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20-Year-Old Military Weather Satellite Explodes In Orbit

Posted by samzenpus on from the go-boom dept.

schwit1 writes A 20-year-old U.S. military weather satellite apparently exploded for no obvious reason. The incident has put several dozen pieces of space junk into orbit. From the article: "A 20-year-old military weather satellite apparently exploded in orbit Feb. 3 following what the U.S. Air Force described as a sudden temperature spike. The “catastrophic event” produced 43 pieces of space debris, according to Air Force Space Command, which disclosed the loss of the satellite Feb. 27 in response to questions from SpaceNews. The satellite, Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Flight 13, was the oldest continuously operational satellite in the DMSP weather constellation."

11 of 253 comments (clear)

  1. It was Terrorists! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Invade Mars immediately.

  2. It should stand two degrees, for sure! by DrTJ · · Score: 2, Funny

    Even the military grade tech deteriorates. Surely it should withstand a two degree increase - especially over a century!

    1. Re:It should stand two degrees, for sure! by ubrgeek · · Score: 5, Funny

      > Where was the satellite over geographically when it exploded?

      The Earth.

      --
      Bark less. Wag more.
  3. The truth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The truth is the explosion came just after a software update.
    Sources that want to remain anonymous confirmed the update included systemd.

  4. Re:Canada by mrsquid0 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Aliens.

    --
    Just because you are paranoid does not mean that no-one is out to get you.
  5. Re:fixed it for ya by mrsquid0 · · Score: 3, Funny

    It takes a lot of energy to change the weather. Some of it must have leaked.

    --
    Just because you are paranoid does not mean that no-one is out to get you.
  6. My Bad by SuperKendall · · Score: 5, Funny

    Turns out those green laser pointers you get in the mail are a lot more powerful than you would think.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  7. Re:Star Wars! by SeaFox · · Score: 3, Funny

    Explosion after a measurable temperature hike sounds more like a laser or maser attack than a collision

    Really, and how does it sound in space?

  8. Re:Canada by Black+Parrot · · Score: 4, Funny

    I miss the good old days, when you knew to blame everything on the Axis of Evil, and you could solve all our problems by bombing Iraq.

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  9. Its a warning shot... by david.given · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...telling us to stay the hell away from their base on Ceres.

    We should retaliate by beaming Youtube comments at them.

  10. Re:Conspiracy theories by ColdWetDog · · Score: 4, Funny

    Your conspiracy theory only makes sense if you know absolutely nothing at all about what's actually going on.

    That's the very best kind of conspiracy theory.

    --
    Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!