MrV
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beachbumbabs
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RogerKint
January 13th, 2018 at 8:17:39 PM permalink
A hoot?

My ATC friends there got to feel the totality of helpless despair, knowing they could do nothing in the 10 minutes of life that remained, that their families would likely be incinerated without even a goodbye, while they were trapped at their posts with panicked pilots on all frequencies.

A hoot?

It was confirmed to them that the signal was legitimately sent, and they got to tell everyone airborne there was no place for them to go that would protect them from a nuclear death. It was about half an hour before they were told it was a false alarm.

If your life passes before your eyes in a matter of seconds when you're about to be killed/maimed, imagine what all those minutes were like, ticking into eternity, waiting for oblivion.

Not a hoot.

Not really looking to dump on you, Mr.V. But, damn.
If the House lost every hand, they wouldn't deal the game.
gamerfreak
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RogerKintMaxPenSOOPOORomes
January 13th, 2018 at 8:57:08 PM permalink
What gets me about this whole thing....

They said it happened because an employee accidentally hit the wrong button. Why is it so easy to activate to activate an official alert so serious? They basically said “You’re about to die. No seriously this isn’t a joke, you are about to die.” I feel like something that serious should be a 2 keys on opposite sides of a room type situation. Or at least some level of verification beyond a single button that an employee can accidentally hit.

Second, why did it take them 36 minutes to retract the alert?!
HornHighYo11
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January 13th, 2018 at 9:03:45 PM permalink
BBB, You are correct. There is nothing funny about this screw up. We should talk to our "elders", like my parents who grew up during WWII and the Nuclear Age afterwards. The "duck and dive" drills in schools and bomb shelters in the backyards and basements. The Cuban Missile Crisis... Nobody was laughing then. It is a major f***up of a system that depends on average citizens to heed some kind of advanced warning. Somebody is going to get a serious reprimand, if not an out right firing. As for posting on a gambling orientated forum, it's not always necessary rush out to to make some tone-less remark, laughing at someone else's genuine fear of death, or more correctly, the fear of having no control of your own fate. Lack of empathy is not a character trait anyone should inspire to. Even on DT it should be seen as crass.
Wizard
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January 13th, 2018 at 9:16:29 PM permalink
I hate to think about what children were thinking about during the 38 minutes between the warning and it being reversed. They could have nightmares about it for years.

I was a kid during the latter part of the cold war and had to do drills in case of nuclear attack. I grew up in Seal Beach, home to the Naval Weapons Station and in the greater Los Angeles area. In other words, a prime target for a Soviet weapon. The city would test the air raid siren once a month but at low volume. Still, I heard it and could never sleep those nights. I always wondered if maybe it was for real this time and the siren just didn't sound any louder. This incident in Hawaii in no laughing matter and not a "hoot." Of course, the next tweet from the president after the incident was about fake news.
"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow." -- Ecclesiastes 1:18 (NIV)
FleaStiff
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January 13th, 2018 at 9:24:00 PM permalink
There have been several such alerts wherein 'test tapes' were supposed to go thru but someone sent the real message or where real messages were triggered by technical glitches.

A simple red hooded switch should suffice or the old two switches physically separated from each other.

BBB has an aviation background and knows that certain first time flights get a ceremonial greeting or send off. Well one airport firedepartment was supposed to throw an arc of water over the plane but it threw an arc of foam instead. Two thousand dollars worth of foam wasted and fifty thousand dollars to clean the plane's engines since someone hit the wrong switch.

Once the DEW line detected the moon and indicated more and more missiles being launched but it seemed strange for an attack to be launched when Krushchev was in NYC.

One Russian officer received a signal of seven incoming missils but felt if the USA had 2000 of them, why would they launch seven?

One government surplus company opened up their shipment and found a fully functional 35 megaton misile inside it.

One crew parked a nuclear weapon bearing plane outside a hangar unattended overnight.

Laughter? Well, people deal with stressful situation indifferent ways.
bobbartop
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RS
January 14th, 2018 at 12:50:35 AM permalink
Quote: gamerfreak

What gets me about this whole thing....

They said it happened because an employee accidentally hit the wrong button.




