OK. TEAM. Who fired the missile near the SoCal OpArea?

[Flash]

If this was a missile, how come no one has said they heard it?

Btw A4 I agree with what you written, that trajectory does reminds me of an SLBM or a ICBM launch.

I am not saying I think its the French, I am just using this video to illustrate that it looks liked a SLBM launch, Its probably not. It just that it looks like one.

A missile would have been moving much more rapidly and the angle is a bit 'flat' to be a space-bound rocket/ICBM/SLBM, it would be much more vertical if it was one of those. With the international notifications and NOTAMs that would have to put out about it would be pretty hard to slip a launch like that by, and if it wasn't ours a whole slew of US sensors would have lit up warning us.

Nothing to see here folks, the flash of light you saw in the sky was not a missile. Swamp gas from a weather balloon was trapped in a thermal pocket and reflected the light from Venus. Now just look into this light.......

 

[A4sForever]

It's almost certainly just an aircraft, specifically Flight AWE808 from Hawaii to Phoenix....

If so, then it should be a piece of cake to ID it from the radio, OCEANIC, LAX Center, radar tapes , ACARS, etc., etc ...

US Air Flight #808 11-08-2010

Again, I certainly don't KNOW whether this was animal, mineral, or vegetable ... I just 'know' how some of this stuff works and not too much 'makes sense' w/ everyone walking around shrugging their shoulders ... when something doesn't 'make sense', there's usually a simple explanation -- a reason 'why' ...

Image by A4sForever

 

[PhrogLoop]

It's almost certainly just an aircraft, specifically Flight AWE808 from Hawaii to Phoenix:

http://uncinus.wordpress.com/2010/11/09/4/

I'm convinced!

 

[das]

Even better, someone found a webcam from about the same angle (albeit on the ground) the next day and found what is probably the same plane:

http://blog.bahneman.com/content/it-was-us-airways-flight-808

 

[A4sForever]

Even better, someone found a webcam from about the same angle (albeit on the ground) the next day....

Right; got it. I am inclined to agree w/ you based upon 2+ days accumulation of 'more information' ... what was available on day one 'looked' like a missile shot.

Again .... it should be a piece of cake to ID the flight from the radio, OCEANIC, LAX Center, radar tapes , ACARS, etc., etc ... as 35 NM (the 'launch area' in original reporting) is wa-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-y inside the 'contact' area for inbound/outbound Trans-PAC flights off SoCAL. So why all the 'confusion' ??? THAT's what is 'confusing' and questionable to me ...



For what it's worth ... the ABM test I saw out of Vandenberg @ 10 years ago -- from altitude -- looked very similar to this:



Another great unexplained mystery is recorded in the history of Naval Aviation !!!

p.s. ... I give up. It WAS The Chief and I ...

 

[phrogpilot73]

I think it was these guys:

 

[Tex_Hill]

I think it was these guys:

So is FAA clearance required before you can shoot something like that off? I used to mess around with model rockets when I was a kid, but that's taking it to a whole new level.

 

[yodaears]

So is FAA clearance required before you can shoot something like that off? I used to mess around with model rockets when I was a kid, but that's taking it to a whole new level.

For anything above an E class motor you are suppose to notify the FAA. The rockets we launched in college were were K and L class motors which would put a four or five pound rocket and associated instrumentation apexing at about 60000 ft with a maximum attained mach number of somewhere between 1.5 and 2.0. Pretty cool stuff.

 

[eas7888]

For anything above an E class motor you are suppose to notify the FAA. The rockets we launched in college were were K and L class motors which would put a four or five pound rocket and associated instrumentation apexing at about 60000 ft with a maximum attained mach number of somewhere between 1.5 and 2.0. Pretty cool stuff.

That sounds like it can get a little expensive too. I considered getting involved in the model rocket club we have on campus here, but I already do enough things to try and blow myself up without adding something new to the mix.

 

[yodaears]

That sounds like it can get a little expensive too. I considered getting involved in the model rocket club we have on campus here, but I already do enough things to try and blow myself up without adding something new to the mix.

I honestly don't know where the school got motors like those but they were provided to students for certain courses.

 

[eas7888]

I honestly don't know where the school got motors like those but they were provided to students for certain courses.

Wow, for engineering courses? That sounds like quite a bit of fun, I wish we had a course or two like that at my school.

 

[yodaears]

Wow, for engineering courses? That sounds like quite a bit of fun, I wish we had a course or two like that at my school.

Yeah, it was part of the Aerospace curriculum at Cal Poly Pomona. Made for some good times for the most part. We had a rocket one year go horizontal about twenty feet from the reviewing stands out at Lucernce Dry Lake. The school was very lucky that day that no one was hurt. It sure is funny to think back on now though.

 

[Shutup&Steer]

I think it was a missile shot from a P-3. If you've ever seen a TACCO try to fire ordnance you'd agree. They miss the toilet when the try to take a sh!t.

 

[Catmando]

p.s. ... I give up. It WAS The Chief and I ...

Yes! I knew it!!

Seriously, I agree. With all the available recorded info that can be replayed, it should have been easy to identify by now, if it was an airliner. Why it hasn't been is confusing.

Also shouldn't it be somewhat easy to determine a relative speed? Especially since there is a big delta between an aircraft and a rocket or missile. BWTFDIK

 

[eas7888]

I think it was a missile shot from a P-3. If you've ever seen a TACCO try to fire ordnance you'd agree. They miss the toilet when the try to take a sh!t.

Interesting, humorous, and slightly insulting first post.