3-26-08
USA's Star Wars' Program is on Steroids
Recently I Googled "Missile Strikes a Spy Satellite Falling From its Orbit" because I sensed there is more to this than the media is telling us and learned "it would be 24 hours before it could be determined whether the fuel tank with 1,000 pounds of toxic hydrazine had been destroyed as planned.
This led me to the question "what the heck is hydrazine?" and Google gave me an answer. Hydrazine is used in many processes including: production of spandex fibers, as a polymerization catalyst; in fuel cells, solder fluxes; and photographic developers, as a chain extender in urethane polymerizations, and heat stabilizers. In addition, a semiconductor deposition technique using hydrazine has recently been demonstrated, with possible application to the manufacture of thin-film transistors used in liquid crystal displays. Hydrazine in a 70% hydrazine, 30% water solution is used to power the EPU (emergency power unit) on the F-16 fighter plane. The explosive Astrolite is made by combining hydrazine with ammonium nitrate.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrolite
Also I learned that the use of hydrazine has been limited because of the "exceptionally poisonous nature of the hydrazine component."
Also I learned, Astrolite G, the most common type of Astrolite, is a mixture of ammonium nitrate and hydrazine at a ratio of 2:1, measured in weight. It has a detonation velocity of approximately 8,600 m/s. It has been widely (and incorrectly) referred to as the "world's most powerful non-nuclear explosive", a misconception caused largely by hype among the uninitiated, who cite its high detonation velocity in comparison to nitroglycerine or TNT, while neglecting to notice its low density. In reality, Astrolite G has only a slightly higher detonation velocity than PETN or RDX (two of the most commonly used high explosives), both of which have a far higher brisance and material density than Astrolite G, making them far more powerful in actual practice.
Persistency
A notable characteristic of the Astrolite family is its remarkable degree of
persistency for a liquid explosive compound. Due to its low volatility, it can
be dispersed in an area, be absorbed by the soil, and still retain its full
explosive characteristics for a period of approximately 4 days.
Conclusions
Something weird is going on related to the spy satellite shoot down. It appears to be a experiment. There are thirteen additional NASA's Shuttle and Rocket Missions scheduled for 2008, a lot of missions. Why are there so many missions planned for 2008? It is amazing the spy satellite payload is so small, 1000 pounds, and that a spy satellite is so small.
By the way I published article on February 6, 2003 explaining why the downing of the space shuttle Columbia was a conspiracy. It amazes me that no one has jumped on my theory and expounded upon it.
The least dangerous least expensive way to stop the Federal Reserve Fraud and the bad guys is contribute to Randy Crow - Democrat for President.
Missile
Strikes a Spy Satellite Falling From Its Orbit
U.S. Navy handout via Associated Press
The missile launching from the Lake Erie, an Aegis-class cruiser, on Wednesday
night.
By THOM SHANKER
Published: February 21, 2008
WASHINGTON — A missile interceptor launched from a Navy warship has struck
a dying American spy satellite orbiting 130 miles over the Pacific Ocean, the
Pentagon announced late Wednesday.
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U.S. Navy
Completing a mission in which an interceptor designed for missile defense was
used for the first time to attack a satellite, the Lake Erie, an Aegis-class
cruiser, fired a single missile on Wednesday night.
Officials cautioned that while early information indicated that the interceptor’s
“kill vehicle” had hit the satellite, it would be 24 hours before
it could be determined whether the fuel tank with 1,000 pounds of toxic
hydrazine had been destroyed as planned.
Even so, one official who received a late-night briefing on the mission expressed confidence that the impact had been so powerful that the fuel tank probably had been ruptured.
Completing a mission in which an interceptor designed for missile defense was used for the first time to attack a satellite, the Lake Erie, an Aegis-class cruiser, fired a single missile just before 10:30 p.m. Eastern time, and the missile hit the satellite as it traveled at more than 17,000 miles per hour, the Pentagon said in its official announcement.
“A network of land-, air-, sea- and spaced-based sensors confirms that the U.S. military intercepted a nonfunctioning National Reconnaissance Office satellite which was in its final orbits before entering the Earth’s atmosphere,” the statement said.
By early Wednesday, three Navy warships were in position in the Pacific Ocean to launch the interceptors and to track the mission.
Radar and other tracking equipment, both in space and on the ground, were monitored at Vandenberg Air Force Base, in California, and at a space command headquarters in Colorado Springs, with control of the operation managed by the Strategic Command in Omaha, Neb.
Although the satellite circles the globe every 90 minutes, analysts pinpointed a single overhead pass each day that would offer the best chance of striking the satellite and then having half of the debris fall into the atmosphere in the next three orbits over water or less-populated areas of the Earth.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who left Washington on Wednesday for a week of meetings in Asia, had been empowered by President Bush to issue the order to shoot down the satellite and gave the order several hours before the strike.