Yeah, right, sure. Go ahead and believe that.
'Emergencies' have always been the pretext on which the safeguards of individual liberty have been eroded.
EvenBob
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January 14th, 2018 at 2:27:02 AM permalink
Trouble in paradise, those were my first thoughts.
Not a sh**hole, those were my second thoughts.

That's all I got on this.. Shrug.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
djatc
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RS
January 14th, 2018 at 3:49:33 AM permalink
I won't feel safe until MaxPen explains wtf happened

I don't trust most of you and your fake news

Also, MOPP 4 sucks big time so let's avoid nuclear and biological war
"Man Babes" #AxelFabulous
Face
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Face
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January 14th, 2018 at 4:59:23 AM permalink
While the trauma to the public is worth mention... Jesus, we're in a MAD situation. Flea mentioned that Russian sub commander, and it's a story worth reading. That man saved a nuclear holocaust by waiting when he shouldn't have, and it all turned out to be a mistake. Had he, or had our guys yesterday, followed orders to the letter...

Hopefully this at least dispels fears about DJT "having the button". When it comes to this, there are real adults in charge.

The opinions of this moderator are for entertainment purposes only.
FleaStiff
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January 14th, 2018 at 5:42:32 AM permalink
Quite frankly, the wrong button during a shift change...yeah, I do believe that.

Even those radar operators who kept seeing more and more incoming missiles kept their cool and soon noticed that while more missiles kept being launched there were no points of impact being determined. The system was working properly. More and more echoes from the moon were being received but the moon was not going to impact the planet.

The problem is technology creep, weapons get cheaper, more range, more precision.
bobbartop
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HugoSlaviaJohnzimbo
January 14th, 2018 at 7:31:42 AM permalink
Quote: FleaStiff



The problem is technology creep,




Ok, but you don't have to be rude about it.
'Emergencies' have always been the pretext on which the safeguards of individual liberty have been eroded.
boymimbo
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January 14th, 2018 at 10:26:04 AM permalink
Though the notice of safety went out 38 minutes later, the official Hawaiian Emergency Twitter (@HawaiiEMA) account said it was a false alarm 12 minutes after the alert. I found the tweet about a minute after it was published and Facebooked it to my friends in Hawaii.

If anything, this is a notice to everyone with social media to follow their VALID local emergency services accounts and keep methods to keep yourselves informed in case of an emergency. In this case, Alex Jones, Fox News and most mainstream media did not help.

As well, a reminder to all to keep a supply of emergency supplies to suit any sudden impending disasters. In the case of where I live, that would be earthquakes, flooding, and now, because of something I directly attribute to the current administration, a rogue nuclear missile from North Korea or any other nation with nuclear capabilities that Trump wants to pi** off (Pakistan).

As for the availability of the "button" that triggered the warning, at least take comfort that President Trump's "button" is much harder to accidentally press. Keep in mind that in the Cold War, many nuclear tragedies were barely avoided due to errors. Certainly, this button that triggers the emergency will likely come with a backup button now that must be pressed and will be more than a hand-length apart.
----- You want the truth! You can't handle the truth!
darkoz
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January 14th, 2018 at 10:36:35 AM permalink
"Pushing the wrong button" was probably an oversimplification or misuse of the term im just guessing.

Most people seem to be imagining a couple of big red buttons and someone pushed the yes button instead of the no button

I suspect it was probably more what would be termed a "keystroke error" some day to day code requirement that involved multiple keystrokes for redundancy and safety measures and one wrong keystroke led to a series of unforeseen dominoe effects

Having worked in digital film manipulation i can attest how one seemingly innocuous keystroke error can lead to dozens if not hundreds of incorrect data that triggers a disaster. By the time the domino effect is traced back and the problem solved mayhem has ensued
For Whom the bus tolls; The bus tolls for thee
bobbartop
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January 14th, 2018 at 10:47:13 AM permalink
Quote: djatc

I won't feel safe until MaxPen explains wtf happened




Several have offered their 2-cents already. You could almost buy a newspaper with this thread.
'Emergencies' have always been the pretext on which the safeguards of individual liberty have been eroded.
AxelWolf
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January 14th, 2018 at 11:27:54 AM permalink
Quote: bobbartop

Several have offered their 2-cents already. You could almost buy a newspaper with this thread.

