Breaking on MSNBC: Large US Spy Satellitte could hit earth in Feb. or March

[DesertRat]

It has lost power and cannot be controlled. They don't know where it will fall yet, but it "could contain" hazardous materials.

edited to add link: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h7aoM2ii3QVBCAV8m2HtJSuPxPNwD8UDPFC80

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. obviously Al Qaida did it.

damn those evil thoughts and prayers they pray

[bluestateguy]

2. I wonder if homeowners' policy covers a collision with that thing

nt

[mod mom]

3. May it fall on the crawford pig farm.

[bdamomma]

8. ......

:thumbsup:

[DesertRat]

19. Poetic justice! n/t

[bluerum]

4. It does contain hazardous materials- the least of which is probably cesium

or rubidium for on-board time keeping.

[DesertRat]

12. I hate when they say "could contain"

The government officials know exactly what it contains!

[eppur_se_muova]

30. Definitely the least -- tiny quantities required, burn on impact.

More worrisome: propellants for steering rockets/thrusters. Likely to inculde hydrogen peroxide (not too bad, as it decomposes easily), hydrazine and/or methylated hydrazines (toxic), nitromethane (toxic), aniline (toxic) and nitrogen dioxide (corrosive, toxic, gas) or fuming nitric acid (the name says it all).

[bluerum]

33. Most of this will probably vaporize upon entering the atmosphere. The

rubidium and cesium are already in vapor form, and are probably the most well insulated components on the craft - since their performance is directly related temperature fluctuations. If the craft has lost power they have probably solidified by now, but the will probably react with the environment in some way during the extreme heat of re-entry.

The point is that these elements can cause cancer and are considered toxic. They cannot be destroyed but may form compounds with environmental agents.

[eppur_se_muova]

35. Um, you must be thinking of radioactive forms of Rb and Cs.

The non-radioactive forms are pretty benign.


"How can cesium affect my health?

It is highly unlikely that you would be exposed to high enough amounts of stable cesium to cause harmful health effects. Laboratory animals given very large amounts of cesium compounds showed changes in behavior, such as increased or decreased activity."

"How likely is cesium to cause cancer?

There are no studies regarding non-radioactive cesium and cancer."

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts157.html

Caesium compounds are encountered rarely by most persons. All caesium compounds should be regarded as mildly toxic because of its chemical similarity to potassium. Large amounts cause hyperirritability and spasms, but such amounts would not ordinarily be encountered in natural sources, so Cs is not a major chemical environmental pollutant.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesium



The human body tends to treat Rb+ ions as if they were potassium ions, and therefore concentrates rubidium in the body's electrolytic fluid. The ions are not particularly toxic, and are relatively quickly removed in the sweat and urine. However, taken in excess it can be dangerous.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubidium



If you google "cesium cancer" you find the snake oil salespeople are now claiming cesium as a cure for cancer ... obviously being suppressed by mainstream medicine ... :tinfoilhat:

[bluerum]

36. Well. Had a friend die from cancer who worked with cesium 15 years.

Maybe a coincidence.

Maybe not.

[zabet]

5. Alright..

who broke the EyeSpy?

[begin_within]

6. Will the Clintons stop at anything?

[mzmolly]

Heh.

:hi:

[onethatcares]

7. damnit, my homeowners insurance is being cancelled and

I haven't been able to get a quote from Citizens yet. It'll probably hit my house.:banghead:

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. Skylab II??

[cboy4]

10. It'll arrive just in time to be eligible for the May

tax refund. :eyes:

[Control-Z]

11. Another link

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1155ap_dead_satellite.html

[BadgerKid]

13. Having your spy satellite fall

in a hostile country would not be particularly desirable. At least with Skylab, scientists had a way to orient the craft, and it disintegrated in part into the ocean.

[nonconformist]

14. No worries... we just completed a 2-year DIY kitchen remodel

So it's bound to land there.

[SpiralHawk]

15. "Help, I'm losing power and cannot be controlled. Smirk." - Commander AWOL

[havocmom]

16. Havocdad figures it will fall on an important precinct on Super Tuesday

And he is not a tin foil sorta guy

Seriously, I spend lots of time in the hammock late at night and it is amazing how many things one can see go by way, way up high. Until this gravity thing is under control, I wonder at the wisdom of putting more and more things in orbit, to say nothing of the debris humans toss out while working up there.

edited for typo

[dkf]

17. Is Magic Rat your brother? He posted this same article.

Funny hmm?

