U.S. launches airstrikes on Libya

[Balta1701]

I don't know the physics and I'm too lazy to learn it. There'd have to be some minimum effective charge level that comes with a minimum radius where it'd knock out equipment. You could also probably make it directional. I'm sure any critical satellites are hardened against EMP.

How on Earth do you harden a satellite (Or Hell, anything) against an EMP?

[StrangeSox]

How on Earth do you harden a satellite (Or Hell, anything) against an EMP?

 

Faraday cage.

 

http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/rp/factsheets/fa...s41elecpuls.htm

 

edit: Terminology might be confusing. "Harden" in the electronics world means "made more resistant to environmental factors," such as static discharge, temperatures, moisture or EMP.

 

 

lol google search for EMP shielding turns up mostly paranoid survivalist websites.

Edited April 19, 2011 by StrangeSox

[Balta1701]

Faraday cage.

 

http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/rp/factsheets/fa...s41elecpuls.htm

 

edit: Terminology might be confusing. "Harden" in the electronics world means "made more resistant to environmental factors," such as static discharge, temperatures, moisture or EMP.

 

 

lol google search for EMP shielding turns up mostly paranoid survivalist websites.

So you need to wrap the entire thing in a conductive layer. That's almost impossible for a full satellite, especially if it has things like solar panels or an antenna sticking out of it. Plus, there's a big weight issue.

[StrangeSox]

So you need to wrap the entire thing in a conductive layer. That's almost impossible for a full satellite, especially if it has things like solar panels or an antenna sticking out of it. Plus, there's a big weight issue.

 

No, not the entire thing, you can wrap essential components. An EMP isn't going to damage a solar panel (I think?) or an antenna.

[StrangeSox]

I would think that all satellites have at least some protection from EMI anyway, so beefing up that protection to EMP levels wouldn't necessarily be that drastic.

[Balta1701]

No, not the entire thing, you can wrap essential components. An EMP isn't going to damage a solar panel (I think?) or an antenna.

There aren't a lot of "Nonessential components" in satellites.

[BigSqwert]

There aren't a lot of "Nonessential components" in satellites.

Some of them have espresso machines built into them.

[StrangeSox]

There aren't a lot of "Nonessential components" in satellites.

 

You pick what's absolutely critical for the system to still perform at least some functions and protect those the most.

 

Anyway, like I said, any electronics put into space are going to have EMI shielding anyway. EMP shielding is just beefing up that same thing.

[Balta1701]

You pick what's absolutely critical for the system to still perform at least some functions and protect those the most.

 

Anyway, like I said, any electronics put into space are going to have EMI shielding anyway. EMP shielding is just beefing up that same thing.

Satellites don't exactly have backup systems. That's the weight problem, you can't overbuild the things. You don't put anything in there that isn't an essential system.

[StrangeSox]

Satellites don't exactly have backup systems. That's the weight problem, you can't overbuild the things. You don't put anything in there that isn't an essential system.

 

I'm sure satellites have redundant systems. What's more costly, the extra weight for a backup power supply, or losing an entire satellite because one component failed? And the satellite might be capable of performing multiple functions, but you figure out which ones are absolutely 100% critical and start with protecting those and work from there. That's the way any critical system is done--not every single piece of equipment is necessary for core functionality.

 

At least some military satellites are EMP hardened, so they've figured out a way to get it done.

 

edit:

 

this report includes vague references to redundant sub-systems in large satellites.

 

Edited April 19, 2011 by StrangeSox

[Balta1701]

In other words, if you want to down a satellite, don't waste time with the EMP and just throw rocks at it.

[Balta1701]

Anyway, back on topic, here come the "Advisors"!

Experienced British military officers are being sent to the Libyan rebel stronghold of Benghazi to help the fight against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

 

The extra personnel will add to a UK diplomatic team that is already liaising with rebel leaders in the eastern city.

 

Foreign Secretary William Hague told Sky News the military liaison team would be able to advise on how better to protect civilians.

 

"It's not boots on the ground, it's not fighting forces," he said.

 

"We operate strictly within United Nations resolutions which forbid any occupation force in any part of Libya, we will always respect that."

 

Asked if there is a chance Britain could arm the rebels in the future or fight for them, Mr Hague maintained that the UK would always operate within the confines of the UN resolutions, which means a large-scale deployment of ground forces "cannot take place".

[StrangeSox]

In other words, if you want to down a satellite, don't waste time with the EMP and just throw rocks at it.

 

lol yeah, and thus ends another derail

[mr_genius]

Yes. They armed the actual heads of some sharks.

 

about time

[kapkomet]

Satellites have to be somewhat insulated to EMP anyway because they don't have the atmosphere to protect it - i.e. aren't solar flares EMP's?