Apparently you haven't bought the Sunday paper for many moons.

We would get a subscription, but once you are in, its harder to get out of than the Mob.
♪♪Now you swear and kick and beg us That you're not a gamblin' man Then you find you're back in Vegas With a handle in your hand♪♪ Your black cards can make you money So you hide them when you're able In the land of casinos and money You must put them on the table♪♪ You go back Jack do it again roulette wheels turinin' 'round and 'round♪♪ You go back Jack do it again♪♪
bobbartop
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January 14th, 2018 at 11:44:55 AM permalink
Quote: AxelWolf

Apparently you haven't bought the Sunday paper for many moons.

We would get a subscription, but once you are in, its harder to get out of than the Mob.




It's been ages since I drank coffee. I recently read on the internet that caffeine could help with breathing problems and I'm having a heck of a time getting over a cold. I went down to the gas station mini mart this morning, grabbed a cup of coffee and walked up to the counter and put 50-cents on the counter. Nothing fancy, just a plain small cup of coffee. No cream, no sugar, no cake, it's just a paper cup, water, and brown. The girl just stared at me like I was from another planet.
'Emergencies' have always been the pretext on which the safeguards of individual liberty have been eroded.
rxwine
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January 14th, 2018 at 11:47:39 AM permalink
Potentially, people could have gotten hurt over a mistake. Start driving too fast to pick up your kid. Fall down the stairs running to somewhere. Who knows.

Don't they make pulling false alarms of any kind a crime. Fire alarms, etc., Not saying this wasn't an accident, just saying false alarms have likely caused injuries. That's why it is taken seriously.
There's no secret. Just know what you're talking about before you open your mouth.
rxwine
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January 14th, 2018 at 11:53:17 AM permalink
Quote: darkoz

"Pushing the wrong button" was probably an oversimplification or misuse of the term im just guessing.



You would think if it was a button it would at least have a cover. So someone couldn't just sit their ass on it. I'm just trying to imagine.

There's no secret. Just know what you're talking about before you open your mouth.
billryan
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January 14th, 2018 at 12:44:47 PM permalink
The big beautiful red button on trumps desk actually summons a White House steward with a Diet Coke. Ordering a nuke strike is a binary process.

Once the Prez decides to order a strike, he is given a series of photographs, and he chooses which results he is going for.
Something that is not be reported much is the Pentagon is seeking to bring back smaller tactical nukes, and is proposing their use in a number of situations.
The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction is supposed to make sense.
bobbartop
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January 14th, 2018 at 1:35:20 PM permalink
Quote: rxwine

Potentially, people could have gotten hurt over a mistake. Start driving too fast to pick up your kid. Fall down the stairs running to somewhere. Who knows.

Don't they make pulling false alarms of any kind a crime. Fire alarms, etc., Not saying this wasn't an accident, just saying false alarms have likely caused injuries. That's why it is taken seriously.




Seriously, how can you believe anything "they" say? Nothing ever happens the way they "said" it did. Do you still believe Saddam had weapons of mass destruction? A lot of good that did for him. If he did, he should have blown up that gallows pole they used on him. (if it's even true they really hung him)

Do you still believe the Las Vegas/mass shooting story? Gee, nothing's changed there. And that was only a few months ago.

DON'T BELIEVE NUTHIN! Unless they say something didn't happen, THEN you can believe it.
'Emergencies' have always been the pretext on which the safeguards of individual liberty have been eroded.
GWAE
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January 14th, 2018 at 3:26:43 PM permalink
Say notth Korea fires a nuke at the us. The military will know right away that it is on its way. What do they do? Can you shoot down a nuke? Scorpion would figure out how to direct it into the sea and let it go there. What else could they do?
Expect the worst and you will never be disappointed. I AM NOT PART OF GWAE RADIO SHOW
darkoz
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January 14th, 2018 at 3:58:28 PM permalink
Quote: bobbartop

Seriously, how can you believe anything "they" say? Nothing ever happens the way they "said" it did. Do you still believe Saddam had weapons of mass destruction? A lot of good that did for him. If he did, he should have blown up that gallows pole they used on him. (if it's even true they really hung him)

Do you still believe the Las Vegas/mass shooting story? Gee, nothing's changed there. And that was only a few months ago.

