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I believe Martin Marietta built all Keyhole Class satellites. Maybe call them.
Satellite heading for earth
- Thread starter buster
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Even better, call the NRO and demand answers.
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
BERYLLIUM!?
Oh the horrors of a metal stronger and lighter than aluminum! This is it, guys, it's all over...
Beryllium dust is really toxic if you breathe it in.
BERYLLIUM!?
Oh the horrors of a metal stronger and lighter than aluminum! This is it, guys, it's all over...
Beryllium dust is really toxic if you breathe it in.
Of course beryllium dust is very toxic. But the metal as finished metal in a satellite isn't. That was sort of my point. News reporting.
Pablo, you're safe...it will likely get stuck in the snow....
Originally Posted By: Pablo
Of course beryllium dust is very toxic. But the metal as finished metal in a satellite isn't. That was sort of my point. News reporting.
Didn't see the report, but I expect the satellite could leave a trail of dust as it burns through the atmosphere, unless those parts are tucked inside. Even then, if it comes down on land, ka-boom! Dust everywhere.
Of course beryllium dust is very toxic. But the metal as finished metal in a satellite isn't. That was sort of my point. News reporting.
Didn't see the report, but I expect the satellite could leave a trail of dust as it burns through the atmosphere, unless those parts are tucked inside. Even then, if it comes down on land, ka-boom! Dust everywhere.
Dust everywhere? I doubt it. If it's burning or melting, or when it crashes on dry land, the the small internal parts, or even the structural parts are not likey to release fine particulate dust. I really don't know what type of satellite it is, but I'm going to find out.
Kestas
Staff member
Not quite, Vilan. This is true only if the parts are tiny during the onset of reentry. Remember all the parts that landed relatively intact from the Columbia disaster. Some parts, not all, disintegrate during reentry.
I got some little scoop....probably not much beryllium on board and that is diffused in ceramics and such. Probably not radioactive and the remaining hydrazine will indeed be gone by the time it goes kersplat.
How did this get past Uranus?
Originally Posted By: MarkC
How did this get past Uranus?
You have been focused on Uranus quite a bit lately. Hope everything comes out ok in the end.
How did this get past Uranus?
You have been focused on Uranus quite a bit lately. Hope everything comes out ok in the end.
Pot talking to kettle?
Originally Posted By: Pablo
I got some little scoop....probably not much beryllium on board and that is diffused in ceramics and such. Probably not radioactive and the remaining hydrazine will indeed be gone by the time it goes kersplat.
In that case, I de-acknowledge and un-accept the rebuke...
I got some little scoop....probably not much beryllium on board and that is diffused in ceramics and such. Probably not radioactive and the remaining hydrazine will indeed be gone by the time it goes kersplat.
In that case, I de-acknowledge and un-accept the rebuke...
Not that I would want it to hit near any habitated area, mind you.
"Fall mountains, just don't fall on me."
Jimi H
Jimi H
MolaKule
Staff member
From Yahoo News
"Video images of the satellite captured by John Locker, a British amateur satellite watcher, show it to be about 13 feet to 16.5 feet across. Locker calculated its size with data on its altitude and location provided by other amateur satellite watchers, using the International Space Station as a yardstick.
Satellite watchers — a worldwide network of hobbyists who track satellites for fun — have been plotting the satellite's degradation for a year. They estimate it is now at an altitude of about 173 miles, and Locker believes it is dropping about 1,640 feet a day.
Where it lands will be difficult to predict until the satellite falls to about 59 miles above the Earth and enters the atmosphere. It will then begin to burn up, with flares visible from the ground, said Ted Molczan, a Canadian satellite tracker. From that point on, he said, it will take about 30 minutes to fall.
In the past 50 years of monitoring space, 17,000 manmade objects have re-entered the Earth's atmosphere."
"Video images of the satellite captured by John Locker, a British amateur satellite watcher, show it to be about 13 feet to 16.5 feet across. Locker calculated its size with data on its altitude and location provided by other amateur satellite watchers, using the International Space Station as a yardstick.
Satellite watchers — a worldwide network of hobbyists who track satellites for fun — have been plotting the satellite's degradation for a year. They estimate it is now at an altitude of about 173 miles, and Locker believes it is dropping about 1,640 feet a day.
Where it lands will be difficult to predict until the satellite falls to about 59 miles above the Earth and enters the atmosphere. It will then begin to burn up, with flares visible from the ground, said Ted Molczan, a Canadian satellite tracker. From that point on, he said, it will take about 30 minutes to fall.
In the past 50 years of monitoring space, 17,000 manmade objects have re-entered the Earth's atmosphere."
MolaKule
Staff member
C'mon guys, with those fancy NASA computers someone should be able to calculate the entry area using orbital mechanics.
And then everyone would know wouldn't they.....talk is, well talk is.....
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