Comments on: Navy Will Shoot Down Satellite https://gregladen.com/blog/2008/02/14/navy-will-shoot-down-satellite/ Fri, 15 Feb 2008 12:29:13 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.6 By: Salad Is Slaughter https://gregladen.com/blog/2008/02/14/navy-will-shoot-down-satellite/#comment-4065 Fri, 15 Feb 2008 12:29:13 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2008/02/14/navy-will-shoot-down-satellite/#comment-4065 Hydrazine is a liquid. It is rocket fuel. The hydrazine is pushed through a tube or something made of a particular metal, which causes it (the hydrazine) to break apart chemically, converting to a hot, quickly expanding, gas.The hydrazine systems I’ve seen consist of tanks of pressurized N2H4 that is piped over catalyst bed heaters. The heaters rapidly break down the hydrazine into hot gas to provide thrust.

]]> By: Mark P https://gregladen.com/blog/2008/02/14/navy-will-shoot-down-satellite/#comment-4064 Fri, 15 Feb 2008 11:51:23 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2008/02/14/navy-will-shoot-down-satellite/#comment-4064 This is actually more of an anti-satellite test than an anti-missile test. There is at least a chance that the military is telling the truth about the hydrazine tank. If the hydrazine is frozen in a spherical tank, that tank might well reach the ground close to intact, only containing not a solid but a very hot liquid. But even CNN mentioned that there are probably other things on the satellite that the military would prefer not survive through reentry.

]]> By: Greg Laden https://gregladen.com/blog/2008/02/14/navy-will-shoot-down-satellite/#comment-4063 Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:50:43 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2008/02/14/navy-will-shoot-down-satellite/#comment-4063 Hydrazine is a liquid. It is rocket fuel. The hydrazine is pushed through a tube or something made of a particular metal, which causes it (the hydrazine) to break apart chemically, converting to a hot, quickly expanding, gas. It is commonly used as the “retrorocket” fuel on satellites and such, but it has been used as a rocket fuel pretty much since there have been rockets.

]]> By: Virgil Samms https://gregladen.com/blog/2008/02/14/navy-will-shoot-down-satellite/#comment-4062 Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:37:45 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2008/02/14/navy-will-shoot-down-satellite/#comment-4062 Is hydrazine a greenhouse gas?

]]> By: Dave S. https://gregladen.com/blog/2008/02/14/navy-will-shoot-down-satellite/#comment-4061 Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:11:29 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2008/02/14/navy-will-shoot-down-satellite/#comment-4061 I think that’s the main idea, to test the defensive systems ability to shoot down a ‘missile’.And there was an actual plan to invade the United States, just as the United States had plans to invade Canada (as they’ve already done more than once).

]]> By: Dunc https://gregladen.com/blog/2008/02/14/navy-will-shoot-down-satellite/#comment-4060 Fri, 15 Feb 2008 07:31:00 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2008/02/14/navy-will-shoot-down-satellite/#comment-4060

My money says there is something else on the DoD satellite that they want destroyed.

Hint: it’s a spy satellite.

]]> By: Three-Fitty https://gregladen.com/blog/2008/02/14/navy-will-shoot-down-satellite/#comment-4059 Fri, 15 Feb 2008 06:47:36 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2008/02/14/navy-will-shoot-down-satellite/#comment-4059 The satellite will first ‘feel’ the atmosphere doing well above Mach 20. Given its unaerodynamic design and utter lack of re-entry shielding, it will fair far worse than Columbia did when it came in with damaged shielding. Hypersonic plasma works wonders as a cutting torch.I can’t believe anyone is worried about the hydrazine tank not coming undone during reentry. My money says there is something else on the DoD satellite that they want destroyed.The US government has never worried about old Soviet satellites de-orbiting, and some of those were powered by nuclear reactors.

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