4 ms·

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

worldsayshi 8y ago
Yeah! I wondered how it's even possible to "shoot down" a satellite. More like smearing it out.
- z3phyr 8y ago
  It should be possible to nudge it to an unstable orbit without smearing it, but it would require a lot of fuel for maneuvers.
ygra 8y ago
300 km altitude. Should re-enter fairly quickly, unlike the Chinese satellite that has been destroyed in 2007.
yumraj 8y ago
According to the FAQ put out by Gov of India [0] V. Does the test create space debris? The test was done in the lower atmosphere to ensure that there is no space debris. Whatever debris that is generated will decay and fall back onto the earth within weeks. [0] https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/soon-after-pm-address-foreign-ministry-puts-out-faqs-on-mission-shakti-2013564 https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/soon-after-pm-address-foreig...
- natch 8y ago
  Unless some pieces were boosted higher by the explosion. But I guess they are confident this could never happen.
  - 6gvONxR4sf7o 8y ago
    Orbits are periodic. If it is boosted up, it'll come back down. Orbital decay will still happen.
    - delinka 8y ago
      Eventually.
    - natch 8y ago
      Yeah it will come down... nobody is disputing that. The worry is that in the meantime it could hit some other satellite, causing more debris. Yes the likelihood is vanishingly small. But the consequences of an unlucky event could be large.
  - lodi 8y ago
    When you boost an orbiting object in this manner there's only two possibilities for what can happen next: a) you give it enough energy to reach escape velocity, in which case there's no problem. b) you blow out the circular orbit into a long ellipse. The far end, apogee, can be very far out depending on how much energy you added, but the near end, perigee, is always at the same altitude as it was at the moment of impact. Therefore, as long as the satellite is "within" thin atmosphere at the moment of impact, the fragments will periodically pass through thin atmosphere as well. To properly boost yourself into a higher (circular) orbit you need to give yourself two kicks: one to raise your apogee, and then half an orbit later another to raise your perigee to match.
    - natch 8y ago
      c) it collides with something and creates more debris problems before ultimately falling back into the atmosphere. It doesn’t have to be in a sustainable orbit to cause problems.

worldsayshi 8y ago

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

z3phyr 8y ago
It should be possible to nudge it to an unstable orbit without smearing it, but it would require a lot of fuel for maneuvers.

ygra 8y ago

300 km altitude. Should re-enter fairly quickly, unlike the Chinese satellite that has been destroyed in 2007.

yumraj 8y ago

According to the FAQ put out by Gov of India [0] V. Does the test create space debris? The test was done in the lower atmosphere to ensure that there is no space debris. Whatever debris that is generated will decay and fall back onto the earth within weeks. [0] https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/soon-after-pm-address-foreign-ministry-puts-out-faqs-on-mission-shakti-2013564 https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/soon-after-pm-address-foreig...

natch 8y ago
Unless some pieces were boosted higher by the explosion. But I guess they are confident this could never happen.
- 6gvONxR4sf7o 8y ago
  Orbits are periodic. If it is boosted up, it'll come back down. Orbital decay will still happen.
  - delinka 8y ago
    Eventually.
  - natch 8y ago
    Yeah it will come down... nobody is disputing that. The worry is that in the meantime it could hit some other satellite, causing more debris. Yes the likelihood is vanishingly small. But the consequences of an unlucky event could be large.
- lodi 8y ago
  When you boost an orbiting object in this manner there's only two possibilities for what can happen next: a) you give it enough energy to reach escape velocity, in which case there's no problem. b) you blow out the circular orbit into a long ellipse. The far end, apogee, can be very far out depending on how much energy you added, but the near end, perigee, is always at the same altitude as it was at the moment of impact. Therefore, as long as the satellite is "within" thin atmosphere at the moment of impact, the fragments will periodically pass through thin atmosphere as well. To properly boost yourself into a higher (circular) orbit you need to give yourself two kicks: one to raise your apogee, and then half an orbit later another to raise your perigee to match.
  - natch 8y ago
    c) it collides with something and creates more debris problems before ultimately falling back into the atmosphere. It doesn’t have to be in a sustainable orbit to cause problems.