Cruise Missiles, satellites and National Security – Part 1

China and Russia have raised concerns on the recent shooting down of the US of a so-called ‘rogue’ satellite (designated US-193), which was a bus sized object in space that was launched more than a year ago when it went bonkers and stopped communicating with its controllers on the ground. This eventuality prevented the analysis and consequent adjustments to it’s orbit which was to make it stable and maintain a positions as it was supposed to. Failure to communicate meant the fuel which was the highly debated HYDRAZINEwas not or used only a little (this was used to adjust orbit taking it to the ideal position for its mission) was used before it stopped communicating at all. Many questions have been asked and the government has been able to provide straightforward answers to most of them but skeptics remain.

First, the Union of Concerned Scientists, asked why this time only, objects from space have decayed in orbit and re-entered the atmosphere before without much fanfare? The government says the hydrazine and other toxic chemicals which posed a health threat was the main goal, to prevent human casualties. Russia and China says it might be a show of force that the US has a capable and operational system that can shoot down the spy satellite of another country as it chooses as China did a few months back when they shot down their own weather satellite(which they told no one of setting off protests from governments). Still others say it might be a plot to prevent the discovery of highly sensitive technical imaging and spy equipment from falling into the wrong hands, which could be partially true yet the pieces of the broken spacecraft was still to enter the earth and many agree that the pieces or at least most of them would break-up as it did so.

Posted by Nick at 7:25 am under General