Why on Earth would the US Navy launch something into space DURING a Cocked Pistol *drill*???

a defcon1 exercise is not defcon1 - its a simulation - and only aplies to the exercise

www.alaskadispatch.com...

******The microsatellite was
supposed to blast off last spring on a Minotaur IV rocket, but the launch was postponed after a different rocket using similar components failed and dumped NASA’s $424 million Glory earth observation satellite into the Pacific Ocean, Kodiak’s KMXT reported in this April story.***** Quoted from the link page

Alaska Aerospace Corp

www.akaerospace.com...

An article from August this yr from the Associated Press...

juneauempire.com...

*****he September launch calls for using a Minotaur IV rocket, used by the Air Force to deliver nuclear weapons. It is set to take place between 7:49 a.m. and 8:56 a.m.*****

I don't know what it all means but I find it pretty interesting....

Originally posted by Cinaed
reply to post by FurvusRexCaeli

 

Okay maybe you can make heads or tails out of this site???

www.onr.navy.mil...

I'll give it a shot.

What Is It? TacSat-4 is a Navy-led joint mission to provide relevant capabilities and to enable Operationally Responsive Space. TacSat-4 provides ten Ultra High Frequency (UHF) channels, which can be used for any combination of communications, data exfiltration, or Blue Force tracking. Notably, TacSat-4 provides communications-on-the move with legacy radios and provides a wide band "MUOS-like" channel for early testing.

In English: It's designed to provide satellite communications in the UHF frequency band and be compatible with older communications gear. It can also support data relay data services for units on the ground.

How Does It Work? TacSat-4 uses relatively low-cost, small satellite and launch vehicle technologies. The spacecraft is 450kg with a 1000W solar array and a 12 foot diameter payload antenna to provide high gain, enabling most communications-on-the-move to be supported without ground antenna pointing. A "low HEO" (highly elliptical orbit) with a 4 hour period (6 orbits per day) provides long dwells over theaters.

In English: It uses a very non-circular orbit to linger over certain parts of the Earth longer than others. It's an attempt to use (relatively) small and inexpensive launch systems and satellites to meet temporary communications needs.

What Will It Accomplish? TacSat-4 will augment operational communications. Ten UHF channels will allow communication-onthe-move, data-exflitration, and Blue Force tracking. The unique orbit augments geosynchronous communications by allowing near global, but not continuous, coverage including the high latitudes.

In English: One problem with geosynchronous orbits is that satellites placed in them don't provide very good coverage in the far northern and far southern parts of the globe. A quick look at the geometry of the situation will tell you why. Geosynchronous orbits are equatorial orbits by definition...no matter how handy it might be, you can't 'park' a satellite over Chicago or New York (or, just to fit in with recent topics, Denver). As you get closer and closer to the north or south pole, a geosynchronous satellite gets closer and closer to your horizon. Once it gets too close, it's not useful for communication or data relay. By putting this satellite in a highly inclined orbit (which explains the choice of launch site), the Navy is trying to cover those far polar gaps in the communications network.

Best explanation / translation I can give you. I do find it amusing that the military can't get three paragraphs of text written without repeating text.

As for concerns about why the Navy is launching a satellite during a major exercise, as someone noted earlier in this thread, it's an Army exercise. To the Navy, that means less than nothing, unless it's a joint exercise, in which case it's a chance to make the Army personnel seasick at every opportunity. You have to love inter-service rivalries!

interseting.....maybe the launch of the satilite wil be tracked and 'pretend' it is the launch of an ICBM....i was looking around but didnt find to much info about how many defcon 1 exercises there have been. here is a wiki link about a defcon 1 exercise..not sure if this was the last time a defcon 1 exercise was conducted tho....

and if it was..its been a while since they have done this....interesting timing to say the least...and wasnt obama awarded the nobel PEACE prize....just saying....
even tho i know people dont read links....pause for effect......here are 2
describing defcon status

and some close calls with possible nuclear war

p.s. it will be interesting reading what will be posted on sept 28...if we are all still here

I found this on another part of the Navy site for this satellite

“TacSat-4 fills a Navy and Marine Corps capability gap by enabling ‘comms on the move,’” said Bob McCoy, an ONR senior scientist. “That is a unique feature of this system—no other Department of Defense [DoD] satellite system can relay information from the satellite all the way down to warfighters’ portable communications packs and handheld radios.”

It enables warfighters to use a regular handheld radio for mobile communications without having to stop and set up an antenna in the field. This eliminates downtime and maintains connectivity to the base of operations at all times, so one is never out of touch, said John Moniz, ONR’s program officer for Expeditionary Warfare Command, Control, Computers and Communication, whose work could potentially benefit from TacSat-4.

This sounds like a revolutionary new level of communication for troops in the field if the system all works as advertised. I'm thinking the timing may very well be to throw in a live test of launching micro satellites in a simulated crisis? Perhaps a fast warm up and test to minimum time this takes to start functioning is an important part of what is being done. We'd never hear about that for obvious reasons and it would make some sense.

