Looks Like They Finally Found Some Rocket Scientists....

[Lord Jim]

North Korea rocket launch raises nuclear stakes

SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korea successfully launched a rocket on Wednesday, boosting the credentials of its new leader and stepping up the threat the isolated and impoverished state poses to opponents.

The rocket, which North Korea says put a weather satellite into orbit, has been labeled by the United States, South Korea and Japan as a test of technology that could one day deliver a nuclear warhead capable of hitting targets as far away as the continental United States.

"The satellite has entered the planned orbit," a North Korean television news reader clad in traditional Korean garb announced, after which the station played patriotic songs with the lyrics "Chosun (Korea) does what it says".

The rocket was launched just before 10 a.m. (0100 GMT), according to defense officials in South Korea and Japan, and was more successful than a rocket launched in April that flew for less than two minutes.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a joint U.S.-Canadian military organization, said that the missile had "deployed an object that appeared to achieve orbit".

http://news.yahoo.com/north-korea-launc ... 07236.html

[dales]

President Reagan would've used our "Star Wars" technology to blow the d@mned thing to smithereens.

[rubato]

President Reagan would've used our "Star Wars" technology to blow the d@mned thing to smithereens.

Imaginary technology which cost > $60 B, unfortunately real, dollars.

"... In 1987, the American Physical Society concluded that a global shield such as "Star Wars" was not only impossible with existing technology, but that ten more years of research was needed to learn whether it might ever be feasible.[4] ..."

The American Physical Society derided Reagan for being stupid.

yrs,
rubato

[oldr_n_wsr]

Isn't Isreals "Iron Shield" based on much of the Star wars techology?

And anyone who says "whether it might ever be feasible" is fooling themselves. Many things are feasable (and are in existence) today that were considered impossible just a few years ago.

If all you ever do is what you are doing, then that is all you will ever do.

[rubato]

The question then was; "is the state of technology such that this problem is solvable given enough effort". The real scientists said; "it will take ten years to figure that out". An intelligent person would not have wasted money until they had that answer.

"Iron Dome" which seems to have been successful is based on much more recent work and it is not for ballistic missile defense. It is also so expensive to use that the key technology was to identify which missiles were not going to hit anything valuable, and then not shoot at them. I'm still waiting to see if their success is confirmed.

Bush II threw away your tax dollars deploying a system which had failed every test except when the 'target' missile had a homing beacon on it.




yrs,
rubato

[Rick]

Evidently the Navy plans to start deploying shipboard lasers in 2 years...

[oldr_n_wsr]

The question then was; "is the state of technology such that this problem is solvable given enough effort". The real scientists said; "it will take ten years to figure that out". An intelligent person would not have wasted money until they had that answer.

"Iron Dome" which seems to have been successful is based on much more recent work and it is not for ballistic missile defense. It is also so expensive to use that the key technology was to identify which missiles were not going to hit anything valuable, and then not shoot at them. I'm still waiting to see if their success is confirmed.

Bush II threw away your tax dollars deploying a system which had failed every test except when the 'target' missile had a homing beacon on it.




yrs,
rubato

So the government shouldn't study any technology that might not pan out? How about tons of money going into AIDs and cancer research for treatments that have fallen by the wayside? Was that wasted money? Or how about money "leant" to a company that goes belly up weeks after getting that money? Or is it only the money spent by a republican that is wasted?

I'm an electrical engineer and you see the fruits of my labor every time you watch a TV channel. If you have a Motorola phone, you have also benefitted from my design input. Point being, not every idea makes it fruition. Should we not fund R&D? Of every 100 RESEARCH ideas you might get 10 that pan out and maybe one that makes to profitability. Being a chemist (research?) you should know this. R&D is a money pit, but until you investigate, how does one know? Without R&D a company (country) is standing still which equals going backwards.

Had we not funded splitting the atom, how might have WWII turned out? Or was the dem incharge given a blank check?


Mine
oldr_n_wsr

[dgs49]

Several years after Reagan left office I had a job interview in Washington for a company that was working almost exclusively on Star Wars technology. When I expressed surprise to the guy interviewing me, he pointed out that no program ever dies once the Federal Government entrenches it in Washington.

NASA will certainly be another example of this phenomenon.

[oldr_n_wsr]

NASA needs a mission statement. Get a man/woman to Mars and beyond. Stop the bullshit.