[meteorite-list] OT: Probable launch debris recovered from SouthCarolina

From: Stuart McDaniel - Action Shooting Supply <actionshooting_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 24 May 2010 20:59:44 -0400
Message-ID: <66F4812A98A14CCEBD1AECA0AFD9A358_at_toshibauser>

OK guys I might be onto something here..............look at this picture of
the super secret X-37B that was launched at KSC in April............
http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagedisplay/img_display.php?pic=x37b-shroud-100421-02.jpg&cap=The+U.S.+Air+Force%27s+X-37B+Orbital+Test+Vehicle+is+shown+inside+its+payload+fairing+during+encapsulation+at+the+Astrotech+facility+in+Titusville%2C+Fla.%2C+ahead+of+a+planned+April+2010+launch+from+Cape+Canaveral+Air+Force+Station+in+Florida.+Credit%3A+USAF

Panels inside look JUST LIKE the debris that washed up.

http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/x-37b-space-plane-orbital-spy-100519.html

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20100524/sc_space/secretx37bspaceplanespottedbyamateurskywatchers


What do ya think???



Stuart McDaniel
Lawndale, NC
Secr., CCAS
----- Original Message -----
From: "Matson, Robert D." <ROBERT.D.MATSON at saic.com>
To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2010 8:20 PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] OT: Probable launch debris recovered from
SouthCarolina


> Darren posted:
>
>> Washed up on a South Carolina beach (I'm in SC)
>
>> http://www.wmbfnews.com/Global/story.asp?S=12534303
>
>> The next trick would have been driving around 250 miles home
>> with that strapped to the roof...
>
> Worth a pretty penny to space debris collectors, to be sure.
>
> However, the conjecture at the end of the article can be easily
> dismissed:
>
> "According to the BBC, an Ariane 5 rocket launched from French Guiana
> in northern South America just three days ago. No word yet on if the
> debris came from that rocket."
>
> It really doesn't take a rocket scientist to rule this out. Sure,
> the Ariane 5 launch was May 21 and the debris washed ashore on
> May 22. However, this was an eastern launch out of Kourou since
> they were going to geosynchronous orbit. Kind of hard to get a
> booster section from equatorial waters to the beaches of South
> Carolina in 24 hours. This had to have come from an older launch --
> *assuming* it's space launch debris.
>
> The most recent Kourou launch prior to last Friday was Helios IIB
> on an Ariane 5GS on December 18th. Unlike the May 24th launch, this
> is a possible candidate for two reasons: (1) it allows sufficient
> time for SRB debris to drift to the U.S. East Coast, and (2) the
> Helios launch went into sunsynchronous (polar) orbit, which means
> it launched north out of French Guiana. Unlike the solids on the
> U.S. Space Shuttle, the Ariane 5 SRB's are not reusable and are
> usually allowed to sink to the bottom of the ocean. Occasionally
> they will be fitted with parachutes and recovered for diagnostic
> purposes. (I don't happen to know if they attempted this on the
> Helios IIB launch or not.) --Rob
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Received on Mon 24 May 2010 08:59:44 PM PDT