The many moving parts of a mission to shoot down a dying spy satellite with an antimissile interceptor were lined up earlier Wednesday after the space shuttle Atlantis returned to Earth, officials said.
The goal of the missionwais to prevent the fuel tank from reaching Earth and spilling its hazardous contents in a populous area. In the event that any of the hydrazine fuel falls on a populated area, the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday issued directions to communities on how to deal with dangerous debris from the satellite.
Military officials said their goal had been to carry out the mission before March 1, when the satellite was expected to start skidding against the upper reaches of the atmosphere.
That initial friction would bump the satellite into a more unpredictable Earth orbit, even before it started a fiery descent through the atmosphere.
Providing new information about how the mission would be carried out, a senior military officer on Wednesday described the vessels, weapons and command structure for the operation
The senior military officer said the mission would be launched in daylight to take advantage of radar, heat-sensor tracking and visual tracking equipment. The Navy had a window that lasted only tens of seconds as the satellite passed overhead, military officers said.
An Aegis cruiser, the Lake Erie, has two Standard Missile 3 rockets that were adapted to track the cold satellite, as opposed to the heated enemy warheads for which it was designed. A second ship, the destroyer Decatur, had a third missile as backup. Another Navy destroyer, the Russell, sailed with the convoy for added tracking capabilities.
Separately, a Pentagon spokesman, Bryan Whitman, dismissed suggestions that the operation had been designed to test the nation’s missile defense systems or antisatellite capabilities or that the effort had been to destroy secret intelligence equipment.
“This is about reducing the risk to human life on Earth, nothing more,” Mr. Whitman said.
The 5,000-pound satellite, roughly the size of a school bus, was managed by the National Reconnaissance Office and went dead shortly after it was launched in December 2006.
The FEMA document notes, “Any debris should be considered potentially hazardous, and first responders should not attempt to pick it up or move it.”
More Articles in US »
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrazine
Other industrial uses
Hydrazine is used in many processes including: production of spandex fibers,
as a polymerization catalyst; in fuel cells, solder fluxes; and photographic
developers, as a chain extender in urethane polymerizations, and heat stabilizers.
In addition, a semiconductor deposition technique using hydrazine has recently
been demonstrated, with possible application to the manufacture of thin-film
transistors used in liquid crystal displays. Hydrazine in a 70% hydrazine, 30%
water solution is used to power the EPU (emergency power unit) on the F-16 fighter
plane. The explosive Astrolite is made by combining hydrazine with ammonium
nitrate.
---------------
Fuel cells
The Italian catalyst manufacturer Acta has proposed using hydrazine as an alternative
to hydrogen in fuel cells. The chief benefit of using hydrazine is that it can
produce over 200 mW/cm2 more than a similar hydrogen cell without the need to
use expensive platinum catalysts. As the fuel is liquid at room temperature,
it can be handled and stored more easily than hydrogen. By storing the hydrazine
in a tank full of a double-bonded carbon-oxygen carbonyl, the fuel reacts
and forms a safe solid called hydrazone. By then flushing the tank
with warm water, the liquid hydrazine hydrate is released. Hydrazine
has a higher electromotive force of 1.56 V compared to 1.23 V for hydrogen.
Hydrazine breaks down in the cell to form nitrogen and hydrogen which
bonds with oxygen, releasing water.[16]
------------
Astrolite http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrolite
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Astrolite is the trade name of a family of explosives, invented by chemist Gerald
Hurst in the 1960s during his employment with the Atlas Powder Company. The
Astrolite family consists of two compounds, Astrolite G and Astrolite A. Both
are two-part liquid-state high explosive mixtures, composed of ammonium nitrate
oxidizer and hydrazine rocket fuel. They still find some use in commercial and
civil blasting applications, but have mostly been superseded by cheaper and
safer compounds, largely due to the expense and exceptionally poisonous nature
of the hydrazine component.
Contents [hide]
1 Astrolite G
2 Astrolite A
3 Persistency Trait
4 References
[edit] Astrolite G
Astrolite G, the most common type of Astrolite, is a mixture of ammonium nitrate
and hydrazine at a ratio of 2:1, measured in weight. It has a detonation
velocity of approximately 8,600 m/s. It has been widely (and incorrectly)
referred to as the "world's most powerful non-nuclear explosive",
a misconception caused largely by hype among the uninitiated, who cite its high
detonation velocity in comparison to nitroglycerine or TNT, while neglecting
to notice its low density. In reality, Astrolite G has only a slightly higher
detonation velocity than PETN or RDX (two of the most commonly used high explosives),
both of which have a far higher brisance and material density than Astrolite
G, making them far more powerful in actual practice.
