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US jet shoots down unknown object flying off Alaska coast

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Re: US jet shoots down unknown object flying off Alaska coast

#531

Post by pvaldes »

flangola7 wrote: post #55
unsupp0rted wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The object, which the U.S. learned about on Thursday evening, was described as "roughly the size of a small car," Kirby said.

A high school project could definitely launch a car sized balloon.

Working hypothese 1: High school achieved the impossible. Not a single student taking a selfie while doing

Working hypothese 2: The Chinese shaped the balloon as a d*ck so it appears blurred in all videos and nobody can figure out what is that, or describe its shape. Invisible ninja genius move.

Re: US jet shoots down unknown object flying off Alaska coast

#532

Post by postalrat »

BbzzbB wrote: post #518
susiecambria wrote: post #453

Earlier quoted context omitted.

John Kirby called it an object today during the White House press briefing. He also said it was the size of a small car, unlike the balloon from China that was the size of 2-3 buses. Finally, Kirby said that the object could not direct its own propulsion or direction and was at the whim of the wind. Source: https://www.youtube.com/live/rHGWmyyb9nI?feature=share

No propulsion, wind-controlled, motor vehicle-equivalents... Yeah it's a balloon.

Maybe a weather balloon? No wonder they took it down. Those things are just looking for trouble!

Re: US jet shoots down unknown object flying off Alaska coast

#533

Post by ilyt »

serf wrote: post #190
lcnPylGDnU4H9OF wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The sidewinder missile + F-22 flight time costs are an order of magnitude greater than the total cost of launching one balloon. This seems like conjecture. Is there any reliable data on how much said balloon cost?

>This seems like conjecture. It's conjecture for me to presume the sky is blue without looking out of my window, but it's a safe bet on days with good weather. Unless this balloon -- or whatever it was -- was diamond-bedazzled and platinum-plated and filled with alien technology it's a safe bet that it was a fair amount cheaper to produce/launch/maintain than sortieing one of the most expensive and exclusive modern a…

Big complex one-off things are expensive.

Anything needing bus-sized solar array gonna have some fancy equipment on board. All of that needs engineering to not fail at the temperature range up above and code to make it do what is needed

Re: US jet shoots down unknown object flying off Alaska coast

#534

Post by leetrout »

staticman2 wrote: post #471
leetrout wrote: post #458

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From that very link you can find info on the recent litigation accusing the government of an errant missile hit. There is enough evidence to bring forth the suit whether you agree it is a conspiracy or not. https://lawstreetmedia.com/news/citing-new-evidence-survivin...

Without have an opinion on the topic I'll just point out it doesn't require evidence to file a lawsuit, only the ability to fill out paperwork.

re: evidence, I'm just quoting what the article says:

The wrongful death suit claims that Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) evidence has "emerged proving that TWA 800’s explosion was not caused by any defect in the airplane, but instead by an errant United States missile fired at aerial target drones flying nearby."

I am curious to see how this turns out and how it is refuted.

Re: US jet shoots down unknown object flying off Alaska coast

#535

Post by alex_young »

CTDOCodebases wrote: post #511
singleshot_ wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ICBM Airplane on autopilot with dead/sleeping pilot Control surface problem (e.g. 737 elevator jackscrew excursion scenario) (Just thinking out loud/adding ideas, not contradicting).

Jeez imagine if a country decided to launch the first nuclear strikes using their national carriers passenger air planes masquerading as civilian aircraft. Multiple cities all at once.

Except they fly 2-3 hundred miles an hour and leak radiation we can detect from space…

Re: US jet shoots down unknown object flying off Alaska coast

#536

Post by postalrat »

meepmorp wrote: post #502
georgeg23 wrote: post #477

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also maybe gives China cover/justification to start shooting down these low satellites.

No. Shooting down satellites is a very different thing.

Because they fly a bit higher?

Re: US jet shoots down unknown object flying off Alaska coast

#537

Post by ilyt »

Sharlin wrote: post #210
jabroni_salad wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nice, you spent 479 characters to say literally nothing. I'm +80 characters positive now in this thread where I also have said literally nothing.

HN happens to be one of the rare places on the modern internet where just flapping your figurative mouth pieces for the sake of flapping your figurative mouth pieces is not looked upon favorably. The attitude of "have something to say or shut the fuck up" is very refreshing. And if you think that I didn't say anything… I suggest re-reading my comment.

I mean your entire comment could be just "...also known for centuries as Pyrrhic victory" and lose nothing but some words

Re: US jet shoots down unknown object flying off Alaska coast

#538

Post by irrational »

dendrite9 wrote: post #524
irrational wrote: post #436

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe Japanese fire balloons during WWII? "One of the most unusual military actions of World War II came in the form of Japanese balloon bombs, or “Fugos,” directed at the mainland United States. Starting in 1944, the Japanese military constructed and launched over 9,000 high-altitude balloons, each loaded with nearly 50 pounds of anti-personnel and incendiary explosives. Amazingly, these unmanned balloons originated…

More than 500 Americans and more than 2000 Japanese died fighting in the Aleutian islands during WW2. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/battle-of-attu-60-years.htm

It probably meant the continental USA.

Re: US jet shoots down unknown object flying off Alaska coast

#539

Post by wpietri »

leetrout wrote: post #534
staticman2 wrote: post #471

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Without have an opinion on the topic I'll just point out it doesn't require evidence to file a lawsuit, only the ability to fill out paperwork.

re: evidence, I'm just quoting what the article says: The wrongful death suit claims that Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) evidence has "emerged proving that TWA 800’s explosion was not caused by any defect in the airplane, but instead by an errant United States missile fired at aerial target drones flying nearby." I am curious to see how this turns out and how it is refuted.

Oh, the people suing claim they have a reason to sue? How unusual.

Re: US jet shoots down unknown object flying off Alaska coast

#540

Post by mountainb »

hnthrowaway0315 wrote: post #462

My first thought: wow is that an X-COM operation? Make sure you have some brave souls, and don't overload them... Research med kit and laser too.

Damn, I guess everyone's job from here on out will be down at the laser cannon factory from here on out, but at least it will mean the government will finally pay off the national debt with the proceeds.
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