If they hadn't kept harping on "the dangerous fuel escaping," I might buy it. However, since a fuel tank, and the LIQUID inside, are the LAST things that will survive reentry at 17,500 mph, I have to say it's a pathetic excuse for an official explanation. Oh, and guess what? A missile hit doesn't make liquid fuel disappear! Some of it may have reacted with the oxidizer but the rest still came down! In fact, there may have been as much of the very same fuel & oxidizer remaining on the Columbia when it broke up, and not a word of caution went out. (not to mention that the nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer is way more dangerous than the hydrazine fuel, but that could be the usual oversimplification for the public) Remember Skylab and that Russian spy satellite? The only concern about uncontrolled entry is heavy, dense components hitting something because they didn't burn up.

THIS WHOLE THING MAY HAVE BEEN FAKED! The news footage shows a huge, bright, explosion, just like something out of Lucas' Star Wars movies. Only problem is, there's zero oxygen in soace. 150 miles up is a vacuum. So how did the satellite parts ignite and oxidize in such a spectacular fireball if there's no oxygen for ignition? They're tring to cover up this argument by saying the pieces began to burn 'almost immediately' because the orbit was "so low". 150 miles up? Sounds like typical NASA b.s. to me. The government lies about everything, from who did 911 to who killed JFK. The collapse of Bldg. 7 was a real stretch too. But this has to be the lamest ever..

Pro:

A technological achievement

Military achievement

Preventing possible contamination

Preventing secret data and hardware for falling into wrong hands.

Con

May spook other advanced countries to crank up their space defense RD. Russia and China are sure to do so.

One other factor to consider, in the targeting precision, is the fact that the large vehicle's state/vector is constantly changing as a result of it's proximity to the upper atmosphere. For an object the size of a bus, drag would be slowing the satellite, even if only by a few tens of fps each orbit. This is just one of the areas of uncertainty in targeting, the constant state/vector change of the target over time. And, every single fps change that occurs, changes the objects orbital altitude, by only meters for the most part, some lowering the orbit on one side, while raising it on the other, depending on a lot of factors. Basically, if you slow the vehicle on one side of the Earth, that raises the orbit on the other, due to the concept of gravity gradient.

In other words, there are chaotic factors that make this achievement quite notable, from a technical term, even if it had a homing beacon. So many parameters, and so little chance for success, that even if this was a setup, it's quite a high five'r for those involved.

That said, I do think this was also part saber rattling, and considering China's response, I'd say the hardliner's goals were achieved. This was an "in your face" action, and as such, is a game of brinkmanship that has serious implications for the future of cooperation with China and Russia, both of whom, have a lot to lose as a result of this "test". It is a curious question to ask...do we really want to piss off the people who are bankrolling our wars? They pull our marker, and we're up that well known tributary with no visible means of locomotion (up shit creek).

I've been studying space science for decades, and the fact that this vehicle was hit at 133 miles up, makes me worry a bit. That is low Earth orbit, but high enough that if you reduce the surface area of a satellite (aka blow it up), you extend it's time on orbit. That is to say, this particular orbit is now populated by not one large piece of space junk that would come down very soon, but by thousands of tiny bits that will take far longer to come down. And the explosion (as shown in the video) scattered the debris over a wide swath of this particular orbit. Just another band of space that will have to be monitored for awhile, to keep vehicles like the shuttle from flying through it on their way to higher orbit. A way of looking at it, and this is just an estimate, is that a BB with say, a relative speed of 30,000mph, is the intertial equivalent of a cannonball fired out of a cannon. That BB would breach the crew compartment of the shuttle and cause a catastrophic decompression, and god knows what other damage to the structure itself and it's systems.

Impressive feat, but likely they cheated. With a combined speed of 22,000 mph, or about 33,000 fps the odds of a blind shot like this working is remote at best, and even more remote when considering this was a first. By "cheated" I mean, there had to be a "contingency" package on-board this vehicle, namely a homing beacon. Think of it as a fancy self-destruct package, where the explosives are provided from without, either by a warhead, or by the kinetic energy of the missile involved. The beacon makes it a controlled shoot, where the precise state/vector of the target is updated on a millisecond scale. Even this is impressive though, so I am not trying to just be critical here.

I haven't read what type of missile this was, that can reach an altitude of 133 miles, while maintaining critical parameters for rendezvous at a critical moment...one where if you're off by a tenth of a second in your targetting, you've missed the target by about a kilometer.

