Round and Round she goes...

[deBish]

...where she drops, not even the spies know.

WASHINGTON: A large US spy satellite has lost power and could hit the earth in late February or March.


"Appropriate government agencies are monitoring the situation," Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for National Security Council, said. "Numerous satellites over the years have come out of orbit and fallen harmlessly. We are looking at potential options to mitigate any possible damage this satellite may cause."


US officials were unable to manoeuvre the satellite, and Mr Johndroe declined to say whether it would be possible to shoot it down before it plummeted through the Earth's atmosphere.


At the Pentagon, Lieutenant-Colonel Karen Finn of the air force confirmed that military officials believed the satellite could hit the Earth soon, but added that more analysis would be needed to determine exactly when and where.


John Pike, the director of the defence research group GlobalSecurity.org, estimated that the spacecraft weighed about 9.072 tonnes and was the size of a small bus.

As for possible hazardous material in the spacecraft, Mr Pike said it might contain beryllium, a light metal with a high melting point that is used in the arms and aerospace industries.


Jeffrey Richelson, a senior fellow with the National Security Archive, said the spacecraft was likely to be a photo reconnaissance satellite, used to gather information about adversarial governments and terrorist groups, including construction at suspected nuclear sites or militant training camps.


Many commercial satellites contain small rockets used by ground controllers to adjust their orbits, relying on solar panels and rechargeable batteries for power. Batteries in solar power systems are usually considered hazardous material for disposal purposes.


Satellites launched toward planets farther from the sun more often rely on nuclear power. Some earlier US and Russian satellites orbiting Earth also used nuclear power, and several accidents over the years resulted in releases of radioactive material. The contents and operation of US military and spy satellites are classified.

DId someone order a dead satellite delivery?

[MaK10]

I read that this morning, i'm sure they know about where it's going to hit, but since it's a super secret spy satellite they don't want to tell anyone...

[deBish]

Originally Posted by MaK10

I read that this morning, i'm sure they know about where it's going to hit, but since it's a super secret spy satellite they don't want to tell anyone...

They can barely keep track of NEOs... I doubt that they can predict where it'll fall until they can guage it's rate of decrease and fall date. They're talking about a 2 month window.

That's a big-ol' window.

[MaK10]

Originally Posted by deBish

They can barely keep track of NEOs... I doubt that they can predict where it'll fall until they can guage it's rate of decrease and fall date. They're talking about a 2 month window.

That's a big-ol' window.

i was being sarcastic

[deBish]

Maybe it'll set off Cloverfield II: The Mother of all Monster Movies