Posted on 02/21/2008 5:27:51 AM PST by CarrotAndStick
Just a guess, but it probably had more to do with the Space Shuttle's reentry yesterday. They track this stuff with radar and it wouldn't have taken the missile very long to get above the weather. Maybe they wanted a visual on it for the cameras to study later? If they'd have blown up the satellite before the Shuttle came back, it might have put the Shuttle in the position where it would have had to fly through the debris field left before it decays and burns up. The shuttle's trajectory on reentry yesterday brought it in diagonally over the south Pacific, over central America and into Florida. This undoubtedly would have crossed the path of a polar orbiting satellite.
And they said SDI would never work. Further proof that Reagan’s critics were ideological Luddites who were more concerned about their party’s well being than they were about national security.
Being and old navy veteran, I am so proud of the men and women of the USS Lake Erie. That was some accomplishment.
Our military people are the best of the best!
“General Cartwright...”
First thing that came to my mind when I saw this name:
General Bullwright - “Stand at ease, America. Light ‘em if you got ‘em.”
Let’s see Russia or China accomplish this. Not in 1000 tries.
LOL Michelle Obama says there is nothing funny about that and nothing to really be proud of a capitalistic society flexing it’s muscle in front of socialistic empires.....ROFL
What message is sent by the name of the missile?
SM-3
(STANDARD MISSILE 3)
Cartwright’s a Marine. He wants to put “lead on the target” the first time. (Translation: If we didn’t wait for sea state 2, the Navy would hose it up.)
Two words........
GO NAVY!!!!!!!!
Great video! Thanks! Was that a standard missile or a “Star Wars” missile? What exactly and where exactly do we have Star Wars deployed? Again thanks.
placemarker.
Let's jump in the wayback machine:
Does anyone think that the principal reason this disabled satellite was destroyed was to lessen the prospect that it would be recovered by our adversaries, who would otherwise have an intelligence bonanza?
Read Blind Man’s Bluff and Bamford’s books.
Aegis destroyers like the Lake Erie are part of Star Wars and they are, obviously, already deployed. There are supposed to be land based interceptors in Alaska, I believe; part of Clinton’s attempt to mothball the idea by limiting it’s deployment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDn5FDuV4wU
Here's a description of the missle.
http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/m-161.html
And then this from last November.
http://www.gizmag.com/ratheon-sm3-dual-intercept-missile/8352/
May have had more to do with instrumentation (and public relations). They probably wanted to gather optical data for test purposes as well as kewl video for the news conference.
What's the point of blowing up a satellite if the only ones who are going to know are folks who track satellites?
I seriously doubt that the AEGIS radar could possibly have tracked the target (or even has the instrumented range to do it if it wanted to try). The radar is too small and not powerful enough. (Power times aperture squared = track sensitivity.) Nor is it nearly accurate enough. There had to be some other instrumentation involved. May have been a handoff from GBR ("Great Big Radar") at the Ronald Reagan Nation Test Facility on Kwajalien or COBRA JUDY might have participated. I know not. I sort of doubt they were cuing on an optical sensor in any case, but stranger things have happened.
Does this make you proud Michelle?
Nope...it makes Ms. Hussein Obama weep like a little schoolgirl over the technology we destroyed and summarily deprived Communist China of ever having.
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