 

Second, and I do not know if it's totally true, I'm almost positive that there's technology that would fry electric grids, radio waves, and basically all forms of communication virtually dead in seconds.

 

 

[StrangeSox]

Satellites have to be somewhat insulated to EMP anyway because they don't have the atmosphere to protect it - i.e. aren't solar flares EMP's?

 

Second, and I do not know if it's totally true, I'm almost positive that there's technology that would fry electric grids, radio waves, and basically all forms of communication virtually dead in seconds.

 

Same thing, EMP. Electromagnetic Pulse. Satellites in general are shielded from background Electromagnetic Interference, same thing just less energy and not a big punch all at once.

 

The same thing, EMP, could bring just about all electronics and the electrical grid to its knees and cause trillions in damage.

[kapkomet]

I seem to remember an EMP capable bombing raid - which is the first thing you do when you go into somewhere.

 

[Balta1701]

I seem to remember an EMP capable bombing raid - which is the first thing you do when you go into somewhere.

If you detonate a nuclear weapon in the upper atmosphere you get an EMP.

 

At present however, there is no proven technique for generating one without the nuclear blast. Not to say that I have any classified info in there, there could be a technique of doing so that has been kept classified.

[Balta1701]

Link

One of the most battle-hardened commanders in the British Army, with extensive experience of combat in Afghanistan, is being sent to Libya to organise the rebels in their flagging campaign against Muammar Gaddafi's forces, The Independent has learnt.

 

The senior officer will be part of a team of 20 civil and military advisers based in the opposition capital Benghazi to try to bolster the opposition, which is beset by severe humanitarian problems and is failing to make any military headway.

 

Armed British troops are being sent to Libya for the first time to help rebels to break the increasingly bloody deadlock in the battle for control of the country. The colonel, a "high-flyer" whose identity cannot be disclosed for security reasons, has been decorated for bravery and leadership in Helmand where troops under his command took part in one of the most fierce and sustained periods of action by any UK unit in recent times. Dispatching the officer, along with a team hand-picked for their track records in their specialist fields, is seen as a sign of Britain's commitment to the provisional government. It will, however, bring accusations of "mission creep" with the possibility of ground troops being deployed in the bloody civil war.

[Balta1701]

link

Tim Hetherington, an esteemed photojournalist and an Oscar nominee for a gritty and harrowing documentary about the Afghan war, was killed in the war-torn Libyan city of Misrata, the president of the agency that represented him said Wednesday.

 

Other photographers were reportedly hurt in the incident that killed him. Panos Pictures, which employed Hetherington, confirmed that the photographer's family had been notified.

 

"We're still trying to figure out front lines or house," said CSPR agency president Cathy Saypol in reference to where he was when killed. "The only thing we know is that he was hit by an RPG with the other guys." An RPG is a rocket-propelled grenade.

 

Hetherington's last Twitter entry appears to have been made on Tuesday: "In besieged Libyan city of Misrata. indiscriminate shelling by Qaddafi forces. No sign of NATO."

 

A British native who was based in Brooklyn in New York, Hetherington received an Academy Award nomination this year for "Restrepo," a documentary film he co-directed with journalist Sebastian Junger. He also worked in Afghanistan two years ago with CNN's Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

[Jenksismyhero]

link

 

That sucks. Restrepo was a great film.

[Balta1701]

The US plans to send $25m worth of non-lethal equipment to the rebel opposition in eastern Libya, in a move likely to further entangle the west in the two-month-old civil war.

 

The proposal to send surplus Pentagon equipment, including vehicles, medical supplies, protective vests, binoculars and radios, follows Italy's decision to join Britain and France in sending military advisers to the Libyan opposition and a French pledge to intensify air strikes.

 

The Libyan government has warned that such moves will further prolong the conflict and "encourage the other side to be more defiant".

 

The US plan, which must be approved by President Barack Obama, is to send "non-lethal assistance" to the Transitional National Council in Benghazi, the de facto opposition government which has not been recognised by Washington. The dispatch of the surplus US stock does not need approval from Congress.

and on and on and on...

[Balta1701]

Polling data shows that the U.S. public has turned from mildly supporting Obama's excursion in Libya to now officially mildly opposing it. A plurality also has no idea what the goal is.

[Soxbadger]

Who cares what people think, people have been on the wrong side of many things.

 

All that matters is what YOU think.

 

If you dont think the US should try and stop Gaddafi from killing people in Libya, you wont support the US involvement. If you do think the US should try and stop Gaddafi, youll support it.

 

I dont care if Im the only American in the world who supports it, its not about what other people think.

Edited April 21, 2011 by Soxbadger

[Balta1701]

"Pres. Obama approves use of drones in Libya; missions are starting, says Defense Sec. Gates - Reuters."

Those drone attacks have sure done humanitarian wonders in AfPak.