Sattelite Gap!!!!!

Apparently there is a problem getting the new satellites up to replace the old ones, which might cause a four year loss of satelites if the current ones happen to fail or stop working on time. This will effect weather satellites as well as military satellites.

There may be a gap between when the current generation of Advanced KH-11 and Onyx reconnaissance satellites stop working and when their replacements are ready.

Gaps may be avoided only if the satellites in orbit and those to be launched perform at least as well and as long as expected--or better and longer--which is by no means an unknown occurrence. However, launch disasters or unexpected failures in orbit could leave U.S. military and intelligence officials wishing they had been somewhat less optimistic about their ability to replace last century's models with satellites that can satisfy all the demands of this century.

This is why it was stupid to give up the SR-71 and other recon assets in favor of sattelites.

Double thread?

Anyhoo this is so loaded with speculative "Could", "may" and "maybes" as to be worthless IMO.

How on earth could any civillian truely know the state of the military coverage or it's life span?

......and I simply do not believe that any claimed gap in the civillian coverage could not be covered by the enormous (growing) array of commercial satellites now in orbit.

Coulds, woulds, maybes, and possiblies are still great examples of why we should have aircraft assets available to complement the sattelites. Because if it DOES happen, we're up the creek without a paddle.

Soemone is seriouslly misinformed. We currently have satalites orbiting saturn, mars, another one on it's way to mars, one orbiting one of jupiter's moons. The U.S. just landed one on a moving asteroid. Japan has one orbitng an asteroid(even though they lost their lander) and several others. If you hear of anything with U.S. satalite problems it's a cover up for our missle defense system program. We have no real problems with our satalites. There is probably one taking your picture right now! If you think thats impossible just remember the Hubble telescope can see light years away. Certain web sites alow you to see tall buildings in your city or maybe even your rooftop. Now imagine what a U.S. millitary satalite can do and it's far more than those unclassified photos they show you on CNN!

Ijust worry what we do with them when their use by date is up. Space has that much junk orbitting it at the moment and you only have to look at teh skylab affair to see how dangerous it can be.

As small as they are very little of them would survive reentry. Not much to worry about with a recon sattelite.

Originally posted by Zaphod58
This is why it was stupid to give up the SR-71 and other recon assets in favor of sattelites.

Cough...AURORA...Cough

Yeah the F-22 is a serial killer in a room full unarmed children. When they put 8 F-15e's (Air superiority at it's best) against 2 F-22's and the Raptors won without breaking a sweat, I knew right then Russia and it's Su-27 were better off being used at air shows.

And the F-22 has what exactly to do with a gap in the recon sattelites that are up there?

I find it highly unlikely that the US military would allow for anykind of gap to occur in our satellite coverage. If there is, then I'm sure they already have it covered with aircraft so advanced that we can't even fathom it (like the poster who mentioned Aurora already). The truth is, we probably don't even know about the existence of the majority of satellites our government has up there.

And if there were any legitimate satellite gap about to happen, we would be the last ones to know about it. I'm sure this is just some government disinfo that is serving a purpose we will never know....