From the category of WTF? Space Station Alpha caused blackout

Indeed, that's the point I was badly steering at. Also, what advantage would it be for the DOD to have people in space?

*Tries to imagine what a stealth satellite would look like*

Me too! There definitely aren't any big rocks to hide behind, so it would have to be stealthy.

The shuttles, of course, do have DOD missions occasionally, usually to deploy some kind of big brother object

The DOD has no need for men in space...just satellites... Personally, it's my personal belief, that we have had a sparsely functioning SDI system in place for quite a few years...with the last major component put in orbit during the previous Bush presidency....

...and what i was refering to was the fact that the Soviet union has launched space stations that were entirely martial in purpose and nature... one was even outfitted with a primitive rail gun, I believe.

The Soviets also designed a Soyuz variant that could launch kinetic kill projectiles.

All this can be found at www.astronautix.com and various other space history sites.

Why would a military need a manned space station? Well, the reasons are diverse, but the fact that the Soviets have launched some means that, at one point or another, someone saw a benefit in it.

And, well, hiding an object in space is fairly easy... You gusy are forgetting stealth... You're also forgetting the possibility of polar orbits that don't spend much time over land.

Originally posted by kukla
There were reports that the Columbia mission actually had a military purpose. Anybody know what they supposedly installed during the Columbia mission? Just curious.

I understand that Columbia could possibly have been testing a new updated version of the active laser imaging system deployed in Project Brighteye.

Originally posted by onlyinmydreams

And, well, hiding an object in space is fairly easy... You gusy are forgetting stealth... You're also forgetting the possibility of polar orbits that don't spend much time over land.

Thank you, but no, I am not.

Yes, you are...


The USAF operates remote bases such as Kwajelien that are nowhere near the public. An object can be launched into orbit without anyone knowing.

Also, local 'space' is not as well observed as you believe it is. There have been several near earth asteroids that have only been noticed AFTER they had passed the earth.

And, finally, the Soviets launched and operated military spacecraft that the american public, at least, was totally unaware of. Perhaps the USAF did know about them.... well, then, the concept still stands that 'we' don't necessarily know about everything that is up there.

First off.. I was wrong.. sorta.. the soviet space station I was thinking of, the one with the 'gun' had its mission aborted WHILE ON THE LAUNCH PAD. That is, the thing was built, fueled, and set-up for launch... However, TEN DAYS before it went up, Gorbachev ordered that it be scarpped. In his words, he was worried that the US, if it discovered it, woudl call it the 'Death Star'.

Still the fact IS that the Sovs built it.

They did, it turns out, have many militay space flights, though, and developed a series of armed combat spacecraft. Perhaps the most interesting of these was the SOYUZ PPK, information on which I am linking to below:

www.astronautix.com...

Though a canceled program, the thing was tanked because satellites could do the same thing. As is, the Soyuz has proven to be the most adaptive spacecraft of all time... One wonders if China will ever field the equiavalent of the PPK?

OIMD,

I am trying very hard to be nice.

The Russians have less that 15 minutes per orbit to transmit in line-of-site method on anything up there. They have virtually been decimated of all ground to orbit communications.

Let us just throw that KNOWLEDGE (because what we are discussing now is not read in a book or on a webpage) out the window and pretend we know longer know it.

A polar orbit hides nothing. Hell, for pete's sake, Tut is up there...constantly looking around. And believe you me, he would be letting some of us know if there was something passing over his head. And there are just a few more than him up there. And if you are insinuating that they are flying some little bitty circle about a pole, that's ridiculous.

Uh, well miss,

I was not saying that the orbit made anything stealthier. I was also not saying that something could circle around the poles like santa claus' sled...

What i was saying was that the Soviets did, in fact, construct an armed space station... and had plans for an armed spacecraft based on Soyuz.

There are various methods by which a craft can be hidden from people on the ground. Did you not read my post, above, above the asteroids no one noticed till they had PASSED the earth? Certainly, a small craft can be hidden from civilian astronomers via stealth techniques... And, just to clarify, I am NOT saying that Dr. No has a secret base up there, or that the USAF has no idea about it... But that it's possible that a station exist that we, the public, have no knowledge of.

