Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Falling Down
This whole satellite thing has turned into some cheap Hollywood action movie script.
Earlier today I read they intended to fire at it while over Hawaii. That makes sense since all the weapons system development tools are in that area. Rather convenient that during the first operational use of your new weapon system you can grab a full data set. On the other hand, the satellite is in a polar orbit. If they hit it over Hawaii, that means the debris trail falls - yes you guessed it - over my house. So at this point I'm viewing yesterday's meteor as either a warning shot or an omen.
But it's going to be fine. According to the same Yahoo Mail post:
The government organized hazardous materials teams, under the code name "Burnt Frost," to be flown to the site of any dangerous or otherwise sensitive debris that might land in the United States or elsewhere.
Also, six federal response groups that are positioned across the country by the Federal Emergency Management Agency have been alerted but not activated, FEMA spokesman James McIntyre said. "These are purely precautionary and preparedness actions only," he said.
First of all, the polar orbit & Hawaii impact point really preclude any chance of the debris hitting the bulk of the continental US. So it seems like all that effort is a waste - i.e. just for show & politics. In addition, after the Katrina debacle not many people are going to feel good about FEMA being on the case. Personally I still want one of those "FEMA - Fix Everything My ASS" T-shirts I saw in the French Quarter.
Secondly, the press and government normally treat the general population as morons. So it's rather obvious they are playing up the danger of the "toxic hydrazine fuel". It's no more dangerous than commonly used commercial chemicals like chlorine. If you live near a railroad track you have way more danger in your back yard. All this "we are going to hit it in the fuel tank" stuff is rather sensationalistic. From a practical engineering view, if you hit the satellite with a 130 MegaJoule kinetic energy weapon it seems reasonable to expect you would at least rupture a fuel line. So the need to directly hit the fuel tank is a little preposterous.
Every thing about this points towards the government spooks protecting their toy. Yesterday I read a press release claiming the Russians were calling foul. So you should add political fallout to the total cost. I wonder how far that aspect will go.
The Yahoo article slips up & points to what seems to be the real motive: "... or otherwise sensitive debris ...". FEMA's own instructions instructions tell their people "First responders should secure a perimeter and control access around any debris. DO NOT pick up any debris. Notify your local emergency manager of its location immediately.". Loosely translated, if you find the prize call your supervisor. He'll know what to do. At that point it turns into something from an X-Files episode.
I wonder if the government is going to spent some ridiculous amount of money locating the fuel tank. Something about that idea says yes they will because it would justify the whole endeavor. You know the drill, a few choice pictures & sound bites for the nightly news demonstrating how they saved us from the toxic hydrazine danger. (Good thing it wasn't a plutoniom powered satellite.) The only other option is to claim/prove it landed in the "deep ocean". Yeah, off Hawaii around the place where the CIA (Howard Hughes) raised a cold war era Russian nuclear submarine. Looks like the Glomar Explorer might be available for another mission.
According to a Yahoo Mail post, they pulled the trigger at "10:26 EST". I'm still here so I'm probably in the clear.
Maybe I've watched too much X-Files. But it seems odd they chose to shoot it down tonight. All day long I read news reports talking about rough seas creating operational problems. On the other hand, tonight was the lunar eclipse so everyone would be looking east. Maybe, just maybe, any south to north fireball in the western sky might not be noticed. ¶ 20.2.08
Earlier today I read they intended to fire at it while over Hawaii. That makes sense since all the weapons system development tools are in that area. Rather convenient that during the first operational use of your new weapon system you can grab a full data set. On the other hand, the satellite is in a polar orbit. If they hit it over Hawaii, that means the debris trail falls - yes you guessed it - over my house. So at this point I'm viewing yesterday's meteor as either a warning shot or an omen.
But it's going to be fine. According to the same Yahoo Mail post:
The government organized hazardous materials teams, under the code name "Burnt Frost," to be flown to the site of any dangerous or otherwise sensitive debris that might land in the United States or elsewhere.
Also, six federal response groups that are positioned across the country by the Federal Emergency Management Agency have been alerted but not activated, FEMA spokesman James McIntyre said. "These are purely precautionary and preparedness actions only," he said.
First of all, the polar orbit & Hawaii impact point really preclude any chance of the debris hitting the bulk of the continental US. So it seems like all that effort is a waste - i.e. just for show & politics. In addition, after the Katrina debacle not many people are going to feel good about FEMA being on the case. Personally I still want one of those "FEMA - Fix Everything My ASS" T-shirts I saw in the French Quarter.
Secondly, the press and government normally treat the general population as morons. So it's rather obvious they are playing up the danger of the "toxic hydrazine fuel". It's no more dangerous than commonly used commercial chemicals like chlorine. If you live near a railroad track you have way more danger in your back yard. All this "we are going to hit it in the fuel tank" stuff is rather sensationalistic. From a practical engineering view, if you hit the satellite with a 130 MegaJoule kinetic energy weapon it seems reasonable to expect you would at least rupture a fuel line. So the need to directly hit the fuel tank is a little preposterous.
Every thing about this points towards the government spooks protecting their toy. Yesterday I read a press release claiming the Russians were calling foul. So you should add political fallout to the total cost. I wonder how far that aspect will go.
The Yahoo article slips up & points to what seems to be the real motive: "... or otherwise sensitive debris ...". FEMA's own instructions instructions tell their people "First responders should secure a perimeter and control access around any debris. DO NOT pick up any debris. Notify your local emergency manager of its location immediately.". Loosely translated, if you find the prize call your supervisor. He'll know what to do. At that point it turns into something from an X-Files episode.
I wonder if the government is going to spent some ridiculous amount of money locating the fuel tank. Something about that idea says yes they will because it would justify the whole endeavor. You know the drill, a few choice pictures & sound bites for the nightly news demonstrating how they saved us from the toxic hydrazine danger. (Good thing it wasn't a plutoniom powered satellite.) The only other option is to claim/prove it landed in the "deep ocean". Yeah, off Hawaii around the place where the CIA (Howard Hughes) raised a cold war era Russian nuclear submarine. Looks like the Glomar Explorer might be available for another mission.
According to a Yahoo Mail post, they pulled the trigger at "10:26 EST". I'm still here so I'm probably in the clear.
Maybe I've watched too much X-Files. But it seems odd they chose to shoot it down tonight. All day long I read news reports talking about rough seas creating operational problems. On the other hand, tonight was the lunar eclipse so everyone would be looking east. Maybe, just maybe, any south to north fireball in the western sky might not be noticed. ¶ 20.2.08
