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Satellite Collision Over Siberia (http://uk.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUKLC34756)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/IridiumSatellite.jpgby Guy Faulconbridge - Reuters UK – Feb. 12, 2009

A 3% increase in orbital debris! Was this accident pure chance or ...?? -- Ed.

MOSCOW, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Space officials in Russia and the United States were on Thursday tracking hundreds of pieces of debris that were spewed into space when a U.S. satellite collided with a defunct Russian military satellite.

The crash, which Russian officials said took place on Tuesday at about 1700 GMT above northern Siberia, is the first publicly known satellite collision and has raised concerns about the safety of the manned International Space Station.

The collision happened in an orbit heavily used by satellites and other spacecraft and the U.S. Strategic Command, the arm of the Pentagon that handles space, said countries might have to manoeuvre their craft to avoid the debris.

"The collision of these two space apparatuses happened by chance and these two apparatuses have been destroyed," Major-General Alexander Yakushin, first deputy commander of Russia's Space Forces, told Reuters.

"The fragments pose no danger whatsoever to Russian space objects," he said. When asked if the debris posed a danger to other nations' space craft, he said: "As for foreign ones, it is not for me say as it is not in my competency." ...http://uk.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUKLC34756

This is an interesting bit of news, but where is the connection to cleanmpg?

Links aren't working.

This is an interesting bit of news, but where is the connection to cleanmpg?

If it's interesting, who cares?

The connection IMHO is a huge increase of pollution above our Earth... which can and will have an effect on future missions in space and impacts on earth. Yeah, its not related to fuel economy as such, but I believe we all have some concerns for the welfare of our planet.

Plus, the conspiracy theory part of me went haywire ;)

If it's interesting, who cares?

The only criterion for posting pieces on here is that they be interesting? COOL! I've got all kinds of stuff to post. Can I start with pictures of my cats?

:eyebrow: There IS a connection here, with the environmental side. Space debris is a huge and growing problem, and here is more of it.

Geosynchronous orbit is somewhere around 17,000 miles per hour. At that speed, a golf ball has the same kinetic energy of a full-sized SUV at 70 mph. Litter that is nothing on the ground is beyond deadly in orbit.

I'm not concerned at this point with space debris. and have no idea what it has to do with hypermiling

ok, i get it . . . in the name "cleanmpg" the "mpg" is silent . . . . got it

Space Junk is not a typical topic, but still related.

Believe that most satellites these days must have deorbit thrusters for the end-of-life.

ok, i get it . . . in the name "cleanmpg" the "mpg" is silent . . . . got it
We also talk about saving energy in homes with heating, A/C, recycling, wind power, and countless other things not related at all to driving. MPG is the main focus here, but not the only thing relating to "clean".

In the film wall-e there is the scene where the spaceship busts its way through all the space junk thats orbiting earth. It's not that much of an exaggeration any more is it!?
I'm also concerned about the fact that nothing was said or done in the lead up to this. I mean if objects as small as a few inches can be tracked, how was a large satellite let crash into another one? Could nothing be done? For two satellites to be unable to avoid each other is a stretch thats for sure!

ollie

I have a sudden urge to get back into a few Tom Clancy books I've left unread.

That and I'm suddenly thinking of good old C&C red alert. I have the urge to blast em russians.

{stupid}Why don't they just equip satellites with GPS?{/stupid}

It's important, because if something up there with a radiation-based power unit starts littering the earth with debris, there is gonna be some BIG problems.

ok, i get it . . . in the name "cleanmpg" the "mpg" is silent . . . . got it

if that is sarcasm, it's not appreciated

if that is sarcasm, it's not appreciated

sheesh, chill out peeps. ya'll take yourselves way too seriously.

Hi Mdensch:
sheesh, chill out peeps. ya'll take yourselves way too seriously.
___When I feel the same about somebody else, the first thing I do is look in the mirror. I would suggest that you consider the same.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Ees no mistake. Ees example of vonderful co-orbital cooperative hybridization, yes? Soviet machine built like Hummer, now has new solar panels, donated by others, in place of rear-view targeting mirrors.

Seriously, the problem I have with pieces like this is that as more of them are added to the site, they push other articles further and further down the main page until they get pushed off entirely. I find the articles that relate directly to the topic, i.e. cleanmpg, of great interest and of great value as a hybrid owner. Articles about satellites, not so much. It all just adds to this cluttered medium that we call the Internet.

. . . [looks in mirror] . . . [looks in mirror, again] . . .

It would be nice, though, if one could offer what was, after all, fairly gentle criticism of the site content without getting jumped on over it.

Seriously, the problem I have with pieces like this is that as more of them are added to the site, they push other articles further and further down the main page until they get pushed off entirely. I find the articles that relate directly to the topic, i.e. cleanmpg, of great interest and of great value as a hybrid owner. Articles about satellites, not so much. It all just adds to this cluttered medium that we call the Internet.

. . . [looks in mirror] . . . [looks in mirror, again] . . .

It would be nice, though, if one could offer what was, after all, fairly gentle criticism of the site content without getting jumped on over it.


sorry, but since we know so little about you, it's very hard to determine where you are coming from. present some info.....your vehicle, commute, etc., and perhaps it will be easier for us.

It would be nice, though, if one could offer what was, after all, fairly gentle criticism of the site content without getting jumped on over it.

The problem is not that you're criticizing the site, the problem is the manner in which you have done it. You started out honestly and civilly enough, however, instead of further explaining your gripes, or doing so in private, you became glib, sarcastic, and abrasive to the point where it's derailing discussion of the thread. Even though your gripe was merely with this article, you expressed it in a way that's not helpful to healthy discussion, and you conveyed a much broader disdain for the site.

I can be very glib and sarcastic; it's a lot of fun. When I do use sarcasm in posts, I try to actually meter it with some productive point, or at least tie it in to the discussion at hand.

Besides, the news forum is where we branch out, and discuss lots of things, especially science-y stuff. Even though this might be better-suited for an off-topic forum, there's enough interest here to justify this in the news forum.

It has everything to do with CleanMPG when [not if] the junk starts
taking out the GPS birds, and now you can't predict how to glide
into that upcoming turn on the unfamiliar rural road at night
and wind up on the binders because you had no idea it was coming.
.
And of course you're driving because the air travel industry
has gotten so dependent on GPS that it was unable to function
when the infrastructure fell apart and they'd forgotten the old ways.
.
_H*

Did anyone get photos of this? It took place at night, so I'd imagine any unused fuel would've made for a great light show.

1/2 x 3000lb x (22500 MPH)^2 = :eek::eek::eek:

It has everything to do with CleanMPG when [not if] the junk starts
taking out the GPS birds, and now you can't predict how to glide
into that upcoming turn on the unfamiliar rural road at night
and wind up on the binders because you had no idea it was coming.
.
And of course you're driving because the air travel industry
has gotten so dependent on GPS that it was unable to function
when the infrastructure fell apart and they'd forgotten the old ways.
.
_H*This is the best point so far - space junk will affect us if not addressed.

Just think of the history....at one time we did not have water sanitation...at one time we did not care about soot, hydrocarbons or NO2 emitted into the atmosphere, now many of us are concerned about greenhouse gas emissions.