Still working on an
US Navy is claiming successful shootdown of USA 193
Hey, totality of the Lunar eclipse!
Pretty...
CNN just reported that the USS Erie - and Aegis class cruiser - successfully intercepted and destroyed the USA 193 intelligence satellite with a modified SM-3 missile.
Hm. Show offs.
USA 193 was launched about 15 months ago, got to orbit but then lost attitude control and started a rapid decay.
Presumably a) thruster control was lost, and b) satellite went into gravity gradient mode.
It is allegedly a synthetic aperture radar sat, although there are rumblings that it is curiously underweight, so maybe a proof of concept rather than production sat, but if it has big dishes on booms and it went 90 degrees off attitude, it would indeed degrade rapidly in its orbit.
Official reason for shooting it down is controlled descent of chunky bits that might survive re-entry - including a full hydrazine tank - mustn't poison any more Peruvians. (see Y-Ranter)
Unofficially, the reason is to make sure no classified curious bits and bobs end up in central Asia where locals might pick them up and look at them
and a lot of people think it is being done to give the Navy some live target practise and send a message to random people about the US ability to intercept on some occasion lumps of metal moving fast on (sub)orbital trajectories.
Whatevah.
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Comments
Just wondering, does anyone believe the official reason?
Posted by: decrepitoldfool | February 20, 2008 11:40 PM
there was this very sincere looking broadcaster on the local fox news station...
Posted by: Steinn Sigurdsson | February 20, 2008 11:46 PM
The real official reason: to let the BMD Agency signal its credibility to the Federal Government.
The real reason: to let the US Navy demonstrate its superiority to the US Air Force.
Posted by: Alex | February 21, 2008 5:19 AM
"The real reason: to let the US Navy demonstrate its superiority to the US Air Force."
As if that needed to be demonstrated. ;)
Posted by: samk | February 21, 2008 8:15 AM
Who was first on the moon? You got it.
Posted by: Alex | February 21, 2008 8:33 AM
Well, the US Navy is still trying to make up for Project Vanguard and the Army beating them to space...
Posted by: Steinn Sigurdsson | February 21, 2008 10:03 AM
I think Alex has got it.
381 F22s? Who needs 'em? Now a new attack sub....
Posted by: Brad Holden | February 21, 2008 1:57 PM
'a) thruster control was lost, and b) satellite went into gravity gradient mode.'
(c) someone is walking around thinking 'where the fuck did I leave that spanner? Last time was...oh.'
Posted by: Peter Mc | February 23, 2008 7:57 AM
I think the plausible causal sequence is c) -> a) -> b)
Posted by: Steinn Sigurdsson | February 24, 2008 9:59 PM