Shooting Down a Satellite
This is from CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/02/14/spy.satellite/index.html?eref=rss_us Officials: U.S. to try to shoot down errant satellite From Mike Mount CNN WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. military may try within days to shoot down a failed satellite using a missile launched from a Navy ship, officials announced Thursday. Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon that the window to accomplish the mission could begin in three to four days, and remain open for seven to eight. While much space trash and debris have safely crashed to Earth after burning up in the atmosphere on re-entry, authorities said what makes this 5,000-pound satellite different is the approximately 1,000 pounds of frozen toxic hydrazine propellant it carries. Without any intervention, officials believe the satellite would come down on its own in early March. If it came down in one piece, nearly half the spacecraft would survive re-entry and the hydrazine -- heated to a gas -- could spread a toxic cloud roughly the size of two football fields, Cartwright said. Hydrazine is similar to chlorine or ammonia in that it affects the lungs and breathing tissue, the general said. The option of striking the satellite with a missile launched from an Aegis cruiser was decided upon by President Bush after consultation with several government and military officials and aerospace experts, said Deputy National Security Adviser James Jeffrey. After further review of this option and, in particular, consideration of the question of saving or reducing injury to human life, the president, on the recommendation of his national and homeland teams, directed the Department of Defense to carry out the intercept, Jeffrey said. The goal is to hit the satellite just before it enters Earth's atmosphere and blast it apart so that the hydrazine tank explodes. The smaller debris would be more likely to burn up in the atmosphere. NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said there's nothing the military can do to make the outcome worse. If we miss, nothing changes. If we shoot and barely touch it, the satellite is just barely in orbit and would still burn up somewhat in the atmosphere, Griffin said. If we shoot and get a direct hit, that's a clean kill and we're in good shape, he added. Experts said that with three-quarters of Earth covered in water, there's a 25 percent chance the satellite's remnants will hit land -- and a 1 percent chance they will hit a populated area. There will be three Navy ships involved in the operation. The USS Lake Erie, an Aegis cruiser, will fire the missile, while trajectory information comes from a second ship. The third ship will be used as a backup, U.S. Navy officials said. The Lake Erie has long been used as the platform for the sea-based missile defense program. Cartwright said the satellite stopped working within hours of its launch in December and has not responded to attempts to communicate with it. He brushed off blog theories that the military wants to shoot down the satellite with a missile to destroy any classified data it may have accumulated in its short life, or to prevent other countries from acquiring the technology. In January 2007, China used a land-based missile to destroy a 2,200-pound satellite that was orbiting 528 miles above Earth. But the impact left more than 150,000 pieces of debris floating above Earth, NASA estimates. The space agency characterizes nearly 2,600 pieces as large, meaning greater than 4 inches across, which pose a potential threat to satellites and spacecraft. China is responsible for 42 percent of all satellite debris in orbit as of January 1, most of it from that Fengyun-C meteorological satellite. NASA has called it the worst satellite breakup in history. -- Mauro Diotallevi Alcohol and calculus don't mix. Don't drink and derive. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: expanded manned space program
IANAC, but I don't think that organic necessarily means from life, but means chemicals based on Carbon. Organic usually means related to life. The word Organic is also used to describe a branch of chemistry which deals with carbon-related compounds. (Coal is made of complex organics, Diamond is a crystal of a single element, and is not a compound at all.) Exploiting the hydrocarbons on Titan is about as economically feasible as walking to Nigeria every time you want a candy bar. It isn't. There is no oxygen about, so you you'd need to bring it with you -- or else haul these hydrocarbons all the way back to earth. Not to mention the environmental catastrophes that would be caused if we tried to burn this stuff in our atmosphere. Burning our own oil has been proven to be quite bad enough, without importing thousands of times more from distant planets. The origin of these organic compounds is not fully understood. There are some chemical reactions that occur naturally in the presence of ultraviolet radiation and/or other wavelengths, that turn simple organic molecules into more complex ones. It could be that something like this is happening. Or it could be that there is indeed some kind of life on the surface there. I don't know what IANAC means either, but I got a chuckle from I Am Not A Crook! Curtis. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Titan volatiles
I don't think that organic necessarily means from life, but means chemicals based on Carbon. Dave can the petrochemical molecules on titan then be considered synthetic? jon Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
expanded manned space program
