Re: Spy satellite unscheduled de-orbit


Pat wrote, and then
On Jan 27, 11:08 am, Brian Thorn <bthor...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I'm interested in the "hazardous materials" part of the report.
I assume they mean hydrazine, but replacing the solar arrays with RTGs
could make a satellite more stealthy, by decreasing its brightness in
the sky.

RTGs seem unlikely, given how there wasn't enough for New Horizons a
year earlier. I doubt the U.S. would bother with them on a modest
satellite like this.


I agree that, if there's anything to the "hazardous materials" bit,
it's likely to be hydrazine and N2O4.

A slight caveat is that back in 2002 NASA was told to transfer 7 kg of
Pu238 to an "undisclosed national security agency." (A correspondent
recalls seeing that the transfer had been canceled.)

http://www.space.com/news/nasa_plutonium_020724.html
.

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