DON'T BELIEVE NUTHIN! Unless they say something didn't happen, THEN you can believe it.



So trump isnt president?
For Whom the bus tolls; The bus tolls for thee
RS
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January 14th, 2018 at 7:53:36 PM permalink
Quote: darkoz

So trump isnt president?


4head
MrV
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ncfatcat
January 14th, 2018 at 7:56:40 PM permalink
Shithole president.

Oh, I never said that, believe me.
"What, me worry?"
billryan
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January 14th, 2018 at 8:32:52 PM permalink
Quote: MrV

Shithole president.

Oh, I never said that, believe me.



I have no recollection of him saying it and even if he did, most people agree with him. If he said it, which I don't recall.
The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction is supposed to make sense.
beachbumbabs
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January 14th, 2018 at 9:03:02 PM permalink
Quote: GWAE

Say notth Korea fires a nuke at the us. The military will know right away that it is on its way. What do they do? Can you shoot down a nuke? Scorpion would figure out how to direct it into the sea and let it go there. What else could they do?



They have an anti-missile system deployed. But they also say it's like trying to hit a bullet with another bullet. Not a very good rate of success, but I don't think figures and specifics are available.
If the House lost every hand, they wouldn't deal the game.
boymimbo
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January 14th, 2018 at 9:14:13 PM permalink
Quote: beachbumbabs

They have an anti-missile system deployed. But they also say it's like trying to hit a bullet with another bullet. Not a very good rate of success, but I don't think figures and specifics are available.



I think those numbers would be definitely classified, but that with a single missile heading over thousands of miles, the US military would take a few shots at it.
----- You want the truth! You can't handle the truth!
beachbumbabs
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January 14th, 2018 at 9:17:24 PM permalink
Quote: boymimbo

I think those numbers would be definitely classified, but that with a single missile heading over thousands of miles, the US military would take a few shots at it.



I was surprised they even admitted they have one. If I were still working in Hawaii or on the West Coast I would probably be briefed in on it to a small extent, but I'm not, and I'm not asking anyone who might know. Ya know?
If the House lost every hand, they wouldn't deal the game.
rxwine
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January 14th, 2018 at 9:50:51 PM permalink
Quote: boymimbo

I think those numbers would be definitely classified, but that with a single missile heading over thousands of miles, the US military would take a few shots at it.



Although probably won't happen with N. Korea with their ICBMs, a nuclear war will likely have so many decoys deployed, we're all goners on every side.
There's no secret. Just know what you're talking about before you open your mouth.
FleaStiff
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January 15th, 2018 at 2:03:53 AM permalink
The detection of decoys and the creation of debris is a problem with this bullet to hit a bullet thing.

Oh, and remember this button stuff is often hogwash since there are so many Presidential Launch Authority ByPass situations wherein the President has authorized launch without his authority based on Use 'em or Lose 'em situations.

Getting info thru to the onscene personnel can be hard. One shipment of Navy torpedoes closed miles of roads because the locals thought any impact with the front of a torpedo would cause an explosion. Finally a naval officer showed up and kicked a torpedo to emphasize the no danger statements they had been sending for hours,

Chewing dynamite shavings is safer than chewing tobacco but few will believe that.
1MatterToMotion
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January 15th, 2018 at 7:19:37 AM permalink
If the other side launched an all out nuclear strike, and human annihilation surely would result through retaliation by a similar strike, then should they retaliate?
Never make a bet that you wouldn't take, yourself.
Doc
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January 15th, 2018 at 7:54:45 AM permalink
Quote: GWAE

Say notth Korea fires a nuke at the us. ... What do they do? Can you shoot down a nuke?

Quote: beachbumbabs

They have an anti-missile system deployed. But they also say it's like trying to hit a bullet with another bullet.

Quote: boymimbo

... with a single missile heading over thousands of miles, the US military would take a few shots at it.

