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The spy satellite....


Putty

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Pretty sweet they were able to take it out with one shot. I guess it's cool cause they didn't actually shoot at it, but up and the timing to make them collide. Nice considering it was moving 17,000 mph!!

 

Also interesting....The attempt cost up to $60 million, according to estimates.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/02/21/satellite.shootdown/index.html

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Not to be a dick but how can there be a fireball if there is no Oxygen present in Space?

 

A fireball and a vapor cloud seen after the strike appeared to indicate the toxic hydrazine fuel had been destroyed, he said. The missile that struck the satellite did not carry an explosive warhead.
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Not to be a dick but how can there be a fireball if there is no Oxygen present in Space?

 

Good ?...Here's another...How do satellites stay in place in space.?..Why aren't all of them flying out of control?

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Good ?...Here's another...How do satellites stay in place in space.?..Why aren't all of them flying out of control?

 

Not sure on the fuel, maybe it has it's own mix of oxygen already blended in?

 

 

 

As far as satellites staying in orbit. They stay in orbit on the same principal the moon stays in orbit and doesn't fly out of control.

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:)

 

A ballistic missile is a tube from approximately thirty to over one hundred feet tall, almost completely filled with either liquid or solid fuel. At the bottom of the tube are the engines and direction controls—either fins (as in older models) or small sideways thrusters. Liquid fuel is typically some distillate rich in carbon and hydrogen. In the engines, this combines with liquid oxygen, ignites, and provides thrust. Solid fuel consists of some powdered metals such as zinc or magnesium, combined with a solid source of oxygen, and something that binds the mixture and regulates the burn. The engines simply direct the resulting thrust. But once solid fuel missiles are lit, the fuel will burn until done. At the top of the missile are its brains—the guidance systems. Above these is the payload.
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Not to be a dick but how can there be a fireball if there is no Oxygen present in Space?

Rocket fuel

 

Hydrazine was first used as a rocket fuel during World War II for the Messerschmitt Me 163B (the first rocket-powered fighter plane), under the name B-Stoff (hydrazine hydrate). If mixed with methanol (M-Stoff) and water it is called C-Stoff.

 

Hydrazine is also used as a low-power monopropellant for the maneuvering thrusters of spacecraft, and the Space Shuttle's Auxiliary Power Units. In addition, monopropellant hydrazine-fueled rocket engines are often used in terminal descent of spacecraft. A collection of such engines was used in both Viking program landers as well as the Phoenix lander launched in August 2007.

 

In all hydrazine monopropellant engines, the hydrazine is passed by a catalyst such as iridium metal supported by high-surface-area alumina (aluminium oxide) or carbon nanofibers,[14] or more recently molybdenum nitride on alumina,[15] which causes it to decompose into ammonia, nitrogen gas, and hydrogen gas according to the following reactions:

 

1. 3 N2H4 → 4 NH3 + N2

2. N2H4 → N2 + 2 H2

3. 4 NH3 + N2H4 → 3 N2 + 8 H2

 

These reactions are extremely exothermic (the catalyst chamber can reach 800 °C in a matter of milliseconds,[14]) and they produce large volumes of hot gas from a small volume of liquid hydrazine,[15] making it an efficient thruster propellant.

 

Other variants of hydrazine that are used as rocket fuel are monomethylhydrazine, CH3NHNH2 (also known as MMH) and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine, (CH3)2NNH2 (also known as UDMH). These derivatives are used in two-component rocket fuels, often together with dinitrogen tetroxide, N2O4, also known as nitrogen tetroxide. This reaction is extremely exothermic, as a rocket fuel should be, and it is also hypergolic, which means that the burning starts without any external ignition source.

 

I should have paid more attention in Chem class

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As far as satellites staying in orbit. They stay in orbit on the same principal the moon stays in orbit and doesn't fly out of control.

 

 

If that's the case, the moon has been around for a long time and never lost control. There has been other cases of satellites doing this.

 

Anyone research this Hydrazine fuel?

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I see how you now meant the question to be interpreted.

 

In space there are an infinite number of variables that could keep or knock any object out of orbit. As little as a fraction of a degree variance in an objects course can cause it to change orbit, inevitably affecting its path with other objects. In this case, I don't think they said what the cause was, maybe the guidance system failed or space debris collided with it.

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The only satellites that fall out of orbit are the LEO (low earth orbit) ones. They actually drag on the earths upper atmosphere and slow down. Oh yeah BTW satellites maintain there orbit via their speed around the earth. Higher orbiting satellites move at a slower rate than lower orbit ones. Also at around 300Km they move at a speed of around 6 kilometers per second. These aren't exact numbers, but close enough for an idea of what we are dealing with. The moon however at a distance of 240,000 miles moves at a speed of around 550mph. The darn things only like 2500 miles diameter so its pretty amazing that a rocket can even get to the moon without missing and its just plain magic that we can hit a thing the size of a car moving several thousand miles per hour.

 

I heard the reason the spy satellite's orbit failed was that it didn't make it to its full orbit. This would also be a good reason for having a bunch of fuel still on board.

 

Evan

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They blew it up so the chinese wouldnt snatch it up! HA

 

They blew it up as a military exercise akin to the Chinese taking out a satellite last year. AKA the governments version of a clay pigeon, We now know we can take out satellites with missiles.

 

 

Even if it was a threat.. The military shooting it down does three things. Two above mentioned; and getting rid of a possible threat. Good stuff all around. Kinda like three birds with one stone. ;-)

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