Closing at 5 Miles per second and they hit the little targeted fuel tank.
A Direct Hit
Does missile defense actually work? An impromptu mission to destroy a potentially hazardous failing satellite has proven that the system in place can make a direct hit on a fast-moving target. The USS Lake Erie scored a direct hit on the targeted small fuel tank on a spy satellite traveling in polar orbit at 17,000 mile per hour, eliminating the fuel tank that had worried the US (via Worldwide Standard):
Over the last twenty years and more, we have heard from a variety of experts explaining how this is impossible. A rocket, they claimed, could not reliably be expected to target another rocket. They derided missile defense systems as “Star Wars” fantasy and demanded that we stop pursuing destabilizing efforts to actually defend ourselves from potential missile attack.
The Patriot missile systems began proving their abilities against Scud attacks in the Gulf War. They didn’t have a perfect record, but they did have an impressive run of mid-air intercepts — so impressive that the Israelis bought Patriot batteries from us. In the last seven years, we have continued to develop these defense systems, after the Clinton administration tried to mothball it.
Now we see that we can precisely target moving objects that aren’t specifically intended as tests. The missile and the satellite had a closing velocity of 22,000 miles per hour, and yet the Navy hit a bullseye on the first try. It sends a message to people like Kim Jong-Il and Ali Khameini that their ballistic missile systems have just been made obsolete. It also sends a message to the defeatists and naysayers from the last quarter-century that, like so many other times, they have been proven wrong in their defeatism.
Eventually, this could end the ballistic missile era. If effective defenses become widely available, there will not be much point in maintaining ballistic missile inventories at all. Ronald Reagan had that very vision when he first proposed SDI and tried to get the Soviets to partner with him on it.
Captains Quarters
Big BUMP!
What message is sent by the name of the missile?
SM-3
(STANDARD MISSILE 3)
It was very impressive, but I'm afraid you're reading far too much into it. Shooting down this particular satellite is in no way comparable to shooting down a ballistic missile. Yes, the sat was moving quickly, but the similarity between the two scenarios ends there.
We had weeks to target to this satellite, run numbers, do a simulation, back to numbers and try again until it works out. We'd have minutes to take down an ICBM.
You should also note that we moved this event back a day due to weather. We won't be able to count on a foreign power launching a missile under ideal intercept conditions.
What we did show the world is that their sats are very vulnerable to our weapons. We've demonstrated that we can take out any enemy satellite from a mobile location anywhere on the ocean.
That would put creeps like Vladimir Putin out of business.
The Chinese shot a satellite at 500 miles up. The result? Hazardous debris for years if not decades. Lots of satellites go in that range. Thanks a LOT, china. and they dare say they are concerned about last night's debris. Asswipes.The difference here is that the satellite was at 140 miles up. While they say that it was to shoot down and save us from the Hydrazine, which is highly toxic, we know they actually didn't want all the stuff there to be possibly retreived by other countries (Let's not be naive, eh?). But the excuse was good, I'll give them that. The danger chances were low but hey, if we can get rid of it, why the hell not?
Now, at 140 miles up, most of the debris will burn down the atmosphere in 24-48 hours. I'd give the most resiliant a week. Lots of folks said they saw a possible Hydrazine trail, so it looks like the fuel tank's planned destruction it worked too. At least it must've leaked the stuff out.
China: BAD BAD BAD. STUPIDLY DONE. SLOPPY JOB. US: Good. I won't use caps or overexcitement because I'm not sure it was absolutely necessary, but there, it's done. It was a clean kill, they were intelligent about it too. They waited for proper satellite decay before making it go away. Very good job.
It sends a message to people like Kim Jong-Il and Ali Khameini ...
Satellites have carried hydrazine since day 1, and we have just now become worried that they are "potentially hazardous." Ri-i-i-ight! That first statement is technically known as a "fig leaf."
GREAT ESSAY!
Thanks for the tribute to Reagan’s vision and SDI and the wonderful folks who accomplished this masterly feat!