Quote: rxwine

Although probably won't happen with N. Korea with their ICBMs, a nuclear war will likely have so many decoys deployed....

Quoted all of that to show the line of discussion I'm trying to respond to.

First, it has been a lot of years since I had any connection to this subject matter. I worked very briefly at a facility servicing sub-launched nuclear missiles, and my father spent the last 11 years of his career at the same place. I also worked on a project at a contractor facility where we were developing a component of an anti-missile missile and before that at a government facility where we were doing early tests on that same missile system. I left all that behind in 1973. I never had the details that would make this post really interesting, and what I did know is now 45 years out of date.

Yes, ICBM launches typically involve decoys. Not missile decoys, I don't think -- if you're serious about an attack and are going to launch an ICBM, it might as well have a warhead on it. The decoy aspect is that the final stage of the missile separates into (likely) multiple true warheads and scads of fake warheads. The defensive challenge is to try to figure out which ones are real and intercept all of those. The alternate strategy is to intercept the missile(s) before warhead deployment, which requires a much earlier launch, with less time to make the decision.

At the time that I worked in this field, there was a two-tier defense system being developed. The longer-range system was known as the Spartan (I think), and I never had any involvement with that. The shorter range system (to pick up whatever Spartan missed) was known as Sprint. Neither of those systems is currently deployed. After I left this field, there were US-USSR treaties that limited development and deployment of such systems, in conjunction with treaties to limit the offensive nuclear weapons. I know nothing of the current systems.

From what I pick up on the news, North Korea is still struggling to get their missile systems working properly, so it seems unlikely that there will be a flurry of incoming missiles from there. Perhaps one, not a flurry. As they also seem to be struggling with the warhead issue and how they could get it delivered, it seems unlikely that they would have that missile armed with multiple warheads and scads of decoys. While a single (successful) warhead can do plenty of destruction, these limitations make the anti-missile defense much less complicated than an assault by Russia or another fully-nuclear attacker.

As for the chances of success in intercepting an incoming missile, I interacted with engineers (who were in different offices at the same facility) who were working on defense systems to protect against aircraft-launched missiles. In a few cases, they were proud to report genuine metal-to-metal intercepts, where the "bullet" really hit the incoming "bullet", but that was not a requirement. As for success at intercepting an ICBM, they were just getting ready to start such testing of Sprint when I got out of that field, so I have no info at all on that. Part of the issue is what kind of defensive warhead are you using to try to stop the incoming missile. Yes, I believe that defensive nuclear weapons are part of the plan for stopping incoming nuclear weapons. That was waaay outside of the area in which I was working. Only once was I even in the same building with a nuclear warhead, and I didn't go anywhere near it. After a 45-year absence, I have no idea how the systems are now configured and armed.
Romes
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RS
January 15th, 2018 at 7:58:15 AM permalink
I have a friend I just talked to the night before this happen send me a screenshot of the text they got. Apparently all the radio stations also played a message saying something similar. It must have been pure chaos. In situations like these, ESPECIALLY with the hind sight of knowing it was a false alarm, I always have two responses:

1) Put yourself in the situation and think about what that would have been like. That would have been pretty crazy and I can't fully imagine it, but in the light after knowing it was a false alarm, I hope some good still came out of it. I hope it forced people to look at their lives and reflect upon them if they're the type of lives they wanted to lead... if they were happy with their life where it was at. I think something like this, while I'd never advocate for it, can be pretty beneficial to helping people realize things about themselves. Perhaps some regretted not doing this or that, perhaps others realizes how important it is to tell their family they love them each and every single day, or perhaps it will literally change the course of some peoples lives to push towards their passions regardless of economic situation because they now realize that extra dollar or two don't matter as much as their happiness. We can't changed what happened, so in the wake of it I hope everyone that experienced it in any form (directly or by having friends/family/etc there) learned something about themselves/life.

2) Comedy. In any situation you must be able to look at it and laugh, and if I offend someone then I'm sorry but that's how I choose to look at life. You know there were people who told their bosses off and left work. You know there were people who started boning their neighbor or someone they've always thought was cute but never worked up the nerve to talk to. In situations like these hero's show their true colors, but really crappy idiot people always also do ridiculously stupid things, which in the aftermath of knowing it was a false alarm, probably looks pretty damn hilarious.