The astroids that you discussed, mr., were NEO's that approached from the direction of the Sun. We cannot detect objects that are coming from us from the direction of the Sun until they come close enough to be discerned.

To say that the Soviets constructed "an armed space station" is disingenuous at best...and downright obfuscation if you really think about it. Yeah, maybe they dinked around with something on the ground. Maybe they felt like someday they could put it in orbit...they did NOT. There has been no armed Soviet space station.

I can read, OIMD, this is not a case of you speaking to some one that can't read...but I am beginning to believe that it is a case of me talking to some one who can't.

Val...


I'm tired of dealing with you. You are ruining perfectly good threats for the sake of throwing your weight around. My statement about the Soviets building an armed space station is a FACT. You say that I cannot read, but you cannot, obviously, understand simple sentences. The sentence, "The Soviets built Zvezda, which was armed with..." mean, "the Soviets built Zvezda, which was armed with..."

Obviously you write replies before yiu read links others have provided.

So far as the other stuff goes.. There is no point in discussing this with you. You are acting like you always do, being nasty with someone you don't like until they leave the board.

William brought up an intriguing topic and you have ruined it with your urge to destroy everyone who doesn't worship you.

BTW, since you've started a stalking/reporting campaign on me, I will be doing the same to you. Everytime you call a member a 'turd' from now on it WILL be reported.

OIMD,

Please proceed with your reporting plan...you will quickly find out that I have never reported you...not once.

You have earned your bright shiney red badges all on your own.

Second, YOU are the one that is destroying this thread.

I am presenting facts to you...you, on the other hand are repeating drivel to me.

Zvezda is the Service Module of the ISS. It is not armed with anything. Zvezda is NOT what you want to argue with ME about. This module was my area of expertise when at NASA. There is virtually NOTHING about the the SM I haven't fell asleep learning about. Don't go there OIMD...you don't realize how bad you're making yourself look.

P.S. UNLIKE YOU, I don't want you to go away, I want you to pull your head out and see what a nasty little person you have been being, and how bad you WEREN'T spanked before you started treated me like cowcrap. THINK ABOUT IT!

You are just maing me angry so that I will screw up. I didn't mean Zvezda. You are also wromng about your facts... mnay of them.

Today you BS might be rewarded by ATS, but one day people will revolt against your games.

ALMAZ

I Was so angry with Valhall that I screwed up and put down the wrong name of the armed soviet space station..

However, I was right in the first place,
Please, everyone, read this link:

www.astronautix.com...

There are actually several variations opf this model.

Sorry, val, but I WAS right to begin with!

Look and weep..

ALMAZ, an armed military station, from,


The concept phase:



to construction:









to liftoff:


www.astronautix.com..." target='_blank' class='tabOff'/>

Well, I guess that secret, ARMED space stations CAN be sent into orbit without any ATSers knowing of it (besides 'wrong' people like myself).

BOOYAHHH

OIMD:

You're anger is coming across as inexplicably ignorant.

Leave Val alone.

Originally posted by goregrinder
OIMD:

You're anger is coming across as inexplicably ignorant.

Leave Val alone.

wha?

Follow steps 1 thru the end, here...

Calling me ignorant doesn't make it so. Creating 'buzz' about me won't destroy me. I was avoiding her, she re-started a fight... and I have the photos that show she was just trying to discredit me. Explain how I am being mean to her?

I am more than willing to leave val alone. She needs to stop picking on other people.... and then acting like she can do so at will.

Like you picked on her last night, thus your 3 warnings? Get a grip.

Originally posted by goregrinder
Like you picked on her last night, thus your 3 warnings? Get a grip.

Three arbitrary warnings.

If you were to judge Val by the standarsd you judge me... She would have like 20+ warnings at a time for bullying people who don't agree with everything she says. If you were to look at an (undeleted) record of ATS, you would see that, in every instance where I have fought her, she previously took the time to attack some new poster or some poster who didn't agree with her opinions... or just someone she didn't like. I have only stuck up for people and pointed out things that should have been apparent.

Besides all this.. Thsi thread is about armed spacestations... Do you have anything to comment about that.