What's the deal on that satellite they're going to shoot down? Any danger to us?

Question

Sounds like we've got some really smart people on here! Thank for the info!

Answer 1

ya i think it will be otherwise they wont be shooting it down.

Answer 2

it's an excuse to test a missile.

and they're not only planning on shooting down a satellite but also alien spacecrafts that will be around it because they can now detect a small number of them.

i know: i work for NASA

Answer 3

The satellite is a spy satellite that is in a deteriorating orbit that is going to come down somewhere (we know not where).  It's big and it will not completely burn up coming down, and it contains hazardous materials, including hydrazine.  Hydrazine is particularly nasty stuff and could hurt people if they come in contact with it.

The Navy is going to try to bring the satellite down with what amounts to a missile test.  It can't hurt anything, and it could result in this space derelict coming down in a way and a place that won't hurt anyone.

Okay??

Answer 4

i live near the atlantic too. about 45 mins away. i have NO idea what your talking about. but if they shoot it down why would it hurt us. unless its a terriorist trying to kill us. if it is something that will danger us. i love you! lol im jk that would be wierd lol.

Answer 5

nope. They plan the whole thing so it would be safe.

Answer 6

YES!

Answer 7

A scientist that was interviewed on tv said that the hydrazine they are concerned about would burn up coming through the earth's atmosphere, and there isn't a need to blow the satellite up if that's the reason.

Another expert agreed and said that the media is making too much out of the story and that there could be a strong desire to test out the missile.

Always interesting to hear all sides/opinions on things!

Answer 8

no, it will explode into tiny pieces using nuclear bomb

Answer 9

Looks as though the consensus here is, "Yes", "No", "I don't know", "Maybe".

I'm what you'd call an independent, so I'll vote, "Probably not in the overall scheme of things".  Worst case I'd bet a lot more people die of cardiac arrest that day in Houston, Texas, than die from that thing falling everywhere it can reach.

The US Army general George C. Scott played in Doctor Strangelove narrowed his eyes and muttered, "I wish we had US one of those Doomsday Machines!".

I narrow my own eyes and mutter, "I wish I had ME some of that hydrazine!"

Times change and we gotta change with them or fall into irrelevancy.

Answer 10

Only if it's Cheney doing the shooting.

Answer 11

The reason they are shooting it down is because it has chemicals on it that will be dangerous if it falls out of orbit into our atmosphere. By exploding it now they are removing the risk.

Answer 12

The primary cover story is that the satellite has some fuel on board that is environmentally unsafe.  The real reason they wish to destroy it, as the Pentagon acknowledges, is that the satellite has some very sensitive surveillance equipment on board.  We don't want our friends or enemies finding out how we spy on them.

Answer 13

Everyone stop using the word "down". When the satellite is destoyed, nothing is going down. The debris will orbit for a long time, causing danger for all of the other satellites and spacecraft. The US was so upset at China last year for doing the same thing.

We're going to test new software on the SM3 to test if we CAN hit a sattelite. That's why it's being tested. It has nothing to do with safety.

Answer 14

I cant understand why they dont just tow it back into a deeper orbit with the shuttle and just fix the thing. It probably has a blown fuse or something. I am sure that the Government has ulterior motives concerning this, as usual. And It has more to do with the missles than anything. The Good ol boys need to shoot their guns, again.

Answer 15

It's a satellite that lost commo, hence, control. It's a spy satellite, with a lot of highly secret detection gear on board, which we (the U.S.) would rather not have fall into the hands of any potential adversaries.

The object weighs a reported 5,000 pounds. Some of that mass may survive the re-entry temperatures. Exactly, which portion, no one can predict. Would it include some of the top secret components, the circuitry? No one knows.

The best condition would be a complete burn-up on re-entry. However, that doesn't appear to be likely. So....

The Navy has  had an anti-missile system for a few decades. It has gotten better, smarter, more far-ranged. The design portions have been expanded to land-based systems, although not as fast as President Reagan's "Star Wars" proposal wanted. (Thank a Democrat-controlled Congress for that failure.)  In spite of Congress, the systems are now at the point where intercepting and destroying orbital war-heads is a not just a possibility, it is probable.

We have a 5,000 lb hunk of junk coming in. We have systems that could stand a real-world test and evaluation.

Why not?

Answer 16

no the scientists are at their job along with officials.

firstly when it will enter earth atmosphere.it wiil be broken into pieces by air friction.

then if pieces are large enough then they would use ballastic missile in the upper atmosphere

Answer 17

I think it's a good excuse to blow a satellite out of the sky like the chinese did a few months ago. They beat us to it, we can't let them get too far ahead.  I actually thought it was pretty hilarious when they did it first.

Answer 18

The satellite that will crash into Earth is a US spy satellite that failed to work. The orbit is slowly decaying and it expected to crash in early March. Most likely hood the satellite would not crash into a populated area, but where it lands is completely uncertain. It could crash anywhere even in a major city but the chance that it would hit a city is slim. Most of the debris would burn up in re-entry.

The satellite would not be shot down do to the debris field would be covering a larger area and potentially cause more damage it it hits a populated area.

The main danger to humans is the rocket fuel hydrazine, if it doesn't burn in re-entry, which is highly toxic and would irritate lungs and can cause long-term damage to vital organs, if a piece of debris land in a person yard DON'T TOUCH ANY PIECE!

The size of the satellite is the size of the average city bus and weight nearly two tonnes.

Answer 19

Shooting the satellite down is the wrong way to put it. They'll blow it up but the pieces wont inmediately fall back to earth like a plane. They'll stay in orbit a while to finally go down piece by piece just like the satellite was going to do.

Small pieces have a better chance to burn up on reentry than the  entire satellite. Its good they chop it before it can do any damage