We fired a bullet at a comet

[jjamie12]

If I am interpreting this correctly:

 

I must have missed this

 

Relevant section: " The last time NASA visited Tempel 1, it ended in violence. In 2005, Deep Impact fired a copper bullet that slammed into the surface and gouged a crater. The high-speed collision spewed such a huge plume of dust that it obscured Deep Impact's view."

 

 

We sent a spacecraft toward a comet and fired a bullet from said spacecraft and we hit the comet?!? Can someone provide some context around how much harder / easier this is to do than the type of technology we'd need to have a working missile defense system? Do we have any armchair experts on this?

 

Understanding (of course) that this comet is, you know, A LOT bigger than a missile...

[Gary M]

If I am interpreting this correctly:

 

I must have missed this

 

Relevant section: " The last time NASA visited Tempel 1, it ended in violence. In 2005, Deep Impact fired a copper bullet that slammed into the surface and gouged a crater. The high-speed collision spewed such a huge plume of dust that it obscured Deep Impact's view."

 

 

We sent a spacecraft toward a comet and fired a bullet from said spacecraft and we hit the comet?!? Can someone provide some context around how much harder / easier this is to do than the type of technology we'd need to have a working missile defense system? Do we have any armchair experts on this?

 

Understanding (of course) that this comet is, you know, A LOT bigger than a missile...

 

 

Intergalatic skeet shooting

[erynthered]

Armageddon!!... Armageddon!!... Armageddon!!...

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

 

[DC Tom]

If I am interpreting this correctly:

 

I must have missed this

 

Relevant section: " The last time NASA visited Tempel 1, it ended in violence. In 2005, Deep Impact fired a copper bullet that slammed into the surface and gouged a crater. The high-speed collision spewed such a huge plume of dust that it obscured Deep Impact's view."

 

 

We sent a spacecraft toward a comet and fired a bullet from said spacecraft and we hit the comet?!? Can someone provide some context around how much harder / easier this is to do than the type of technology we'd need to have a working missile defense system? Do we have any armchair experts on this?

 

Understanding (of course) that this comet is, you know, A LOT bigger than a missile...

 

Much easier -

 

1) Bigger target, like you said

2) Bullet was fired from a platform moving by the comet - which means you can plan to intercept and to some degree match the target's motion.

3) Much, much more lead time to plan. Missile defense would be easy if you had two years to plan your intercept instead of ten minutes (note the Navy did just fine shooting down a sattelite a few years ago with a shipboard ABM, with a few days' planning). The data processing loads are COMPLETELY different between the two.

4)You're presuming we don't have a working missile defense system.

[jjamie12]

4)You're presuming we don't have a working missile defense system.

I'm super-ignorant on this stuff -- Is that a wrong presumption?

[Joe Miner]

Much easier -

 

1) Bigger target, like you said

2) Bullet was fired from a platform moving by the comet - which means you can plan to intercept and to some degree match the target's motion.

3) Much, much more lead time to plan. Missile defense would be easy if you had two years to plan your intercept instead of ten minutes (note the Navy did just fine shooting down a sattelite a few years ago with a shipboard ABM, with a few days' planning). The data processing loads are COMPLETELY different between the two.

4)You're presuming we don't have a working missile defense system.

 

Agreed.

 

3 for emphasis IMO.

 

Exactly. There isn't nearly as much you can do with feedback control in the timeframe you're looking at on earth.

[Wacka]

In the previous flyby, the satellite was out ahead of the comet. It released a fridge-sized block which was slowed down, basically having the comet rear end it. The satellite analyzed the material kicked up by the impact. It will be interesting to see the impact crater, now that the dust has settled from the man-made impact.

[DC Tom]

I'm super-ignorant on this stuff -- Is that a wrong presumption?

 

Not necessarily a right one. There's been plenty of systems tests (including the aforementioned Navy intercept of a satellite) that demonstrate that the systems we have should work. But until it actually intercepts an unexpected launch of a ballistic missile...

 

The bottom line: the systems that exist have been tested to a degree that provides a reasonably high level of confidence in them working if needed. In fact, more likely than not the Stardust-NExT probe uses technology developed for ballistic missile defense.

[jjamie12]

Not necessarily a right one. There's been plenty of systems tests (including the aforementioned Navy intercept of a satellite) that demonstrate that the systems we have should work. But until it actually intercepts an unexpected launch of a ballistic missile...

 

The bottom line: the systems that exist have been tested to a degree that provides a reasonably high level of confidence in them working if needed. In fact, more likely than not the Stardust-NExT probe uses technology developed for ballistic missile defense.

Then why do I always hear about how "It's a complete waste of money! It will never work!"? Is it just equally ignorant people with their fingers in their ears yelling na-nana-boo-boo?

[DC Tom]

Then why do I always hear about how "It's a complete waste of money! It will never work!"? Is it just equally ignorant people with their fingers in their ears yelling na-nana-boo-boo?

 

Pretty much.

 

Most of the complaints are about how "it's never been successfully tested" or "it's failed every test they've run"...which is a complete misrepresentation of the tests that have been run. The ABM system is a complex system of components (different radars, a boost vehicle, an intercept vehicle, etc.), all of which have been tested and integrated successfully...but it's never intercepted a missile, therefore people B word that it's "untested" or a "failure".

[Zulu Cthulhu]

So when rachel maddow makes a snide face and says we can't "shoot another bullett out of the sky with another bullett? she is BSing me?

 

Goddam liberal media letting me down again : )

[whateverdude]

I NEW IT! Ronny Raygun was right

[OCinBuffalo]

4)You're presuming we don't have a working missile defense system.

And, let's agree to all be fine with his presumption since this:

I'm super-ignorant on this stuff -- Is that a wrong presumption?

is the very presumption we want. It is not "wrong" , it's perfect.

 

IF we have it, then it's the single biggest intelligence target since the atomic bomb. No reason to make the same mistakes we did with that.

 

And, we have the benefit of fooling the Russians once already with SDI. IF we have it, might as well use that, since it works for everybody, not just the Russians, be modest, and smart, and make them think they are chasing ghosts, setup multiple fake projects, use the uncertainty to tempt spies into exposing themselves, etc.