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Lunar impact probe - Dual purpose?

Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 10:27 pm
by SeattleGriz
Got to thinking about this when I read the article the other day. Do any of you think this is a dual purpose test? The part about crashing the probe into the moon is obvious, but could this also be a test of our killer satellite capabilities? What better way than to pick a spot on the moon and slam the probe into it to see how accurate our system is. Also, you won't get any other countries to bitch about all the debris if we actually destroyed a satellite, or more importantly that we were conducting tests on how to destroy a satellite.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/artic ... on-2009-06
NASA will tomorrow launch a spectacular mission to bomb the Moon. Their LCROSS mission will blast off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying a missile that will blast a hole in the lunar surface at twice the speed of a bullet. The missile, a Centaur rocket, will be steered by a shepherding spacecraft that will guide it towards its target - a crater close to the Moon's south pole. Scientists expect the blast to be so powerful that a huge plume of debris will be ejected.

Re: Lunar impact probe - Dual purpose?

Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 10:29 pm
by native
SeattleGriz wrote:Got to thinking about this when I read the article the other day. Do any of you think this is a dual purpose test? The part about crashing the probe into the moon is obvious, but could this also be a test of our killer satellite capabilities? What better way than to pick a spot on the moon and slam the probe into it to see how accurate we can get?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/artic ... on-2009-06
NASA will tomorrow launch a spectacular mission to bomb the Moon. Their LCROSS mission will blast off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying a missile that will blast a hole in the lunar surface at twice the speed of a bullet. The missile, a Centaur rocket, will be steered by a shepherding spacecraft that will guide it towards its target - a crater close to the Moon's south pole. Scientists expect the blast to be so powerful that a huge plume of debris will be ejected.
Lord help us if we miss the moon! :o :roll: :lol:

Re: Lunar impact probe - Dual purpose?

Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 10:30 pm
by SeattleGriz
native wrote:
SeattleGriz wrote:Got to thinking about this when I read the article the other day. Do any of you think this is a dual purpose test? The part about crashing the probe into the moon is obvious, but could this also be a test of our killer satellite capabilities? What better way than to pick a spot on the moon and slam the probe into it to see how accurate we can get?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/artic ... on-2009-06
Lord help us if we miss the moon! :o :roll: :lol:
Wouldn't it be a pisser if we missed the moon and it accidentally hit some other countries satellite. OOPS, sorry China!

Re: Lunar impact probe - Dual purpose?

Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 10:42 pm
by dbackjon
Sounds like an exciting scientific test!!

Re: Lunar impact probe - Dual purpose?

Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 6:22 pm
by CID1990
dbackjon wrote:Sounds like an exciting scientific test!!
Anything that has the words "impact" and "probe" in them WOULD be exciting for you, Jon. ;) ;) ;)