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India successfully shoots down satellite in space

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Re: India successfully shoots down satellite in space

#31

Post by evilduck »

indy7500 wrote: post #16
wyred wrote: post #7

Just wondering, is it possible to use a big enough mirror and just reflect sunlight to do the same thing? Though this only means satellites can only be destroyed during daytime.

Sounds unlikely lol but why would you want to? Definitely more expensive than missile

Missiles are easily tracked. Your opposition will know who, how, when and where someone was taking action against them. Light pressure could just subtly push a satellite off course as it passes overhead. They have finite propellant on board to correct for it.

That said, I don't think a big mirror reflecting the sun is all that practical when a big ass laser would do the same job and be easier to manufacture and operate.

Re: India successfully shoots down satellite in space

#32

Post by timdiggerm »

bhargav wrote: post #18
rishav_sharan wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because the assembly polls didn't show bjp leading by as much as expected.

So you think the entire exercise was carried out for BJP to pull ahead in elections? How much do you think Indian citizens care about this? Do you think it is enough to swing votes? Don't be too quick to find faults!

It is definitely possible that the exercise was carried out independent of the election schedule, but Modi announcing it (instead of some lower official) is because of the elections, part of making every bit of possible patriotism count.

Don't be too quick to overstate others' positions!

Re: India successfully shoots down satellite in space

#33

Post by z3phyr »

worldsayshi wrote: post #10
dajohnson89 wrote: post #2

I hope it was shot down in a manner that doesnt produce more space junk, which is already acknowledged as a serious problem!

Yeah! I wondered how it's even possible to "shoot down" a satellite. More like smearing it out.

It should be possible to nudge it to an unstable orbit without smearing it, but it would require a lot of fuel for maneuvers.

Re: India successfully shoots down satellite in space

#34

Post by lagolinguini »

sbmthakur wrote: post #28
lagolinguini wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

That doesn't hold water because he wasn't the one who made the Balakot airstrike announcement. While he did announce Mars Orbiter Mission(because the reason I stated in the parent) when there were no elections around. You're free to draw whatever conclusions you want.

The man said nothing, absolutely nothing during the Balakot event. Which is fine, because the whole thing was a cockup anyway. That didn't stop his base from celebrating the event. (Disclaimer: I don't support Pakistan, but you have to add this disclaimer lest you're called "anti-national" by his base)

Anyway, you have to agree the mans a propoganda machine. Just like at the release timeline for the movie Uri...

Re: India successfully shoots down satellite in space

#35

Post by MiroF »

sbmthakur wrote: post #23
tpc3 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/27/modi-space-wea... "veteran broadcaster Shekhar Gupta tweeted that the space missile had destroyed two targets: a satellite, and “what remained of the stature [and] reputation of Election Commission of India”"

Code of conduct doesn't apply to national security issues. Not sure what Mr. Gupta is implying here.

> Code of conduct doesn't apply to national security issues

You realize that nobody is fooled right? Everyone except for Modi's supporters sees through this

Re: India successfully shoots down satellite in space

#36

Post by MiroF »

bhargav wrote: post #18
rishav_sharan wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because the assembly polls didn't show bjp leading by as much as expected.

So you think the entire exercise was carried out for BJP to pull ahead in elections? How much do you think Indian citizens care about this? Do you think it is enough to swing votes? Don't be too quick to find faults!

Oh, the announcement almost certainly was.

Re: India successfully shoots down satellite in space

#37

Post by Pharmakon »

evilduck wrote: post #31
indy7500 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds unlikely lol but why would you want to? Definitely more expensive than missile

Missiles are easily tracked. Your opposition will know who, how, when and where someone was taking action against them. Light pressure could just subtly push a satellite off course as it passes overhead. They have finite propellant on board to correct for it. That said, I don't think a big mirror reflecting the sun is all that practical when a big ass laser would do the same job and be easier to manufacture and opera…

Let me get this straight, a missile is easy to track, but a giant mirror reflecting a load of sunlight that would have to be LoS to the satellite wouldn’t be? Not to mention that bombing the mirror would be a lot easier than shooting down the missile...

Re: India successfully shoots down satellite in space

#38

Post by thevardanian »

MiroF wrote: post #36
bhargav wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you think the entire exercise was carried out for BJP to pull ahead in elections? How much do you think Indian citizens care about this? Do you think it is enough to swing votes? Don't be too quick to find faults!

Oh, the announcement almost certainly was.

So... Don't announce scientific achievements by your national space agency during an election?

Talk about skewed perspectives.

Re: India successfully shoots down satellite in space

#39

Post by kumarharsh »

wyred wrote: post #7

Just wondering, is it possible to use a big enough mirror and just reflect sunlight to do the same thing? Though this only means satellites can only be destroyed during daytime.

It will also ionize the air in an extreme manner, probably rendering the surrounding environment impossible to be in.

For a rough estimate, see this: https://what-if.xkcd.com/13/

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