NOTAM for LA.However, another commenter notes that this is for tonight, not last night. FWIW.
KZLA LOS ANGELES A2832/10 - THE FOLLOWING RESTRICTIONS ARE REQUIRED DUE TO NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER WEAPONS DIVISION ACTIVATION OF W537. IN THE INTEREST OF SAFETY, ALL NON-PARTICIPATING PILOTS ARE ADVISED TO AVOID W537. IFR TRAFFIC UNDER ATC JURISDICTION SHOULD ANTICIPATE CLEARANCE AROUND W537 AND CAE 1176. CAE 1155 WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE FOR OCEANIC TRANSITION. CAE 1316 & CAE 1318 WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE FOR OCEANIC TRANSITION. CAE 1177 WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR OCEANIC TRANSITION. W537 ACTIVE, CAE 1176 CLOSED. SURFACE - FL390, 09 NOV 20:00 2010 UNTIL 10 NOV 01:00 2010. CREATED: 08 NOV 20:52 2010
Another possibility, it would be sophisticated launch just to create a spectacular site in the sky.Let me know when it reaches middle school.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
A STRANGE GAME. THE ONLY WINNING MOVE IS NOT TO PLAY. HOW ABOUT A NICE GAME OF CHESS?
Vandenberg routinely launches Minuteman IIIs at Kwajalein to test them - maybe 4-6 per year. That's most assuredly their track.posted by joshwa at 1:08 PM on November 9, 2010 [5 favorites]
Their rough guesstimate as to launch site is a little north of San Nicolas, which is, not to put too fine a point on it, a mutherfucking missile launch site.
San Nicholas is, not to put too fine a point on it, a detachment of 200 or more airmen managed by the 30th space wing.
If you read between the lines, CBS asked the Navy if they launched anything and the Navy said "no" (because San Nicholas and the 30th space wing are Air Force territory). Then they asked Vandenberg if they launched anything and Vandenberg said "we haven't launched anything from Vandenberg since Friday" (because they launched something from San Nicholas).
EXT. ZEPHYR LAUNCH SITE, DUSK We FADE IN on a cleared patch of forest in a mountainous area. In the fading light of dusk there is a hive of activity; men in camouflage uniforms exchange hand signals while trucks scatter in seemingly random directions. As we take in the scene, we suddenly see the epicenter of this commotion – a large missile perched on a makeshift launching platform. Uniformed men circle the platform making last-second adjustments. The North Korean flag is painted on the side of the missle, under the letters "DPRK." However, it's easy to see that none of the men are Korean. A voice calls out:VOICE (O.C.) All clear! Prepare to launch in T minus 1 minute! The men snap into action, fleeing the launch area as quickly as possible. However, one man stays in place, chomping on a cigar. He’s older than any of the others, but also in better shape. He stares at the missile intently, as if trying to download last- second instructions into its on-board computer with his eyes.VOICE (O.C.) 30 seconds to launch! Time to boogie, Colonel! The older man doesn’t break eye contact with the missile. He calmly removes the cigar from his mouth and taps it once so the inch-long ash falls to the ground.VOICE (O.C.) 10 seconds to launch! Colonel, you’re in the danger radius, you gotta get behind some shelter now! Finally, reluctantly, the older man turns around. He begins to walk slowly towards the camera, inserting the stogie back in his mouth. He is Colonel Max “Scorpio” Shaw of the U.S. Marine Corps special operations unit, and he is about to launch a nuclear missile that will detonate above Los Angeles.SHAW This better fuckin’ work. The instant SHAW passes the camera, the missile’s engines ignite, sending it, along with a cloud of flames and smoke, skyward. As the fire glow fades, we CUT TO:TITLE CARD: LIQUIDATE L.A. A MICHAEL BAY FILM
Is it too far fetched to conclude the Chinese are sending us a message?You think they're mad about quantitative easing or something? Why would they have any interest in doing this?
Sorry to burst all your conspiracy balloons but it was probably just a plane.Uh, that's pretty ridiculous. People saw this thing go up, and there's even some video of the thing flying. No one is denying that it was a rocket, do you actually think the U.S. military would get confused about this?
"We are aware of the unexplained contrail reported off the coast of Southern California [Monday] evening and are working to determine the exact nature of the event," said Pentagon spokesman Marine Corps Col. Dave Lapan.No one is denying that it was a rocket, do you actually think the U.S. military would get confused about this?
"Many agencies within [the Department of Defense] have been queried, and initial indications are that there was no DoD involvement, but we're still looking for information," he said.
A U.S. defense official said initial speculation among military and intelligence agencies is that the plume of smoke captured in a video was made by a jet contrail or another type of aircraft flying straight up and trailing smoke created by an onboard machine like those used by aircraft in air shows. That preliminary assessment is based on the relatively slow speed of the object and movement within the contrail path.I especially like that last sentence, coming from people presumably qualified to know how fast a missile is supposed to travel & noticing that this wasn't going that fast.
The Federal Aviation Administration did not approve any commercial space launches around the area Monday, said spokesman Ian Gregor. In addition, the agency did not receive reports of any unusual sightings from pilots who were flying in the area.posted by scalefree at 3:08 PM on November 9, 2010
After reports of the event, the agency ran radar replays of a large area west of Los Angeles and did not spot any fast-moving, unidentified targets in that area.
"Is it too far fetched to conclude the Chinese are sending us a message?You think they're mad about quantitative easing or something? Why would they have any interest in doing this? "
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posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 9:40 AM on November 9, 2010 [2 favorites]