Originally posted by Cinaed

*****he September launch calls for using a Minotaur IV rocket, used by the Air Force to deliver nuclear weapons. It is set to take place between 7:49 a.m. and 8:56 a.m.*****

I don't know what it all means but I find it pretty interesting....

*Bangs head on desk*
I love it when journalists do research. Five minutes with Google (bear in mind that I'm still on my first cup of coffee, and therefore, not fully functional), and I can tell that somebody at this newspaper couldn't be bothered. The Minotaur IV rocket has never been used to deliver nuclear weapons. It's a joint military/private sector developed launch vehicle that uses the engines from decommissioned LGM-118A ballistic missiles (better known as "MX" or "Peacekeeper" missiles...which, I should note, also didn't deliver a single nuclear warhead while in service with the USAF, thank goodness) combined with upper stages and guidance packages from Orbital Sciences Corporation.

Supporting information here:
Minotaur IV and V Fact Sheet
Obligitory Wikipedia Link

reply to post by Brother Stormhammer


That is interesting because another article I was reading said the motor on this thing is from a peace keeping missile....

I know this is part of the problem of disinformation, and also the reason I am ASKING people that understand this gobblety gook of bs...the average person is clueless what it all means....part of the plan methinks to keep everyone chasing their tails

Originally posted by BadNinja68

Originally posted by RelentlessLurker
what the OP is trying to say,

is that IF the exercise is REALLY supposed to be simulating a DEFCON 1 status. then its doubtful they would be deploying any scheduled unrelated satellites launches until we are no longer at the level of "maximum readiness for imminent nuclear war" . unless of course its offensive/defensive move related to the situation.

a DEFCON status is not relegated to one region, its the state of the entire nation's military.

you dont just casually go to a defcon 1 in Colorado, and have everything be peachy in alaska. specially if its the navy launching it as they too would be at the same readiness level.

there is no level higher than defcon 1. i would think if we were in a situation like that, and we launched a satellite, it would probably be perceived by our enemy as an attack on them (icbm or something).

great post.

Now IF we ASSUME ( I know I hate that word) that the above post is accurate, what other reason would recommend a launch.. that could upset the enemy.. unless the "enemy" isnt a country, but an event.
Asteroid, ET, earthquake,CME, smurf inavsion, etc....


I would venture a guess that the two are indeed coinnected, possibly to prepare for any number of disasters.

hey this guy brings up an interesting point.

could something other than a military threat take us to defcon 1? im not sure what the criteria is measured/based on.

Originally posted by this_is_who_we_are

Originally posted by TheLieWeLive
Ya'll wanna really fear monger?

No, we do not. We want to ask questions and find answers.

Who is we? How many of you am I talking to Mr. this_is_who_we_are?

If anyone read the link in the OP...they've been trying to launch this thing since 2009.

I don't see anything nefarious. But this is ATS, if there's no conspiracy then by gosh we'll creat one!

As for Exercise DEFCON ONE...it's just that, an exercise, a simulation. Has nothing to do with real world DEFCON ONE.

Exercise:
6. (Military) (sometimes plural) Military a maneuver or simulated combat operation carried out for training and evaluation.

I do find this quite odd.

If the purpose of the launch was sneak spy stuff or really advanced technology, it would be being done by the NRO using the Air Force as the launch authority and the entire mission (except for the launch vehicle) would be classified.

Does seem that this is just a launch of a new type of MILCOM satellite, one that could be launched by ship or submarine in the future to provide on demand coverage.

But a DEFCON1 simulation involves all Strategic assets including SLBM's (Navy) and ICBMs and Bombers (Air Force). And going on at the same time as multiple DHS/FEMA/National Guard drills (with presumably Army Support)???

And then a satellite launch??? Can anything get more complicated and prone to failure (Murphy's Law)???

Launching an 'experimental' satellite from Alaska with its proximity to Russia during a DEFCON1 Cocked Pistol drill AND multiple DHS drills does seem very irresponsible to me.

Would not take much to go wrong, and then we don't have just an exercise, but the real thing!

Actually, a DEFCON 1 exercise should include defense forces too (Air Defenses/TACOM) as well as DHS/FEMA/National Guard/Army type stuff.

Maybe we (ATS) should be looking at organizations that will NOT be on Alert over the next two weeks and find out why!

Originally posted by MountainEnigma
reply to post by Cinaed

 

I agree that the timing is REALLY bad!! The Russians were informed of the event, but supposedly NOT the reason why. So, will they automatically assume that our government is going to bomb them and start WWIII???

Unless you work for the government you have no idea what was said between the two. Everything else is pure idle conspiracy led speculation.

Prediction : one month from now everything that happens this weekend will be seen to be perfectly ordinary. oh and no Elenin, Obama will have stayed on the surface with an ordinary trip etc etc etc.

Why oh why are people so keen to see WWIII. Just a reminder to all, wherever economies have become reliant on one another for trade there i no war. So no war between any of: china, india, us, europe, russia etc.

reply to post by fah0436

Funny you should say that. Operation Frontier Sentinel covers the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard and Atlantic Fleet Command at the same time Mountain Guardian is going on. The Marine Corps will be in full exercises on Okinawa with counterparts from the Indian Army/Navy from now on into Oct...and well, it goes on. Sept/Oct is apparently the month for every major country to train because they are all doing it at or around this same time, world wide.

