7 ms·

Commercial Pilot Catches Photos of Secret Chinese Missile Test

109 points by Inconel 9y ago

g00n 9y ago
Yay! Lots of secrets everywhere...
rb2e 9y ago
I would think this would be a better link. Its pilot's own words too https://jpcvanheijst.com/blogs/2017/07/596970-rocket-launch-over-china https://jpcvanheijst.com/blogs/2017/07/596970-rocket-launch-...
- dmurray 9y ago
  Agreed, and the other articles there also make excellent reading. The avationist blog does add content, though, notably a photo taken from the ground by a Chinese blogger of the same event.
  - tyingq 9y ago
    There's this link in the "pilots own words" post: http://liuqiankktt.blog.163.com/blog/static/121264211201762495336818/ http://liuqiankktt.blog.163.com/blog/static/1212642112017624... (scroll down for ground photos, appears to be the source for the photo in the aviationist post)
appleflaxen 9y ago
what are the legal implications/risks for this pilot? any risk if s/he ever flies through china in the future?
- dogma1138 9y ago
  Likely none even that this is China.
cmahler7 9y ago
Something needs to be done about China, they could end the situation in North Korea instantly by stopping trading with them. The fact they don't, combined with their aggression in the South China Sea is telling. Sanctions or tariffs should be placed, there are plenty of 3rd world countries with cheap labor.
- dogma1138 9y ago
  China doesn't want million of Korean refugees crossing into China. It doesn't want a true humanitarian disaster on scales rarely seen before in history. And NK is a good distraction that China can pull out of its pocket anytime its own activists in the area are getting too much scrutiny.
  - bilbo0s 9y ago
    China's position is not about humanitarianism... their position is about the US and Russia. This situation happened back in the mid-1950's as well, only difference was that it was Russia that wanted North Korea reigned in. China gave essentially the same response at that time.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
    - dogma1138 9y ago
      It's not about being humanitarian, it's about the fact that a large scale humanitarian disaster such as the one that would follow the total collapse of NK would be detrimental to Chinese interests. On some level China doesn't want NK to collapse for the same reason that the US wouldn't want too see quite a few south and central american countries completely collapse they don't want to deal with the fall out. If China had a way out with NK that didn't involve 20 odd million starving refugees crossing the Yalu river into China or a huge and likely lengthy presence or a large mass of US troops on it's borders it might have taken it rather than having to babysit the cousin that has to wear a helmet to dinner well past it's novelty. South Korea also has this problem, it fears unification just as much as it fears a total collapse in both cases they'll get a wave of millions of starving, often poorly educated and for all intents and purposes brainwashed refugees lacking many of the skills needed to survive in the modern South Korean society (look at how long it takes SK to re-educate defectors, with some defectors actually returning to NK because they cannot adapt to life in SK).
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
1024core 9y ago
So.. what am I looking at? What's with the bubbles? I thought it was a droplet on the lens or something. Could someone with more knowledge of this stuff tell us what we're looking at?
- vilhelm_s 9y ago
  I don't know the details, but it's the exhaust gases from the rocket spreading (in near-vacuum they can spread many kilometers) and being lit up by sunlight. There was a similar plume over San Fransisco from a Trident missile test a while ago: https://www.theverge.com/2015/11/12/9720728/san-francisco-missile-test-ufo https://www.theverge.com/2015/11/12/9720728/san-francisco-mi... I'm guessing the bulb-shape from the first stage is because the gasses spread further at higher altitude.
ada1981 9y ago
"It is important information since it not only avoids the extremely remote possibility that an aircraft may be hit by part of a vehicle used in a launch test" Did I miss something on mobile? Is this sentence just left incomplete? Did anyone else find this confusing?
- Lordarminius 9y ago
  It is incomplete. Most likely the result of editing a longer passage.

109 points by Inconel 9y ago

g00n 9y ago

Yay! Lots of secrets everywhere...

rb2e 9y ago

I would think this would be a better link. Its pilot's own words too https://jpcvanheijst.com/blogs/2017/07/596970-rocket-launch-over-china https://jpcvanheijst.com/blogs/2017/07/596970-rocket-launch-...

dmurray 9y ago
Agreed, and the other articles there also make excellent reading. The avationist blog does add content, though, notably a photo taken from the ground by a Chinese blogger of the same event.
- tyingq 9y ago
  There's this link in the "pilots own words" post: http://liuqiankktt.blog.163.com/blog/static/121264211201762495336818/ http://liuqiankktt.blog.163.com/blog/static/1212642112017624... (scroll down for ground photos, appears to be the source for the photo in the aviationist post)

appleflaxen 9y ago

what are the legal implications/risks for this pilot? any risk if s/he ever flies through china in the future?

dogma1138 9y ago
Likely none even that this is China.

cmahler7 9y ago

Something needs to be done about China, they could end the situation in North Korea instantly by stopping trading with them. The fact they don't, combined with their aggression in the South China Sea is telling. Sanctions or tariffs should be placed, there are plenty of 3rd world countries with cheap labor.

dogma1138 9y ago
China doesn't want million of Korean refugees crossing into China. It doesn't want a true humanitarian disaster on scales rarely seen before in history. And NK is a good distraction that China can pull out of its pocket anytime its own activists in the area are getting too much scrutiny.
- bilbo0s 9y ago
  China's position is not about humanitarianism... their position is about the US and Russia. This situation happened back in the mid-1950's as well, only difference was that it was Russia that wanted North Korea reigned in. China gave essentially the same response at that time.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - dogma1138 9y ago
    It's not about being humanitarian, it's about the fact that a large scale humanitarian disaster such as the one that would follow the total collapse of NK would be detrimental to Chinese interests. On some level China doesn't want NK to collapse for the same reason that the US wouldn't want too see quite a few south and central american countries completely collapse they don't want to deal with the fall out. If China had a way out with NK that didn't involve 20 odd million starving refugees crossing the Yalu river into China or a huge and likely lengthy presence or a large mass of US troops on it's borders it might have taken it rather than having to babysit the cousin that has to wear a helmet to dinner well past it's novelty. South Korea also has this problem, it fears unification just as much as it fears a total collapse in both cases they'll get a wave of millions of starving, often poorly educated and for all intents and purposes brainwashed refugees lacking many of the skills needed to survive in the modern South Korean society (look at how long it takes SK to re-educate defectors, with some defectors actually returning to NK because they cannot adapt to life in SK).

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

1024core 9y ago

So.. what am I looking at? What's with the bubbles? I thought it was a droplet on the lens or something. Could someone with more knowledge of this stuff tell us what we're looking at?

vilhelm_s 9y ago
I don't know the details, but it's the exhaust gases from the rocket spreading (in near-vacuum they can spread many kilometers) and being lit up by sunlight. There was a similar plume over San Fransisco from a Trident missile test a while ago: https://www.theverge.com/2015/11/12/9720728/san-francisco-missile-test-ufo https://www.theverge.com/2015/11/12/9720728/san-francisco-mi... I'm guessing the bulb-shape from the first stage is because the gasses spread further at higher altitude.

ada1981 9y ago

"It is important information since it not only avoids the extremely remote possibility that an aircraft may be hit by part of a vehicle used in a launch test" Did I miss something on mobile? Is this sentence just left incomplete? Did anyone else find this confusing?

Lordarminius 9y ago
It is incomplete. Most likely the result of editing a longer passage.