[lurky]

18. Some satellites have nuclear reactors!

From a FAQ at http://www.satobs.org/faq/Chapter-11.txt :

---- 11.4 Do reentering satellites ever spread radioactive material?

Unfortunately, yes. There are some 60 known spacecraft
carrying nuclear power sources launched by the United States
and the former Soviet Union...

Since this is a secret satellite, I'm guessing there is no way to know if we're about to get showered with plutonium dust.
:scared:

[Tesha]

29. Take a look at these two Wiki categories for some basic info

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Reconnaissance_satellites_of_the_United_States

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:National_Reconnaissance_Office_satellites

[eppur_se_muova]

31. RTGs -- not really nuclear reactors -- but yes, very radioactive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioisotope_thermoelectric_generator


Image of a mostly thermally
isolated, Plutonium RTG
pellet glowing red hot.

[lurky]

34. Thanks for the link!

:hi:

[librechik]

20. Chicken Little Was Right!

Good news is it's got a seventy percent chance of a water landing, only poisoning the ocean

sigh

What Next?!

[malaise]

21. I didn't see your thread DesertRat

Oops

[DesertRat]

23. no worries. n/t

[alfredo]

22. The bad news, it is falling, the good news it is one that is

spying on us.

[Disturbed]

24. China could vaporize that thing. I hope they do so.

Is that such a bad idea?

[Phoonzang]

25. Well, it might just create a belt of radioactive debris

in orbit. Not good either way, eh?

[alfredo]

26. Does China have the capability? Blowing it up would put other

satellites in danger, including our shuttle and space station.

[ManiacJoe]

37. Vaporize, no. Break into multiple large pieces, yes.

But then, the USA can do the same thing.
Having it come down in one place is far better than in multiple places.

[Jennifer C]

27. I bet it "accidently" lands in Iran

"provoking" Iran to "attack" US ships in the Straits of Hormuz, and then Cheney has his war.

[RB TexLa]

28. If it lands on my property is it mine? I can take bids for it?

[jmowreader]

32. If it lands in your front yard, do you get to keep it?

I mean, fair is fair. I have absolutely no idea what I'd do with a spy satellite, but I bet it would make a really cool lawn decoration.

If nothing else, it would be unique.

[krispos42]

40. eBay!

Of course! :-)

[TahitiNut]

38. Huh?

[Jamastiene]

39. Oh, great. Not only is Big Brother spying on us, but now they

want to beat us over the head with it too. :eyes:

[krispos42]

41. Well, then, thank God for the Invisible Space Diaphram

errr, I mean National Missile Defense System, which will surely shoot down such a thing so can't hurt us 'merrikuns!

I would love it, LOVE IT, if it fell on the Westboro Baptist Church at 3,000 miles per hour.

That would be awesome! Especially if the blask launched Fred Phelps through a nearby dairy farm!

:evilgrin:

[deacon]

42. Start preparing your eBay listing now! :) n/t

[deacon]

43. My policy says I'm covered for sattelites falling out of the sky. Whew. n/t

[Xenotime]

44. Better get ready to fucking run!

[Xenotime]

45. Proof positive our government and economy is broke.

Another clip from another source.

"Spy satellites are frequently maneuvered in space, in relatively low orbit, to meet military surveillance needs, requiring them to be tanked up with highly toxic hydrazine fuel, according to specialists.

Hydrazine is harmful to the human central nervous system and can be fatal in big doses. "

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iPrNwpYo07jPlCqSZwLBuNEimOvw

[berni_mccoy]

46. It's going to hit Congress. Karma's a bitch, don't you know?

[orleans]

47. skylab 2 -- if we're so damn talented why don't we just go catch the thing

or blow it up in space. bush loves to blow shit up. let the motherfu*ker go blow this.

[KharmaTrain]

51. Someone Remembered Skylab? LOL

I still have my "official" Skylab Crash Crew recovery badge. IRC, that thing had a nuclear reactor aboard and I remember all the doom and gloom predicted...especially since this happened right after Three Mile Island. In the end, I was 10,000 miles away and all we got for all that "fun" was some scared sheep.

Cheers...

[trotsky]

53. I remember the Saturday morning CBS "In the News" clip more than anything.

And their funky little theme "song."

[radfringe]

48. I'll be wearing this one over my tin-foil one

[mmonk]

49. I've got my net ready.

[Vinca]

50. Note to self: check house insurance policy. nt

[shadowknows69]

52. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict Feb 10th in upstate NY

That's my birthday and my luck has been that good lately. I'll try to warn y'all if the "Andromeda Strain" is on the way.