I do wish they could be upfront with the reasons though. The story about the hydrazine is laughable, and in my mind, assumes that children are reading the story. This had to have been about keeping sensitive technology out of the hands of whoever might have this piece of hardware come down in their territory. I'd assume it was the optics, but then, the control systems for the optics might have been hardened against radiation, and been contained in structures that might well have survived the plunge through the atmosphere.

Way to much skepticism in these post. Can't we all just agree that the mission was as successful as the invasion of Iraq? Now, angry people go take your meds and no more coffee. Time for a group hug cause we all love America, we love the troops and George is a man of faith. Have a nice day and another joint.

Since Clinton GAVE the Chinese mush of our missile technology in the 90's, this put them on notice we are still a decade ahead of them in missile technology. We'll sell these things like hotcakes to our trusted allies. Puts China, Russia, and N. Korea in a precariously jealous position.

On NPR this morning the news reader glibly asked some "expert," whether in the "next war" our enemy might shoot down our satellites like we just did. Thus has NPR fallen to Fox news caliber reporting. What next war? With whom? In any war where the bad guys can blast our satellites out of the sky they will be raining nukes on us at the same time.
Nuclear war is one for which the only preparedness is not to have a war. Notwithstanding the putative risks of an orbiting junk pile landing somewhere populated this is another chapter in the Star Wars spend-a-thon of the 80's. Republicrooks love to run our money through the military-industrial complex. We are now funding "defense" (against whom?) at the level of WWII and spending more than the rest of the world combined. Yet our military is so fragile that it has been shattered by the occupation of a third rate world power (Iraq).
This obscene wastefulness flows from paranoia worthy of the late Howard Hughes. We aren't facing the Soviet Union or the Nazis or any nation state of note. Our only threat comes from a handful of religious fanatics who haven't done anything since 9/11. And not from want of trying. As John Kerry pointed out the appropriate response to terrorism is a combination of diplomacy, espionage and police work not military action.
The ruling class shudders in exaggerated fear that they will get singled out for the next terrorist act. This was Al Qaeda's message in attacking a landmark center of commerce rather than a military target. They have catalyzed our self-destruction. The plutocracy is willing to spend us into oblivion to protect themselves. We don't have much time left to stop this insanity.

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Look, I think we all know the rules by now.

If something positive happens while the "other party" occupies the White House, it's either a "lie", a "conspiracy", or both.

If something negative happens while the "other party" occupies the White House, it's all their fault because it "happened on their watch", regardless of what happened BEFORE their watch they may have played a part.

"My party" is always right and honest.

"The other party" is always wrong and dishonest.

Come on, let's keep up.

Such is the sad state of contemporary American politics.
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Today I am profoundly proud to be retired Navy and in particular, a band of brothers sailor trained extensively to do exactly this kind of thing, albeit somewhat less advanced (I retired in the 90's).

Take THAT China.

I am not sure I believe the missile hit the satellite. Shouldn't there be some evidence to prove it?

Anyone know what was in the satellite? Who gat paid for it? We shot down a hollow shell. Nothing like having the Navy help in getting rid of the evidence.

Contrast this decidedly typical and measured Bush Administration observation concerning the failed spy satellite late last month:

'"Given that 75 percent of the Earth is covered in water and much of the land is uninhabited, the likely percentage of this satellite or any debris falling into a populated area is very small." White House National Security Council Spokesman Gordon Johndroe, Jan. 28, 2008.'

...with this faux-hysterical line of Bush Administration bullshit last week:

'"Specifically, there was enough of a risk for the president to be quite concerned about human life." Deputy National Security Adviser James Jeffrey, Feb. 14, 2008.'

Joe Cirincione, who was a guest yesterday morning on Bill Press' radio show, made the observation that, yes indeed, this whole exercise is more than simply a publicity stunt for The Project for the New American Century and the seemingly immortal Strategic Defense Initiative.

As Paul Carroll of Ploughshares Fund writes:

'With a relatively simple software switch-out (software that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. James Cartwright said took only three weeks to develop), the SM-3 will be able to target a satellite. Cartwright stressed that this is a one-time mission for the Navy"s interceptor, and that the satellite-targeting software is not compatible with the software necessary for the interceptors to target incoming missiles so would not be replicated through the fleet. But the fact of the matter is that the software wasn"t all that hard to develop, and it now exists. And while the SM-3 missiles don"t have the range to reliably target most active satellites, the U.S. Ground-Based Midcourse interceptors in silos at FortGreeley and Vandenberg do. The bottom line is that the attempted intercept only increases concern about missile defense and U.S. plans in space.'

http://ploughshares.org/news.php?id=507

But! But! I always shoot my ducks while they are sitting! Then I tell my wife that I shot on the wing! Ain't Star Wars Grand???