you to be concerned with. You are lucky. I live in a country where there is a possibility of some type of terrorist attack because we once felt untouchable, but 9-11 came, and we are still trying to locate cells within our country.
So thank God for our Military & our Government for making every attempt to secure some safety in my country. What price would you put on your Islands safety?
@dhf
Point well taken. Been in military and been living with terrorist threats decades ahead of 911.
My aim was the narrow mindedness of China and Russia bashers on the bravado of the satellite destruction as it sounds so much the same as the righteousness on the Irak disaster. ‘Thank God’ for the military... I believe in praying to protect but would rather be humbly quiet in addressing Him on war. A bunch of idiots knowingly misinform(s)ed their own people and manipulated the military. More safe? Instead of concentrating forces on stamping out the root cause in Afghanistan once and for all, there are more terrorists in Irak than ever before. It created even a blue print with terrorism support and tactics spreading in Africa and SE Asia. What has happened, is history, just hope man learns from it.
We agree to disagree !!!! lol..... It is a freedom we are fortunate to have in our country. In many others we might be shot, stoned or hanged for speaking in such a manner......
As far as the China Russia bashers, I believe you may have taken it the wrong way. I am sure they were only demonstrating a sense of "pride" in our ability. Kinda like taking sides at a super bowl game; "Take that New England!!!!! lol
In all seriousness, many lives have been lost due to misinformation over the years, but remember they hit the US. Should we humbly cower to such an act?? Why would you think Afghanistan is the root problem?? BTW......do you believe we destroyed our spy satellite??
@dhf
thats an agreement :-) Reacting to 911 was more than right and there was worldwide support for going into Afganistan. Today, these Taliban keep popping up and that bunch of terrorists should have been contained and rooted out completely. A handfull of hardliners played games on its own people and dressed up the Irak circus as many things but not 911. Sadam could have been eliminated in a far more effective way. Instead Irak has turned into terrorist proving ground and export base, overall spreading military too thin. Btw, I liked the Super bowl, watched it early in our morning. There is many people in the world, incl. in China, Russia, that like US & hopefully the next government, whoever gets elected, does a better job at unifying and international relations.
The U.S. launched an interceptor from a fighter jet in 1989 and took out a satellite so I sort of doubt that this was a show of force to the Chinese.
Been there, done that.
first of all....did the General actually say the "Atlantic and the Specific"?
lol...wow
Secondly, shut up about the Russians and the Chinese. Heres the bottom line - they cry themselves to sleep at night wishing they were half as good as us.
- proud member of the U.S. Navy intelligence community
I don't think anyone here realizes that the camera systems on those observation aircraft (HALO I and HALO II) are state of the art. They have onboard thermal imaging systems, powerful telescopic lens, etc. The navy doesn't want to give out crystal-clear imagery because they don't want anyone (China) analyzing the exact details of how an SM-3 intercepts a satellite.
Also, I don't think anyone else here realizes that intercepting a LEO satellite at 150 miles above the earth is hundreds of times more difficult than intercepting a target in GEO 500 miles above the earth. The GEO sat (the one china shot down) has a relative speed of 0mph compared to a fixed point on the earth. It is a target that is standing still, and extremely easy to kill with pretty much any rocket capable of reaching GEO orbit or beyond. A LEO sat is traveling at over 20000mph compared to a fixed point on the earth, so you have to hit a moving target that is moving EXTREMELY fast. I mean, shooting down LEO and GEO targets shouldn't even be comparable, it is like comparing a toddler putting together a block puzzle and a doctor doing brain surgery.
sorry, i meant to say it was in Polar Orbit, and not GEO. Still the same idea, though.
tony3182: You obviously fail to notice that the target China shot down was in GEO. The debris from the China shootdown will take a very long time to reenter earth's atmosphere, and have to cross paths with a whole lot of other satellites to get there. The sat that the US Navy shot down was in LEO, so the debris will burn up in the atmosphere soon after, and not effect any other satellites.
LMAO !!!!! I luv it......please call the Jedi Council and see if they can spare Obi Whan to investigate....
i must i was quite impressed by the preparation and open information by the military...but i am seriously disappointed by the fact that the company that designed this satellite cannot be revealed...there are estimates that claim this satellite was at least $1 billion
so shooting a $60 million missile to take out an actual calculated threat (hydrazine exposure) is chump change to the actual massive waste of taxpayer dollars that occurred when the satellite failed immediately upon launch.
fortunately, the video reminded me of the death star blowing up.