I don't think that organic necessarily means from life, but means chemicals based on Carbon. Organic usually means related to life. The word Organic is also used to describe a branch of chemistry which deals with carbon-related compounds. (Coal is made of complex organics, Diamond is a crystal of a single element, and is not a compound at all.) Exploiting the hydrocarbons on Titan is about as economically feasible as walking to Nigeria every time you want a candy bar. It isn't. There is no oxygen about, so you you'd need to bring it with you -- or else haul these hydrocarbons all the way back to earth. Not to mention the environmental catastrophes that would be caused if we tried to burn this stuff in our atmosphere. Burning our own oil has been proven to be quite bad enough, without importing thousands of times more from distant planets. The origin of these organic compounds is not fully understood. There are some chemical reactions that occur naturally in the presence of ultraviolet radiation and/or other wavelengths, that turn simple organic molecules into more complex ones. It could be that something like this is happening. Or it could be that there is indeed some kind of life on the surface there. I don't know what IANAC means either, but I got a chuckle from I Am Not A Crook! Curtis. thanks, curtis, it also occurred to me that transporting petrochemicals all the way from titan and down the gravity well to the planets surface would have environmental consequences. IMHO, as man begins to colonize the solar system, the environmental consequences of space industry and the refining of volatiles and other natural resources in a vacuum would be minimal. it seems unlikely to me that the organic compounds on titan could come from life. jon Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: One for Pat
Ronn! Blankenship wrote: Deborah Harrell wrote: snip Hwhwwaw! Massive heaving cough! ...feline [wisdom] states I rule, you drool. Last night's Final Jeopardy category was Animals and the clue was C. Familiaris, which ranges in size from a 2-pound Mexican version to 200 pounds, is this animal, and one of the three responded What is a cat? blink Maybe if Garfield's belly expands intradimensionally...? IMO, any dog that weighs less than a cat is bound to have serious emotional problems. :P Debbi Constant Quivering Maru Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Titan tie-in: Extremophile Hunt Begins
This is pretty cool arh-arh-arh!- A team of scientists has just set off to explore a strange lake in Antarctica, which may be home to exotic forms of microscopic life. http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/07feb_cloroxlake.htm?list91324 ...Antarctica's Lake Untersee, fed by glaciers, always covered with ice, and very alkaline, is one of the most unusual lakes on Earth. The upper 70 meters of lakewater is so alkaline its pH is like strong CloroxTM, says expedition leader Richard Hoover of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. And to make it even more interesting, the lake's sediments produce more methane than any other natural body of water on our planet. If we find life here, it will have important implications. Lake Untersee is a sort of test case for other exotic places around the solar system (namely Mars, comets, and the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn) where life might be found in the extremes. Many of those places are cold and methane-rich--not unlike Lake Untersee. One thing we've learned in recent years, notes Hoover, is that you don't have to have a 'Goldilocks' zone with perfect temperature, a certain pH level, and so forth, for life to thrive. Researchers have found microbes living in ice, in boiling water, in nuclear reactors. These strange extremophiles may in fact be the norm for life elsewhere in the cosmos... Debbi Mellow Jello Maru Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Titan tie-in: Extremophile Hunt Begins
On 16/02/2008, at 9:52 AM, Deborah Harrell wrote: One thing we've learned in recent years, notes Hoover, is that you don't have to have a 'Goldilocks' zone with perfect temperature, a certain pH level, and so forth, for life to thrive. Researchers have found microbes living in ice, in boiling water, in nuclear reactors. These strange extremophiles may in fact be the norm for life elsewhere in the cosmos... Indeed, these extremophiles may be part of the route from chemistry - complex self-sustaining reactions (hypercycles) - chemical cells - recognisable life - biomes and ecosystems. Charlie. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: expanded manned space program
On 16/02/2008, at 2:58 AM, Curtis Burisch wrote: I don't know what IANAC means either, but I got a chuckle from I Am Not A Crook! From context, probably I Am Not A Chemist. Charlie. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: One for Pat
Where can you get a 200 pound cat? Go into the woods in any mountain range in the Southwest and Rockey Mountain West with a chunk of raw meat and call Here, gato, gato, gato. Never judge a book by its movie. http://idiotgrrl.livejournal.com/ Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:44:14 -0500 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: brin-l@mccmedia.com Subject: Re: One for Pat Deborah Harrell wrote: ... C. Familiaris, which ranges in size from a 2-pound Mexican version to 200 pounds, is this animal, and one of the three responded What is a cat? blink Maybe if Garfield's belly expands intradimensionally...? IMO, any dog that weighs less than a cat is bound to have serious emotional problems. :P Debbi Constant Quivering Maru Debbi-- Yes, I saw that too. In fairness, it was Teen Jeopardy. My first thought was, Where can I get a 200 pound cat? : ) ---David Catus Familiaris, Maru ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: One for Pat
