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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!houxm!ihnp4!stolaf!mmm!mrgofor
From: mrgofor@mmm.UUCP (MKR)
Newsgroups: net.columbia
Subject: Re: Vandenburg
Message-ID: <506@mmm.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 14-Feb-86 12:23:00 EST
Article-I.D.: mmm.506
Posted: Fri Feb 14 12:23:00 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 16-Feb-86 05:29:50 EST
References: <678@ihwpt.UUCP> <493@cisden.UUCP> <754@tpvax.fluke.UUCP>
Reply-To: mrgofor@mmm.UUCP (MKR)
Distribution: net
Organization: none
Lines: 26
Summary: 

In article <754@tpvax.fluke.UUCP> inc@fluke.UUCP (Gary Benson) writes:
>
>However, now that the question has been raised, I wonder if other
>net-columbians can think of any uses for retrograde orbit? I imagined these:
>
>a) Say you wanted to view a lot of different locations frequently but
>couldn't afford to view them all continuously. A retrograde orbit would put
>you over the locations more frequently than any other kind. (Cheap spy
>or SDI system.)
>
>b) Say you wanted to measure the speed of rotation of the earth in a new way
>(like to verify the number predicted or calculated by other methods). Two
>satellites going in precisely opposite orbits could do some pretty fancy
>timing things...

	Correct me if I'm wrong (did I really need to say that? :-)), but
isn't a retrograde orbit a little like driving down the freeway the wrong 
way? And isn't the "freeway" getting to look like rush hour?

	I would think a fragmentation grenade in retrograde orbit would be
a interesting concept in anti-sattelite warfare. But then, I suppose you
would want more accuracy than the random chance that would provide, besides,
you'd have to teach all the little frags how to distinguish between good
satellites and bad ones. Ahhh.. but maybe a terrorist government...

--MKR