US to risk breaching UN militarised space treaty for a faulty & toxic US Spy Sat.

international | sci-tech | other press Friday February 15, 2008 00:01 by gerbil afterburner - chicken lickins

.........now that's a long & meaningful title.......naught pithy in that...........

President Bush has signed an executive order which will allow the US military to shoot down one that country's satelites before its diminishing orbit means the loss of the Hydragin gas it holds.

They say they're doing this to safeguard lives. Hydragin as we all might guess is a very dangerous substance. They're not saying they're doing this to have a bit of practise at a remarkably difficult exercise they have not officially admitted to having done before. For many good reasons such as incapability, implausibility and the usual reliable Star Wars diplomacy crap.

RTE has reported the satelite as a "disabled spy satelite". That was the non-sequitor by which the story was originally given publicity in January 2008, but has to date not been confirmed by the few of the 16 US agencies who'd put at spy-sat in orbit. It was the "international herald tribune" who first conjectured (or spun) its identity. For the moment though, rather than wondering what exactly the little box of tricks is, or who used it, we might better wonder where is it going to get shot down, how much are the salvage rights, where will it land after (& naturally if) it is shot down?

The original news report -
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/27/america/satellit...e.php

tonight's mention on RTE (you'd swear there was the remotest chance of hitting Erin)
http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0214/satellite.html

the BBC report in which the Pentagon refer to the item as "bird". You'd swear they were playing clay pigeon shooting and not just ensuring mentally handicapped people don't have to breath in Hydroxin.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7245578.stm

other bits & bobs -
if you're thinking of having your own spy-sat you might like to know what's out there no the salvage or shoot at range / market
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spy_satellite

I look forward to exploring this thread from all angles. Hopefully we shall find opportunity to revisit the UN militarisation of space treaty as well as get less than gullible about stopping Near Earth Asteroids or the merciless Xenu. There will be questions at the US senate intelligence hearing to report on as we reconsider the money spent on affording some spy agencies a sort of google-earth with resolution so high it's on steroids. We may even ask any people left with geiger counters to check it's not Hydroxin that's the big problem but something more sinister. Coz we're generally like that - we get off on sinister. "they" - "them" -