Deborah Harrell wrote: ... C. Familiaris, which ranges in size from a 2-pound Mexican version to 200 pounds, is this animal, and one of the three responded What is a cat? blink Maybe if Garfield's belly expands intradimensionally...? IMO, any dog that weighs less than a cat is bound to have serious emotional problems. :P Debbi Constant Quivering Maru Debbi-- Yes, I saw that too. In fairness, it was Teen Jeopardy. My first thought was, Where can I get a 200 pound cat? : ) ---David Catus Familiaris, Maru ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: expanded manned space program
On 2/15/2008 5:32:50 PM, Charlie Bell ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) wrote: On 16/02/2008, at 2:58 AM, Curtis Burisch wrote: I don't know what IANAC means either, but I got a chuckle from I Am Not A Crook! From context, probably I Am Not A Chemist. Strangely, I would have expected IANACBIPOOTV xponent Conditioned Maru rob ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Titan tie-in: Extremophile Hunt Begins
Charlie Bell [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On 16/02/2008 Deborah Harrell quoted: snip ...Researchers have found microbes living in ice, in boiling water, in nuclear reactors. These strange extremophiles may in fact be the norm for life elsewhere in the cosmos... Indeed, these extremophiles may be part of the route from chemistry - complex self-sustaining reactions (hypercycles) - chemical cells - recognisable life - biomes and ecosystems. It was really neat to see the various colored algae/bacterial mats in Yellowstone's geysers and mudpots, and red algae (I presume) in high Rockies snow. If I was to go back to research, that's what I'd do. Debbi Check It Out Maru :) Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: One for Pat
Pat Mathews wrote: Where can you get a 200 pound cat? Go into the woods in any mountain range in the Southwest and Rockey Mountain West with a chunk of raw meat and call Here, gato, gato, gato. My first thought was, Where can I get a 200 pound cat? : ) ---David Catus Familiaris, Maru Pat-- I'm sure that's a different species, Catus Pumus, or Catus Cougaris, or something. Seriously, their ears are the wrong shape, and I bet they don't even purr properly. But thanks for trying. ---David Walt Whitman poem about lilacs, Maru ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Titan tie-in: Extremophile Hunt Begins
On 16/02/2008, at 10:45 AM, Deborah Harrell wrote: It was really neat to see the various colored algae/bacterial mats in Yellowstone's geysers and mudpots, and red algae (I presume) in high Rockies snow. If I was to go back to research, that's what I'd do. And likewise, the stromatolites in Western Australia (and then to see the fossil stromatolites at the Museum of South Australia in Adelaide, along with the Ediacaran fauna - genuine appeciation of Deep Time...). Charlie. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: One for Pat
On 16/02/2008, at 10:44 AM, David Hobby wrote: My first thought was, Where can I get a 200 pound cat? : ) That would be a puma... Charlie. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: One for Pat
At 05:03 PM Friday 2/15/2008, Deborah Harrell wrote: Ronn! Blankenship wrote: Deborah Harrell wrote: snip Hwhwwaw! Massive heaving cough! ...feline [wisdom] states I rule, you drool. Last night's Final Jeopardy category was Animals and the clue was C. Familiaris, which ranges in size from a 2-pound Mexican version to 200 pounds, is this animal, and one of the three responded What is a cat? blink Maybe if Garfield's belly expands intradimensionally...? IMO, any dog that weighs less than a cat is bound to have serious emotional problems. :P Debbi Constant Quivering Maru I think that for most of their lives Andy probably equaled or outweighed Tiki (the neighbor's Yorkie) and they were best friends from the beginning. Spot, however, though he quickly warmed up to Andy once the latter moved in, would never do anything but stand on a chair or something and hiss at Tiki . . . --Ronn! :) Tom =^.^= , Spot (199296), Andy (198999), D.J. (1994±1?2003), and Midnight (19992007) ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: One for Pat
At 05:44 PM Friday 2/15/2008, David Hobby wrote: Deborah Harrell wrote: ... C. Familiaris, which ranges in size from a 2-pound Mexican version to 200 pounds, is this animal, and one of the three responded What is a cat? blink Maybe if Garfield's belly expands intradimensionally...? IMO, any dog that weighs less than a cat is bound to have serious emotional problems. :P Debbi Constant Quivering Maru Debbi-- Yes, I saw that too. In fairness, it was Teen Jeopardy. My first thought was that it seemed a pretty simple clue, but I had only just tuned in and didn't know it was the semi-finals of the Teen Tournament this week. My first thought was, Where can I get a 200 pound cat? : ) Your second thought should have been where would you get a litter box for him . . . (No need to wonder where he would sleep . . . perhaps where you would sleep . . . ) The Same Place As Your 800-Pound Gorilla Maru -- Ronn! :) ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
IANAC
Strangely, I would have expected IANACBIPOOTV xponent Conditioned Maru rob okay, i'll bite; what is BIPOOTV? jlm Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: IANAC
jon louis mann wrote: Strangely, I would have expected IANACBIPOOTV xponent Conditioned Maru rob okay, i'll bite; what is BIPOOTV? jlm But I play one on TV. It references a commercial for cold medicine or something, where the guy starts off I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV. (No, I don't think it was George Clooney.) ---David It's an American thing, Maru ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: IANAC
On 16/02/2008, at 3:32 PM, jon louis mann wrote: Strangely, I would have expected IANACBIPOOTV xponent Conditioned Maru rob okay, i'll bite; what is BIPOOTV? jlm But I Played One On TV Charlie. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
