Question, if left unchecked, where will it fall? If it falls into Beijing, I'd be fine letting the Chinese deal with it.

The US has already said that it would pay for damages . . . when Skylab fell, a town in Australia charged the US $400 . . . for littering.

Which just makes you wonder if there were "twenty seven eight-by-ten color glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back . . ."

or a judge with a seeing eye dog. :D

Making what up? The spy ring thing was reported in the news, I don't really feel like googling it at this point.

Too chaotic a re-entry to predict, which is why they want to shoot the sucker while it's still in low Earth orbit.

Bot

---------------------------------

MSDS info (in part).

General

Synonyms: diamine
Molecular formula: NH2NH2
CAS No: 302-01-2
EC No:
Physical data

Appearance: colourless oily liquid
Melting point: 2 C
Boiling point: 113 C
Vapour density: 1.1 (air = 1)
Vapour pressure: 10 mm Hg at 20 C
Density (g cm-3):
Flash point: 38 C
Explosion limits:
Autoignition temperature:
Water solubility: complete

Stability

May be an explosion hazard, particularly if heated. Incompatible with sources of ignition, light, shock, strong oxidizing agents, strong acids, metal oxides, nitrous oxide, hydrogen peroxide, most common metals, organic materials, porous materials such as wood, paper, asbestos, soil or rust.
Toxicology

Harmful if inhaled or swallowed. Poison. Probable human carcinogen. Readily absorbed through the skin. May cause severe skin and eye irritation or burns. Long-term exposure may cause CNS, lungs, blood, liver and kidney damage. Typical TLV/TWA 0.1 ppm. Typical STEL 1 ppm.

Toxicity data

IHL-RAT LC50 570 ppm/4h
IPR-RAT LD50 76 mg kg-1
SKN-RBT LD50 91 mg kg-1


Personal protection

Safety glasses, gloves, good ventilation. Handle as a carcinogen.

Even if it works, and it might, the clear and learsurely knowledge of the location and trajectory of the satellite makes it look like hitting a barn from 20 paces compared to the difficulty in taking out mulitple warheads (and even more dummy warheads) on ten minutes notice.

Good one. :D

Uh, I should have said ICBM.

US spy satellite plan 'a cover'
BBC

Russia has accused the US of using a plan to shoot down a broken spy satellite as a cover for testing an anti-satellite weapon. The US said last week that it would use a missile to destroy the satellite, to stop it from crash landing.

Officials say the satellite contains hazardous fuel which could kill humans.

But Russia's defence ministry said the US planned to test its "anti-missile defence system's capability to destroy other countries' satellites".

The US says the satellite lost power and communications shortly after it was launched in December 2006 and is now uncontrollable.

It says the satellite is carrying more than 1,000lb (454kg) of hydrazine fuel in a tank which would survive re-entry, and the substance could be released as a toxic gas if the satellite crash landed.

The Pentagon said on Saturday that the window for the operation would begin on Wednesday, when the space shuttle Atlantis ended its current mission.

But Russia's defence ministry said the US had not given enough information on the reasons for the decision.

"Speculations about the danger of the satellite hide preparations for the classical testing of an anti-satellite weapon," a statement reported by Itar-Tass news agency said.


BROKEN SATELLITE
Owner: National Reconnaissance Office satellite
Mission: Classified
Launched: Dec 2006
Weight: 5,000lb (2,270 kg)
2,500lb could survive re-entry
Carrying hydrazine rocket fuel
"Such testing essentially means the creation of a new type of strategic weapons," it added.

"The decision to destroy the American satellite does not look harmless as they try to claim, especially at a time when the US has been evading negotiations on the limitation of an arms race in outer space," the statement continued.

The Russian defence ministry argued that various countries' spacecraft had crashed to Earth in the past, and many countries used toxic fuel in spacecraft, but this had never before merited such "extraordinary measures".

Toxic gas

The broken satellite had been predicted to reach the top of the Earth's atmosphere towards the end of February or early March and officials could not predict where it would land.

A US general said on Thursday that exposure to the hydrazine would have similar effects to inhaling chlorine or ammonia - a burning sensation in lungs and, if too close and too much, then possibly death.

He said that blowing the satellite up would disperse the hydrazine in space, leaving only small-scale satellite debris to fall harmlessly to Earth.

The Pentagon says it plans to shoot down the satellite using a modified missile from a US Navy ship in the Pacific.

Last year, China carried out a test using a ground-based ballistic missile to destroy a satellite in space, prompting international alarm and fears of a space arms race.

On Thursday, US General James Cartwright said there was no parallel with Beijing's actions as the Chinese satellite had been much further out from Earth, meaning its debris could be floating around for decades, endangering spacecraft.

He also denied claims that the main aim was to destroy secret parts.

Gen Cartwright said confidential components would be burned up in the atmosphere and, in any case, that would not be a reason for shooting down the satellite.

Ahh the good old Russians! You can always count on them for something like that!

I wonder if they want to get back into the cold war with us? Or we how about an space arms race!:D

Those Russians are no dummies. Is it just a coincidence that the US decides to do this shortly after the Chinese did it?

If one ignores the fact that (1) it's a brand new, multi-billion dollar spy satellite that takes years of science and engineering to design and build, (2) loss of which affects the intelligence capacity of the military and civilian spy agencies -- (3) ALL in order to demonstrate a capacity that the USA has been demonstrating since the first hook-up with an object in space; then it seems as though it could be malevolent.



B

I'm not saying that the failure of the satellite was deliberate. I'm saying the decision to shoot it down is likely based on reasons not related to public safety.

You missed the part that we have had the technology and have demonstrated it repeatedly since the 1960's. So has Russia. The EU has for about 20 years or so. Recently China has demonstrated it.

It is old science and old technology. Russia and the conspiracy theorists are using it as a propaganda tool.

Finally, read the MSDS, a portion of which I copied, above. It is toxic, carcinogenic and explosive. There is over a ton up there in a shielded, pressurized tank. the calculation to make is this: Does the greater threat reside in allowing that bundle of joy to enter an uncontrolled descent or to attempt to destroy it in space?

B

fraud
 

I don't think a chinese missle brought down that chinese satellite. I agree with a lot of other people who think there was a self destruct package onboard. Push a button on the ground and boom. What? Their early attempts at shooting down orbiting vehicles produces a hit? No way. That was a chinese stunt designed to make them look more advanced than they really are. Instead of worrying about shooting down missles and satellites, maybe they should worry about having food and safe drinking water. All the missle technolgy in the world doesn't matter when you're hungry and thirsty. Barbarian communist animals.

If one has a launch vehicle capable of entering and maintaining orbit then there is no serious impediment to getting the rocket close to an orbiting target and detonating it. The shuttle performs that trick without any problem. Unmanned vehicles have been doing it for nearly 50 years. The Chinese may or may not be scientifically advanced but they sure as heck have the knowledge, expertise, and materials necessary for it.

I still say b.s.
 

Chicoms scuttled the craft from the ground - not a missle.