[edit] Astrolite A
Astrolite A, a secondary (and less common) type of Astrolite, is synthesized
by the addition of finely powdered aluminium to the Astrolite G mixture. Though
it has a lower detonation velocity (approximately 7,600 m/s) than Astrolite
G, the addition of the aluminium increases both its density and brisance, moderately
increasing its overall effectiveness.
[edit] Persistency Trait
Astrolite G, the most common type of Astrolite, is a mixture of ammonium nitrate
and hydrazine at a ratio of 2:1, measured in weight. It has a detonation
velocity of approximately 8,600 m/s. It has been widely (and incorrectly)
referred to as the "world's most powerful non-nuclear explosive",
a misconception caused largely by hype among the uninitiated, who cite its high
detonation velocity in comparison to nitroglycerine or TNT, while neglecting
to notice its low density. In reality, Astrolite G has only a slightly higher
detonation velocity than PETN or RDX (two of the most commonly used high explosives),
both of which have a far higher brisance and material density than Astrolite
G, making them far more powerful in actual practice.
[edit] References
http://www.nasa.gov/missions/calendar/index.html
NASA's Shuttle
and Rocket Missions A variety of vehicles, launch sites on both U.S. coasts,
shifting dates and times... the NASA Launch Schedule is easy to decipher by
checking out our Launch Schedule 101 that explains how it all works!
Updated -- March 17, 2008 - 2:00 p.m. EDT
Legend: + Targeted For | * No Earlier Than (Tentative) | ** To Be Determined
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2008 Launches
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: March 11
Mission: STS-123
Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Endeavour
Launched: 2:28 a.m. EDT
Description: The crew of space shuttle Endeavour has delivered the Japanese
Kibo module and the Canadian two-armed robotics system, Dextre on the twenty-fifth
mission to the International Space Station.
Date: May 16
Mission: GLAST
Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Delta II
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station - Launch Complex 17 - Pad 17-B
Launch Window: 11:45 a.m. to 1:40 p.m. EDT
Description: An heir to its successful predecessor -- the Compton Gamma Ray
Observatory -- the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope will have the ability
to detect gamma rays in a range of energies from thousands to hundreds of billions
of times more energetic than the light visible to the human eye. Radiation of
such magnitude can only be generated under the most extreme conditions, thus
GLAST will focus on studying the most energetic objects and phenomena in the
universe.
Date: May 25 +
Mission: STS-124
Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Discovery
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center - Launch Pad 39A
Launch Time: 7:26 p.m. EDT
Description: Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-124 will transport the Kibo
Japanese Experiment Module - Pressurized Module (JEM-PM) and the Japanese Remote
Manipulator System (JEM-RMS) to the International Space Station.
Date: June 15
Mission: OSTM
Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Delta II
Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base - Launch Pad SLC-2
Launch Time: 4:47 a.m. EDT/1:47 a.m. PDT
Description: The Ocean Surface Topography Mission on the Jason-2 satellite will
be a follow-on to the Jason mission.
Date: July 15
Mission: IBEX
Launch Vehicle: Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL Rocket
Launch Site: Reagan Test Site, Kwajalein Atoll
Description: IBEX's science objective is to discover the global interaction
between the solar wind and the interstellar medium and will achieve this objective
by taking a set of global energetic neutral atom images that will answer four
fundamental science questions.
Date: Aug. 8 *
Mission: GOES-O
Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Delta IV
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station - Launch Complex 17
Description: NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
are actively engaged in a cooperative program, the multimission Geostationary
Operational Environmental Satellite series N-P. This series will be a vital
contributor to weather, solar and space operations, and science.
Date: Aug. 28 +
Mission: STS-125
Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Atlantis
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center - Launch Pad 39A
Launch Time: 8:24 a.m. EDT
Description: Space Shuttle Atlantis will fly seven astronauts into space for
the fifth and final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. During
the 11-day flight, the crew will repair and improve the observatory's capabilities
through 2013.
Date: Sept. 14 +
Mission: TacSat-3
Launch Vehicle: Orbital Sciences Minotaur Rocket
Launch Site: Wallops Flight Facility - Goddard Space Flight Center
Description: NASA will support the Air Force launch of the TacSat-3 satellite,
managed by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate. TacSat-3
will demonstrate the capability to furnish real-time data to the combatant commander.
NASA Ames will fly a microsat and NASA Wallops will fly the CubeSats on this
flight in addition to providing the launch range.
Date: Oct. 16 +
Mission: STS-126
Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Endeavour
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center - Launch Pad 39A
Description: Space Shuttle Endeavour launching on assembly flight ULF2, will
deliver a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module to the International Space Station.
