tech_guy Posted February 14, 2008 Posted February 14, 2008 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7245578.stm Hopefully they'll miss and it'll land on the Houses of Parliament.....
enjay Posted February 15, 2008 Posted February 15, 2008 This is the bit which concerns me slightly 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. I must admit that when I first heard this story, part of me did think back to Reagan's "Star Wars" programme...
localzuk Posted February 15, 2008 Posted February 15, 2008 I must admit that when I first heard this story, part of me did think back to Reagan's "Star Wars" programme... What do you mean? That program is going ahead, with a new name... It is the reason Russia is so grumpy lately - the USA want to build a ground station in countries near Russia, and obviously they aren't happy about that, as it undermines their own nuclear deterrent and provides the USA with too much power. The system works by having radar stations around the world, and ground missile launch stations armed with interceptor missiles. The interceptor missiles contain little to no explosive, and are designed just to destroy any ICBM's etc... It is a scary prospect, as it creates an imbalance between the main nuclear powers.
elsiegee40 Posted February 15, 2008 Posted February 15, 2008 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7245578.stm Hopefully they'll miss and it'll land on the Houses of Parliament..... With the US track record, they'll almost certainly miss As for what they hit... it's bound to be something politically sensitive... a passing Sheikh's lear jet; a Russian 747 packed with tourists; the space station... the possibilities are endless
enjay Posted February 15, 2008 Posted February 15, 2008 As for what they hit... it's bound to be something politically sensitive... a passing Sheikh's lear jet; a Russian 747 packed with tourists; the space station... the possibilities are endless Ooh, you're even more cynical than me! I hadn't even thought about the possibilities of this being a pretence for aiming for something else, but it is a thought isn't it...
TechMonkey Posted February 15, 2008 Posted February 15, 2008 Ooh, you're even more cynical than me! I hadn't even thought about the possibilities of this being a pretence for aiming for something else, but it is a thought isn't it... Am I being even more cynical by saying if that happen it probably wouldn't have even been planned? Just another US friendly fire incident?
elsiegee40 Posted February 15, 2008 Posted February 15, 2008 @NickJones I wasn't thinking of pretence... The US record is to hit the wrong target BY ACCIDENT! They have more than their fair share of "friendly fire" incidents... You're right about the cynicism though; think I'm getting worse with age EDIT Like minds - @TechMonkey!
Ryan Posted February 15, 2008 Posted February 15, 2008 http://www.fototime.com/542B6E1C606F69B/standard.jpg THE US ARMY - PUTTING THE "FRIENDLY" INTO "FRIENDLY FIRE"
CyberNerd Posted February 15, 2008 Posted February 15, 2008 (edited) I thought that a post I saw on slashdot sums this up: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/235134886/article.pl A satellite is not an airplane, there's no way to "shoot" it down. Breaking it in pieces will not bring it down, it's atmospheric drag that's doing it. All the Pentagon is doing is trying to make sure that it breaks down into pieces small enough to protect their military secrets. Of course there was outcry when china did it. Edited February 15, 2008 by CyberNerd
tech_guy Posted February 21, 2008 Author Posted February 21, 2008 Um, has anyone heard from the International Space Station recently...? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7254540.stm
Gatt Posted February 21, 2008 Posted February 21, 2008 Hmm... Knowing how acurate the US are (about 2/10) chances are high that the ISS will be no more
Joedetic Posted February 21, 2008 Posted February 21, 2008 I saw what was a characteristically aggressive interveiw with two guys in the US government or something on Newsnight last night about this "shooting down a satellite." The conspiracy theorists must be on overload at the moment!
tech_guy Posted February 21, 2008 Author Posted February 21, 2008 Yikes, here it comes..... http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7250000/newsid_7255600/7255695.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&asb=1&news=1&bbcws=1
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