A US Navy satellite used to provide real-time weather reports has exploded in space.

Sky News ^ | 2 march 2015 | sky news

[OldMissileer]

Although one might wonder if a 20-year-old satellite has very much propellant left on board.

When I was in Technical School training to be on the launch crew of the Titan II ICBM a couple of the instructors took us out to part of the abandoned flight line and produced two vials. One had about 50ml of the Unsymmetrical Di-methyl Hydrazine/Hydrazine mix (the Titan II fuel) and the other vial had about 100ml of Nitrogen Tetroxide (the Titan II oxidizer). They placed the two vials on the concrete inside a coffee can and then placed a steel rod tripod over the vials. Using a brick suspended on a string from the tripod over the vials we moved back about 100 feet and then they let the brick drop from the tripod. The brick flew about 70 or more feet.

The hypergolic fuels and oxidizers are always a mixture of some kind of Hydrazine and the Nitrogen Tetroxide and just a small amount will tear apart a satellite if they leak.

[dila813]

Its obsolete technology, if anything they used our own satellite for target practice.

[CMB_polarization]

So it was designed to break apart nicely, into 43 pieces.

[steve86]

Prime number.

[MaxMax]

Creepy.

[grania]

ahhhh....are you suggesting it was a spy satellite disguised as a weather satellite?

[PghBaldy]

I wonder if this is related to the bizarre weather forecasts I have seen online for the past few weeks?

[PghBaldy]

It was peaceniks protesting drones or soemthing.

[353FMG]

Definite sign of global warming or, at least, climate change.

[mabarker1]

Exactly 43 pieces and only 43? And how do they know that?

43? So, whose fault is it? 43? Hmm…

Capt. Oblivious to the rescue!!!

[SaveFerris]

SPADOC tracking - or whatever it’s called now.

[SaveFerris]

You can restart the Aerojet engine to adjust altitude. Or let slow decay do the opposite.

All these birds do more than their “advertised” functions.

They change altitude sometimes for a closer inspection.

Or something like that.

[SaveFerris]

[clearcarbon]

"Temperature spike? Huh, what could possibly cause that? /s"

An International Space Station newbie tossed a joint out the window.

[musicman]

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[Rockpile]

Note that it appears that the Sultan’s DOD shut down the old system without having the new one up and running.

BTW, when Shuttle Columbia was breaking up over north Texas it flew damn near directly over the top of the Kickapoo Lafe Station. I thought sure some professional journalist would ask NASA about them tracking the pieces. HA!, stupid silly Me!

[piasa]

thnx

[outofsalt]

Seems it was also storing Hillary’s emails...
Sometimes satellites just crash.

[Flag_This]

"Think they would have vented excess fuel into space long ago."

I was just trying to help the investigation with TWA 800 references.

[Chode]

pretty much