Date: Oct. 28
Mission: LRO/LCROSS
Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Atlas V
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station - Launch Complex 41
Description: The mission objectives of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing
Satellite are to advance the Vision for Space Exploration by confirming the
presence or absence of water ice in a permanently shadowed crater at either
the Moon's North or South Pole.
Date: Dec. 1 *
Mission: SDO
Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Atlas V
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station - Launch Complex 41
Description: The first Space Weather Research Network mission in the Living
With a Star (LWS) Program of NASA.
Date: Dec. 4 +
Mission: STS-119
Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Discovery
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center - Launch Pad 39A
Description: Space Shuttle Discovery launching on assembly flight 15A, will
deliver the fourth starboard truss segment to the International Space Station.
Date: Dec. 15
Mission: OCO
Launch Vehicle: Orbital Sciences Taurus Rocket
Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base - Launch Pad SLC 576-E
Description: The Orbiting Carbon Observatory is a new Earth orbiting mission
sponsored by NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder Program.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009 Launches
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Feb. 1
Mission: NOAA-N Prime
Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Delta II
Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base - Launch Pad SLC-2
Description: NOAA-N Prime is the latest polar-orbiting satellite developed by
NASA/Goddard Spaceflight Center for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA). NOAA uses two satellites, a morning and afternoon satellite, to ensure
every part of the Earth is observed at least twice every 12 hours. NOAA-N will
collect information about Earth's atmosphere and environment to improve weather
prediction and climate research across the globe.
Date: Feb. 16
Mission: Kepler
Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Delta II
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station - Launch Complex 17 - Pad 17-B
Description: The Kepler Mission, a NASA Discovery mission, is specifically designed
to survey our region of the Milky Way galaxy to detect and characterize hundreds
of Earth-size and smaller planets in or near the habitable zone.
Date: March 1
Mission: Glory
Launch Vehicle: Orbital Sciences Taurus Rocket
Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base - Launch Pad SLC 576-E
Description: The Glory Mission will help increase our understanding of the Earth's
energy balance by collecting data on the properties of aerosols and black carbon
in the Earth's atmosphere and how the Sun's irradiance affects the Earth's climate.
Sci. & Tech.
Astronauts
rest up for spacewalk No. 4, a caulking gun and goo test
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/008200803200923.htm
CAPE CANAVERAL (AP): The astronauts aboard the linked shuttle and space station
rested up Wednesday for the fourth spacewalk of their mission, a caulking gun
and goo test.
``Three down, two to go,'' Mission Control told the astronauts in a wake-up message.
Two of the crew members will float outside Thursday night to squirt salmon-colored goo into the crevices of extra space shuttle thermal tiles that were deliberately damaged for the test. NASA wants to see how well the caulking gun and patching material work, in case they're ever needed for a real repair.
The tools were developed in the wake of the 2003 Columbia disaster. The shuttle was destroyed and all seven astronauts were killed during re-entry because of a hole in the wing.
Two more spacewalks are planned before Endeavour departs the orbiting complex early next week.
Late Wednesday, Japanese astronaut Takao Doi got a congratulatory call from his country's prime minister, Yasuo Fukuda. Doi showed off the space station's new Japanese compartment _ adorned with the Japanese flag _ as well as the boomerang he took into orbit. He promised to show the prime minister the video he took of his boomerang-throwing experiment, once he's back on Earth, but offered no hint as to whether it returned to him in space.
The shuttle astronauts spent the first half of their mission putting together the space station's new Canadian robot, Dextre, and installing a Japanese storage compartment that will be followed by Japan's enormous Kibo lab in May.
During Thursday's spacewalk, astronauts Michael Foreman and Robert Behnken will work on sample tiles that were carried up in Endeavour's payload bay.
The experiment was supposed to be conducted during a shuttle flight last fall but was scrapped because of urgent repairs needed for a ripped solar wing at the international space station.
NASA would like the test results before Atlantis blasts off at the end of August on one last repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. The astronauts on that mission will not be able to use the space station as a refuge if their shuttle is damaged during launch; they won't be in the same orbit.
Another space shuttle will be on the launch pad ready to fly to the rescue if necessary. Nonetheless, NASA wants the Hubble crew to have as many shuttle repair methods available as possible.
``Having this in our bag of tricks is really going to be helpful,'' Behnken said in a series of broadcast interviews Wednesday night.
As Endeavour's 16-day flight hit the halfway point, the seven shuttle astronauts and three station residents got several hours off to enjoy the views of Earth and to call or write home.
``We're having a great time taking a break, just relaxing a little bit. I think we really needed it,'' said the space station's commander, Peggy Whitson. She and her crewmates had to drastically change their bedtime to sync up with Endeavour's night-shift schedule, ``so it was nice being able to get eight hours of sleep.''