Finally a Use for It?

1 February 2008



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Can’t America Catch a Satellite?

This journal has long maintained that the US space shuttle and manned exploration in space under current technology are both pretty pointless. It appears that the shuttle exists to build the International Space Station where no science of any importance is done, and the construction is so far behind schedule that it may not be completed by the time the ISS is crashed into the ocean. However, there is a spy satellite out of control that will fall out of orbit in February. Couldn’t the shuttle be used to pluck it out of the sky?

The satellite in question, called either L-21 or USA 193, is a classified National Reconnaissance Office spacecraft that headed up to orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in 2006. Shortly after attaining low-Earth orbit, its communications package packed up. Reuters says, “The satellite has fallen more than 70 km (43 miles) to an orbit at around 280 km (174 miles) above the Earth. US and European astronomers estimate it is dropping at an accelerating rate of some 8 km (5 miles) a day.”

Now, it isn’t about to hit anyone on the head as it tumbles to the ground. First off, the world’s a pretty big place, and most of it is ocean. That means the odds on the satellite coming down over land is at best 3:1 against. Second, there is more empty space on land than there is inhabited acreage. Given that it was launched by a Delta-2 rocket, though, estimates of its size suggest it weighs about four tons and that it might not completely burn up during re-entry into the atmosphere.

According to the bright young things at the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space, “The [space shuttle's] payload bay is 60 feet (18.3 meters) long and 15 feet (4.6 meters) wide, about the size of a school bus. The bay is flexible enough to provide accommodations for unmanned spacecraft in a variety of shapes and sizes, and for fully equipped scientific laboratories such as the Spacelab. Depending on the requirements of the particular mission, a Space Shuttle can carry about 50,000 pounds (22,680 kilograms) into orbit.” So, the satellite will probably fit.

L-21 cost the US taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars. Unless there is some grievous fault in its design, it could be returned to Earth, repaired and relaunched at a fraction of the cost of a new object. Rather than have the astronauts spending their time at the ISS repairing a solar panel that is not critical to fix, they should go get L-21.

Now, maybe that isn’t feasible for lots of technical reasons that are beyond the understanding of the Kensington Review. However, it seems that satellite rescue should be a basic operation in the shuttle pilot’s manual. And if NASA can’t rescue it, why the heck can’t the Pentagon shoot it down (resulting in smaller, safer pieces) with its vaunted anti-satellite, anti-missile defenses? Oh, yeah, they don’t work without homing devices and controlled conditions.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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