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US Claims Satellite Shoot-Down Success

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the hope-your-foil-hat-was-on-snug dept.

Readers of Slashdot last valentines day will remember discussing US Plans to Shoot down a damaged spy satellite. An anonymous reader noted that the US is reporting success last night, thus saving us from hydrazine exposure. Of course this makes me wonder- if it's this easy, wouldn't an international super power war pretty much immediately mean the downing of every satellite in orbit?

5 of 616 comments (clear)

  1. "Pull!" [ratchet] [BANG] [ping!]... "Pull!" ... by RobotRunAmok · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Of course this makes me wonder- if it's this easy, wouldn't an international super power war pretty much immediately mean the downing of every satellite in orbit?

    The downing of every non-US allied satellite, you mean.

  2. Good cop,bad cop by Kupfernigk · · Score: 0, Flamebait
    It's obviously pretty irresponsible to put satellites up in the first place if you can't dispose of them if they go wrong. Given the constraints on satellite design, it's also obvious that they are going to contain potentially toxic substances. Given the benefits of satellites, which are enormous, equally nobody is going to stop launching them.

    So good cop USA can shoot down malfunctioning satellites
    and bad cop USA actually does it? Not the lesson I draw.

    It seems to my simple mind here that the problem is NOT shooting down the satellite. It is George Bush's approval in 2005 of the militarisation of space. Let us just hope that the front runners in the election understand that, as Churchill said, jaw-jaw is better than war-war, and try a bit of negotiation. At least none of the current front runners appear to need to hide their inadequacies by swinging their dicks, so provided we get through 2008 OK the future looks somewhat brighter.

    --
    From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
  3. Re:Wasn't that the whole point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Hey Tardwad!!!

    If it was in high orbit they wouldn't have had to shoot it down!!!!

    Dumbass!!!

  4. china's true anti-satellite weaponry by SethJohnson · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    what China did was demonstrate a limited ability to destroy satellites. It was likely a misdirection intended to trick us into thinking that is their highest advancement of this technology. More likely, they have a rail gun that they used to cripple our spy satellite. Since we just destroyed all evidence of their weapon. It probably will take a few more dead spy satellites before we catch on.

    Seth

    --
    $5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
  5. Re:in other news by dbIII · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    I found China's response is both hilarious and hypocritical

    Which is exactly how they and many others saw the US response to their test. At least the US test left less of a mess but could somebody please cut off the cocaine supply to those geriatrics that saw the cold war as the good old days and want a new one with China?