Employee: "Since we're all gonna die, I just wanna say I hate all of you and you're all going to die and f*#& this place!!!!!!!!!!"
(40 minutes later false alarm)
Employee: "Yeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaah, I was just kidding?"

...next job interview
Potential Employer: "So, why did you leave your last job?"
Employee: "... I'll see myself out."
Playing it correctly means you've already won.
Ibeatyouraces
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January 15th, 2018 at 7:59:24 AM permalink
This is all that's ok going on between NK and USA. Lisa, Maggie and Homer represent NK and Bart represents USA.

https://youtu.be/Ovo6uB0wNdo
DUHHIIIIIIIII HEARD THAT!
Wizard
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January 15th, 2018 at 8:09:49 AM permalink
On the CBS this Morning show they showed the actual computer and screen that sent out the false alarm. There was a scroll bar that had a few cryptic choices, but one was for a test and the other the real thing. No sure about the others. Anyway, the worker pulled it down to the real thing option and clicked "enter" or whatever.

So, no, there wasn't a big red button that got pressed, like in the Men at Work video for "It's a Mistake."


Direct link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0AxrOUJ62E
"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow." -- Ecclesiastes 1:18 (NIV)
odiousgambit
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January 15th, 2018 at 9:16:15 AM permalink
one thing for sure:

the next time Dame Fortune toys with your heart, your soul and your wallet, raise your glass and praise her thus: “Thanks for nothing, you cold-hearted, evil, damnable, nefarious, low-life, malicious monster from Hell!”   She is, after all, stone deaf. ... Arnold Snyder
GWAE
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January 15th, 2018 at 10:52:11 AM permalink
When I asked could they shoot it down, I didn't realize it was am issue of could they actuslly shoot it down. I though that was actually pretty easy for them. I meant can you actually blow it up? Wouldn't it be basically the same thing as it just exploding on land? Wouldn't thr jet stream just pull all of the radiation to California anyways?
Expect the worst and you will never be disappointed. I AM NOT PART OF GWAE RADIO SHOW
beachbumbabs
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January 15th, 2018 at 11:05:00 AM permalink
Depends on where they intercept it. ICBMs typically go into outer space, then reenter. If they intercept above the atmosphere, the radiation wouldn't come back in, and no cloud would form.

If they intercept while it's in atmosphere, yeah, I would expect a radioactive cloud. Unsure of duration, would depend on a lot of things.

ICBM we developed goes up about 750 miles before coming down. In contrast, the Space Station circles at only about 250 miles, in low earth orbit (LEO)
Good info on wiki.

We don't know about many things up there, either. Classified launches by the dozens the last 40 years. SDI was space-based defense system under Reagan. Nobody is saying just what is currently circling to protect us.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercontinental_ballistic_missile
If the House lost every hand, they wouldn't deal the game.
GWAE
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January 15th, 2018 at 11:08:01 AM permalink
Quote: beachbumbabs

Depends on where they intercept it. ICBMs typically go into outer space, then reenter. If they intercept above the atmosphere, the radiation wouldn't come back in, and no cloud would form.

If they intercept while it's in atmosphere, yeah, I would expect a radioactive cloud. Unsure of duration, would depend on a lot of things.

Good info on wiki.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercontinental_ballistic_missile



Wow that is amazing how little I know. I had no idea they went into space. I thought they just zoomed over the water a few hundred feet off the ground.
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beachbumbabs
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January 15th, 2018 at 11:12:49 AM permalink
Quote: GWAE

Wow that is amazing how little I know. I had no idea they went into space. I thought they just zoomed over the water a few hundred feet off the ground.



I edited to add a bit more above.
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gamerfreak
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January 15th, 2018 at 11:16:57 AM permalink
Quote: boymimbo

I think those numbers would be definitely classified, but that with a single missile heading over thousands of miles, the US military would take a few shots at it.


