Zombie Satellite Stealing Signals

[Ron61]

Just saw this and thought that some of the space people might be interested in it.

http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/93656?fp=1

Ron

[Tommy]

I guess the Defense Department is going to have to launch a satellite armed with a really big gun and a chainsaw to end its reign of terror.

[Joe Wicked]

I read that this morning. It's Skynet in the first stages of becoming self aware. Terminator was a true story AHHHHHHHHH run for the hills and hide out. Where is John Conner when you need him.

[Ralphy]

Just like me in the morning. I'm on, just not responding.

[Tommy]

Now that I think about it, that satellite reminds me of some people I know. They transmit continuously, but never receive.

[Ron61]

I am sure that aliens caused this. It must have gotten to close to one of their ships.

EDIT: This latest blurb about the satellilte.

It wants to eat your satellite's brain
Finally, scientists have no idea how to stop a fully powered satellite that has gone rogue and is no longer accepting orders from earth. This so-called "zombie" satellite, known as Galaxy 15 (which carried the SyFy channel), continues along in the Earth's orbit — on a course to interfere with the communications of a fully functioning SES satellite beaming down programming to its customers in Luxembourg. We know, we know: We're just happy it's not us.

Ron

[Ronbo]

We've lost a few over the years...

http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/failures/index.htm

I had a rough couple of days after the Galaxy IV mishap in May '98, Had to re-align about thirty+ dishes on paging transmitters scattered across half of Georgia and Florida.

That day I was fighting with getting the ST. Augustine site site back on link, after about two hours I got the call which explained why I couldn't get the bird locked back in. The redundent guidance failed and put the sat. in a "un-controlled spin" luckily they were able to get a de-orbit command to take before the thing slammed into another bird. That geo-sync. orbit is real congested now. (no slots left)

Someone's gonna get thier azz handed to them over this one as the de-orbit has probably been out prior to the two guidance systems failing and while you still have one guidance left you de-orbit with that. They'd already moved all the traffic (except for some unneeded government system) off so they knew this bird was in pretty bad shape already.

[Ron61]

Ronbo,

Last that I heard they are afraid it is going to interfere with some of the European satellites. I agree that it sounds as if they weren't paying much attention to what was going on with it.

We need to invent a space junk cleaner that would clean up all of the old junk floating around, especially in low orbit and either send it off into the sun or bring it down. They were showing pictures of the space shuttles windshield the other day and every launch they said they had picks all over them from hitting the small pieces. Heck I would even split the money with you if we could invent such a thing.

Ron

[trularin]

Picked a good one this time Ron.

[Ron61]

Tru,

With our satellites starting to think on their own and ignoring the control signals, it kind of reminds me of some of the older movies about computers deciding they were smarter than the people that built them and taking over. Remember HAL on Space Odyssey?

Ron

[Wayne Maybury]

Ron

I particularly enjoyed the scene where HAL told the scientist that he was putting too much vermouth in the martinis. That was classic.

Wayne

[Ron61]

Wayne,

That was the first movie that I remember where the computer decided it knew best and took over. I have seen that movie several times and liked it. There have been others since then, but none had quite the impact that one did for me. Also I liked the visual effects in the movie.

Ron