About that satellite...

[FourScore]

Should You Worry About This Satellite They're Shooting Down?
February 20, 2008

I would.

There is a rogue satellite the size of a school bus, named US 193, running amok up there like HAL in "A Space Odyssey." Down at Mission Control they say, "Turn right, US 193," and US 193 says, "I'm sorry, Dave, I can't do that right now." It weighs two and a half tons, it is spiraling toward Earth, it carries a deadly fuel called hydrazine and it is on schedule for splashdown in my gazpacho on March 12.

It isn't a pleasant prospect. But the solution may be scarier.

They are going to shoot this thing out of the sky with ship-borne missiles.

At the Pentagon, they are calm. Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pops up in the papers outlining the pros and cons of the plan like he's doing a geometry proof.

His conclusion: "The regret factor of not acting clearly outweighed the regret factors of acting."

It's true, one should seize the moment. When our New York landlord was taking our building co-op in the '90s, he offered to sell my wife and me our two-bedroom apartment, in the heart of tony Park Slope, for a low insider price. We dithered. The regret factor of not acting clearly outweighed the regret factors of acting. In hindsight, the idiot factor was clearly at play...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120347561408978973.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

[orleans]

1. so i should buy a hardhat (just in case), some duck tape and

sheets of plastic?

[gateley]

4. And Scotch. Don't forget the Scotch. nt

[gateley]

2. I also read that it's more than shooting down "the bus" -- they need to target

the fuel tank which they say holds the real danger to us. (Like the bus dropping on a town isn't a danger.)

But wait! There's more! Something about the fuel tank not being able to be detected by our heat-seeking missiles for some reasons, although they've made adjustments to fix that problem.

WHERE is this supposed to take place, by the way -- does anybody know? I thought I heard of the Washington coast, but not positive...

[FourScore]

5. In the Pacific, about 10:30pm Hawaii time, I think. n/t

[gateley]

6. Will it be close to the Hawaiian Islands? I'm thinking BIG splash. nt

[FourScore]

8. It's supposed to break apart into small pieces.

"According to Pentagon, the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie is to launch an SM-3 tactical missile at the satellite from somewhere west of Hawaii. In case the first attempt fails, the Navy has two other missiles on standby to launch, most likely on Thursday or Friday. It would be a major test of America's anti-ballistic missile program."

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7010084817

This article says 8:30.

[gateley]

12. Thanks. I have such faith in their capabilities. I'm heading for cover. nt

[FourScore]

13. And like you already so eloquently pointed out...

don't forget the Scotch!

[lapfog_1]

14. The last part would be a big lie.

Shooting a satellite in orbit is NOT the same as intercepting an ICBM with MIRVs.

no way no how.

This is not a test of any ABM system.

[FourScore]

15. Exactly. Their testing star wars and everybody knows it. n/t

[orleans]

9. it all sounds like such crap to me--i'm still thinking about those

fucking "scud" missiles that never hit what they were supposed to hit.

[FourScore]

11. You mean those smart ones...

The ones the press touted as being so accurate when it turned out none of them hit their targets!!! I remember that!

[orleans]

16. yes, those are the ones i'm thinking of. those "smart" ones. ugh. n/t

[saltpoint]

3. I for one hope it falls on Maury Povich.

[jeff30997]

7. ROFL!

Good one!I hate that clown too.:rofl:

[EFerrari]

10. This is sort of like The Piano, only higher.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=523090502972580564&q=laurel+%26+hardy+the+piano&total=14&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1

[saltpoint]

17. Ha! Nice. Hey there.

Every once in a blue moon I wonder how ol' Maury and Connie are doing.