Actually, they have publicity published results of many tests. I'm sure there's quite a bit more that is very classified, but apparently our ground based missile defense systems have a success rate of around 53%

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground-Based_Midcourse_Defense#Intercept_tests
boymimbo
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January 15th, 2018 at 11:22:19 AM permalink
First, NK's nuclear capability is about 30 - 50 bombs. We have yet to see a nuclear warhead on a NK missile. But they have the bomb and they have the ICBM. The worst case scenario for the Hawaii launch was 1 - 2 missiles that may or may not miss.

From a Hawaiian standpoint, a multi kiloton blast, if properly sheltered underground and not immediately in the blast radius would not mean death. So, for example, if the target was Honolulu and it successfully hit, it would mean that the residents of all of the other Hawaiian islands would have been safe. Any plumes of radiation (fallout) would have very little consequence on a smaller detonation. The doomsday scenario of US destruction only occurs with an all out nuclear war between Russia and the United States with a thousand megaton+ warheads. A limited launch by North Korea would not have much of an impact on your daily life as an American provided that you weren't in the immediate strike zone.

NORAD would have immediately detected these launches and would have confirmed the inbounds and the US military in Japan, Guam, and the carrier groups would have been notified. It would have given the US the opportunity for a massive response which I am pretty sure it would have done with massive casualties throughout the Korean peninsula. From what I know, the US has limited defences against inbound ICBMs. Hawaii and Guam both have THAAD interceptors (the latest successful technology) to defend the island against inbound missiles. There are other systems, but the technology to intercept missiles from space does not exist.

It actually took 12 minutes for Hawaii EMS (Hawaii's official response Twitter Account) that it was a false alarm. If one was following that twitter account, you would have known it was a mistake. It took an addition 26 minutes for EMS to issue the false alarm to all phones, likely because someone had to be awakened and a message composed (red tape) and sent.
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DJTeddyBear
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January 15th, 2018 at 11:27:23 AM permalink
Quote: GWAE

Wow that is amazing how little I know. I had no idea they went into space. I thought they just zoomed over the water a few hundred feet off the ground.

You mean like the way it was depicted in the first Superman movie? Yeah, that’s what I thought too.

Now that I think about it, go straight up, get out of the atmosphere and atmospheric drag. Then turn towards the destination. Makes sense.

And missile silos tend to be vertical...
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MrV
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January 15th, 2018 at 11:29:36 AM permalink
The long range missiles go up into space.

The short range cruise missiles stay low and flat.

Either way, you're toast.
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GWAE
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January 15th, 2018 at 11:53:25 AM permalink
Quote: DJTeddyBear

You mean like the way it was depicted in the first Superman movie? Yeah, that’s what I thought too.

Now that I think about it, go straight up, get out of the atmosphere and atmospheric drag. Then turn towards the destination. Makes sense.

And missile silos tend to be vertical...



Yeah everything in movies is accurate.
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AxelWolf
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January 15th, 2018 at 2:40:15 PM permalink
I thought we had some kind of microwave technology that could interfere with missiles or whatever?

It seems like we should be spending more money on improving that kind that of technology than anything else.
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DRich
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RogerKint
January 15th, 2018 at 2:44:59 PM permalink
Quote: AxelWolf

I thought we had some kind of microwave technology that could interfere with missiles or whatever?

It seems like we should be spending more money on improving that kind that of technology than anything else.



I agree, we need better microwave technology. I want to be able to cook a turkey from frozen in the microwave in 20 minutes or less.
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MrV
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January 15th, 2018 at 4:09:27 PM permalink
I have no idea what weaponry we REALLY have in place to augment our nuclear forces.

Beam weapons, microwaves, rail guns: it's all in play.

Years ago my uncle, a defense contractor working on secret stuff, said that it might take twenty years for the truth to leak out as to what we actually had up and running at that time.

I suspect we are relatively safe from nuclear attack ala some form of star wars tech, based on land, space, sea and air.

Hell, we better be.
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RogerKint
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January 15th, 2018 at 4:28:19 PM permalink
Like the Apollo astronots didn't believe in the Van Ellen radiation belts, I don't believe in ICBMs. Apparently, when you don't believe in something, it can't harm you.
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