My "B.S." (baloney sensor) is pegged (analog you know) off the scale.

I don't know wussup here, but it ain't hydrazine. This non-heat shield protected satellite's hydrazine fuel tank would survive intact on re-entry.

Yeah. Right.

Some messages are being sent here. Who? Why? I dunno. But they are.

This is all about "starwars."

Let the escalation begin; and, please, America, don't start whining when Iran builds a nuke.

We raise the stakes all the time and then we complain when a third world country wants to "play."

I don't mind raising the stakes, but we really look hypocritical when we're attacking (through surrogates like Israel) countries that want to gain the respect that nukes bring.

This had nothing to do with a dangerous gas that would have disipated on entry into the atmosphere if the satellite woud've plunged to Earth. It was about showing off our toys and destroying extremely sensitive state secrets. We are not dumb.

Yet bin Laden is still out there, plotting against us. Imagine if a Democrat had let the man who orchestrated 9/11 get away with it.

OK, we've proved (I think) that we can shoot down something the size of a mini van, with a known orbit, in good weather, moving no faster than an ordinary satellite.

Let the wingnut cheering begin.

The US isn't going to whine about anyone building a Nuke unless a Democrat is elected. Otherwise, Iran builds a nuke, we bomb them into the stone age.

Are your 'buttholes' puckering a little more today CHINA + RUSSIA??? So much for your 'technology' bought for campaign contributions eh 'CLINTONS' and given to the CHINESE + their agents eh??? Go ahead provoke us - and we'll BLOW-YOU-OUT of the friggin' skies!!!

Why is it when China destroys a harmless satellite 500 miles high releasing 26,000 pieces of space junk each larger than four inches, that will remain in orbit permanently, endangeroing manned space exploration forever, nobody bats an eyelash, but when the US destroys a very low orbit harmful (hydrazine-filled) satellite leaving ZERO harmful items in permanent orbit, all the US liberals start their SDI whining and even go so far as to say "let Iran have its nukes"?

Go NAVY! Excellent shooting!!

Glen,

The basis of your complaint is essentially this:
China - 26,000 pieces >4 inches.
US - zero harmful items.

These "facts" can't possibly be true and is the source of your discontent.

I agree with the people who think this was a ruse to try out some technology for furthering the war machine or as they say Star Wars. From what I understand you would have to stand over that hydrazine tank and inhale for a whole day in order for it to have any negative effect on you. I think there are some guys in office who are happy playing Army and are running out of time.

NOT ONLY WERE THE CHINESE WATCHING THEY HAD THEIR GUY ON THE SHIP

When you got a missile you can puff your chest, pose and threaten. But when you have missile defense, what do you do? If you develop fire starting technology, you must develop fire starting technology or you'll be proven a fool. For example, Iraq's burning oil fields required fire stopping technology. The question isn't academic. By the grace of god, Earth hasn't experienced a nuclear winter yet but the possibility looms larger, not smaller, as more states develop these technologies.

Yes, Paul, bin Laden is still out there.

Let's think for a moment about Steve Fossett, though.

Steve is somewhere in the United States, within Citabria range of where he took off.

Wherever he is, he's got a brightly-colored airplane with him.

He doesn't move around.

He's probably not in a cave, or in a shelter of any kind.

He's got no security people.

No one warns him when searchers get too close.

He supposedly has two emergency locator beacons, one on the airplane and one on his expensive watch.

Now, if we can't find Steve, for whom all of the above is true, why is it surprising that we can't find bin Laden, for whom none of it is?

Glen,
Any bject in orbit is falling towards Earth and eventually would burn up as they enter the atmosphere. The space station would eventually fall to earth if it weren't for rocket boosters attached that give it a gentle acceleration every once in a while. So the space junk story you're spreading is nothing but fear mongering to bait you into hating China. The space garbage, unless it has little tiny rocket boosters on it, will eventually burn up into to nothing as it falls gently towards earth. Nothing remains in orbit permanently. We are moving slowly closer to the sun and the moon is moving slowly closer to Earth.

I cant imagine why any liberals would be crying about this. Even if there was more to the sattelite than toxic fuel, shooting it down potentially saved lives. THe fact that it also happens to be an exellent show of force is just icing on the cake. good job to our boys.

Don't be ridiculous. This was about spending a mess of money to maintain a budget level.

You can't buy a new missile unless you use one.

The targets that missile defense systems would be built to intercept would not be under our control, tracked with utter precision weeks ahead of time. They would not be the size of a bus. The on-board software would have to direct the missile, not some engineers on the ground.

I don't think, therefore, hitting the satellite is very meaningful for missile defense.

DaveB,
Don't know why you had to drag Steve Fossett's tragedy into this post, but no doubt sand and dirt from winds have blown over the wreckage and remains obscuring them from the few concerned yet amateur pilots who don't have the best technology has to offer locate him who are still searching. The US military with enough resources put behind the effort would no doubt smoke Bin Laden out of his hole...unless of course you don't think the military is capable.

Now, if we can't find Steve, for whom all of the above is true, why is it surprising that we can't find bin Laden, for whom none of it is?

Posted by: DaveB

DaveB,

You make a good point that I honestly never considered. But let me suggest that if someone put out a bounty of $50 million (which for an Afghan would be like $50 trillion) to find Steve, he'd be found in a New York minute. In fact, there'd be such a Fossett rush, Nevada would be the new New York.

Yes, Julia, but some of it will be in orbit for a very long time, posing a hazard to navigation. Look up, for instance, the Vanguard satellites, launched in 1958 and 1959. They're still up there, and expected to be up there, though no longer functional, for another 200 to 250 years.

Steve,

Who's crying? We just know it was unnecessary.

Is China watching? Are you kidding? All of the parts were MADE IN CHINA.

Libs are fools. Thank God for our military capabilities. We are one election from tossing the white flag.

Resident Genius,

DON'T let them play.

David,

Use a missile.

Steve, we're crying it didn't crash into you.

Well well now that we no the missle works its time to send a 'message' to CHina, Canada, the UN. Canadas French.

I wonder if that's where all the missing emails where.

Jackson, they used some pretty high-tech stuff to try to find Steve Fossett. You can Google his name and read all about it. They didn't just tell the Boy Scouts to keep an eye out for him on their weekend hikes!

I'm not trying to belittle Fossett's "tragedy." I'm just trying to illustrate a point that finding Osama isn't as easy as armchair observers might think it is.

BTW, there's a Letter to the Editor in the Trib today making the same point.

"So does this mean a future enemy should just wait for a bad-wave day in order to defeat the U.S.'s sea-based ballistic-missile defense? Just wondering." Uhhhhh... You're an idiot...

One thing no one is talking about: hydrazine is a nitrogen based component of rocket fuel. Every missile launched (and every space shuttle, that places satellites in orbit) uses hydrazine fuel. So why are we panicking about hydrazine when we are using hydrazine to shoot down hydrazine? Does anyone even care, when evil hydrazine might drop on our heads? The environmental damage done by a disintergrating satellite is zero compared to the damage done by automobile exhaust.

One thing no one is talking about: hydrazine is a nitrogen based component of rocket fuel. Every missile launched (and every space shuttle, that places satellites in orbit) uses hydrazine fuel. So why are we panicking about hydrazine when we are using hydrazine to shoot down hydrazine? Does anyone even care, when evil hydrazine might drop on our heads? The environmental damage done by a disintergrating satellite is zero compared to the damage done by automobile exhaust.

The USA will one day incinerate Red China when they make a grave miscalculation of our resolve-and ABM capabilities.

that day of reckoning with our mortal enemies will come-soon!