It's probably nothing, as several have told me but there is something odd my Wife and I had talked about with the activity. Given the various exercises running this week and within a week either side, if something bad were to happen, there isn't a place on Earth where military forces won't already be in the field, with live ordinance and all geared up for whatever might be ordered. Quite literally, with the exception of Antarctica, every continent has major multi-national exercises running around this same short period of time..

Oh Well.... Wednesday isn't far away and one way or the other...there won't be questions on these immediate issues by then.

reply to post by malcr

Personally I feel that anyone asking questions is doing far better than the people that BELIEVE their opinions are automatically factual, and then will strive to debunk anything proving their opinion is wrong. In my humble opinion that is the true ignorance.

I don't like the fear mongers either...an extreme is an extreme.

I don't think people WANT WWIII to happen, lots of peeps just feel it coming. Sometimes this causes people to question things they never did before. Sometimes it's all for nothing, but certainly NOT always.

I am wondering what all the naysayers will be saying if something nefarious DOES happen over the coming weeks. THAT if you ask me, will be the genuine amusement. Folks asking questions aren't making predictions...a question is a QUESTION. Stating nothing will happen is a PREDICTION

My father spent much time explaining this difference to me.

Here is an example I will use to show one of my points. I have asked questions that some have rushed right up to debunk (whatever they ASSUMED I was implying) I wasn't implying anything at all...I was asking what I believe is a reasonable question. Each time things were added or implied to my simple question. Each naysayer ASSUMED I know nothing about how the military operates or functions. BAD assumption.

None of them have any idea, other than what I have posted on this site, what I know or don't know about the military. None have any idea why I spoke to Naval Officers in their dress whites, in my log cabin living room, in the middle of NOWHERE Alaska...W"A"Y back in the 70's, when I was only 13. They not only have no idea about that, they have NO IDEA why the Navy is still doing things in that area.

I do. Both my father and my Uncle were in WWII, my father was part of D-Day and my Uncle was in the South Pacific. Believe me I heard PLENTY of things the military did and did not do, contrary to what history books say.

They have no idea what I do for a living or that one of my jobs gave me the opportunity to take care of a Vet from Seal Team 1. They have NO idea what he said to me, or where he was injured or WHY the military screwed him with Plausible Deniability.

They have no idea how many military vehicles I have ridden in, driven or even WHY such a young girl would be around anything of the sort.

They also have NO idea about the military movement and activity that goes on around here or how most of the locals have more common knowledge of what is REALLY going on than the average bear. Or how many retired military guys live here.

They have ZERO CLUE what such people instructed me to look for or question when I find it.

I just think such people are the ignorant ones, not the people questioning things that don't seem to pass a smell test.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


The more I thought about your comment about Antarctica the more I wondered...so I went looking.

churchofthecosmos.wordpress.com...

This site has lots of info, how true it is I would not speculate, but if you do a word find of Antarctica you will see Neumayer Station in Antarctic *supposedly* was built to track the Elenin thing. Further searching and I found info about this station

www.antarcticconnection.com...

as well as quite a few sites stating strange things are being observed there....who knows? Not me

thetruthbehindthescenes.wordpress.com...

Time will tell I suppose

Perhaps Antarctica is more involved than a first glance reveals????? I think it's going to be very interesting no matter how things turn out

reply to post by Cinaed

Thanks for the reply. I'd mentioned Antarctica as a side thing as the only place drills and full scale, multinational training wasn't happening..but now that you mention it. It does have some interesting things all it's own. Someone asked about a polar orbit and why a Naval satellite..which are known for magnetic detection equipment as a near requirement for that service's equipment would want such an orbital path. Aside from the obvious reasons...there may be others.

Lake Vostok and it's Mysteries
(please ignore the real wild stuff further down that site...I don't agree with everything there)

I'd just note there IS something to be seen along that orbit at the moment. Talk about excitement as science is supposed to be. The more I've read about what they DO know about the lake, which makes the U.S. Great Lakes look equal or smaller by comparison, the more exciting it becomes. The possibility of a true 'lost world'...at least evidence of the past like no one on Earth has ever seen it before. At least there is something left for imagination.

We'll see when they finally break through and peek down there.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000

I know some people that totally buy into the whole hollow earth theory, pretty interesting as far as theories go.

Personally I tend to not have set ideas about what is going on, I prefer to ask questions that will hopefully lead me to at least somewhat of an *informed* opinion, but of course, this is not always possible.

I just keep my mind open to the probability I can be totally and utterly wrong.............or right

The more open my mind is to the possibility things I don't believe in can be absolutely true...I figure I give myself more of a real chance to figure out whats what, or at least be open to the ideas of other people.

This launch went off without a hitch. This article gave more info than any of the others I found pre launch.

Just a follow up to the thread:

hosted2.ap.org...


Some articles referred to the satellite as high frequency. But, apparently the high frequency end of UHF. LOL whatever THAT means


Anyway I still think it's interesting and I wonder what else it is capable of? Maybe some of the frequency geeks will know?