The following was originally posted June 22nd, 2106. It is just as relevant today – and slightly edited for current publication.
North Korea now has two orbiting satellites that periodically pass above the United States. Many are concerned that one or both of these satellites could contain a nuclear weapon. Is it possible? Could North Korea in an act of insanity launch a nuclear weapon from one of these satellites and detonate it high above the United States? This is the EMP nightmare that many of us dread.
It is uncertainty that motivates many of us into taking action to prepare for whatever awaits us in the future. These satellites are just another item to add to the possibility list. With the recent threats against the United States from North Korea and their continued nuclear weapon technology progression the threat is growing.
Lot’s of information out there on EMP preparation and much of it follows common sense preps. Beans, bullets, and band-aids lead the pack. Protecting some electronic equipment such as radio’s requires some specific steps.
Curious where these satellites are right now?
How real is the threat? We – that means you and me – have no idea.
JR
Unlikely, The delivery vehicle could not have carried a large enough payload (by weight) to take much more than Cameras and Radios into orbit. Optimum altitude detonation of an MEP is 40- to 400 km .. Orbit is over 500km … They could maneuver out of orbit and let it fall… It would heat up and possibly self destruct. I suppose it could be shielded long enough to fall low enough to be effective…. but all that is very heavy, so the payload woudl be very small. 5 10 kt maybe max.
Did you see where China turned back all the NK coal boats and they had to take the cargo back to NK ? well played china .. waste all that time and fuel and zero profit …
NK is and will always be the problem child of China. Without China NK would’ve gone into non-existence a long time ago. It’s well known China hates NK, but must support them for political reasons. Back when the Korean War happened China locked themselves in. Looking back now they probably wish they had let MacArthur run all the way up.
Funny, kind of sounds like the dredges of society we support.
SAve for a couple OSS teams and a maverick tank commander Mc woudl have failed badly. He was within months of losing his edge because he had built a team over time of yes men around him, and he began believing his press. He did fail in Argentina and other branches pulled it out then, as well a little later in the Congo he did and was replaced. Warfare had changed from what he knew and the beginning of guerilla and covert fighting styles left his WWI and WWII tactics outmoded. NK really was the beginning of the Army Air Corps, armor was losing it’s luster … The Air Force through they had the skies and the army the ground in tanks. Air Force Priorities forced the Army into it to get needed support.
Among that we left NK unresolved and and the communists stepped in. In the early days the touted democracy. We were advisors in Greece and barely kept the communists out there, but it was more conventional than Guerilla although Americans were ins an “advisor” role… which set up for the miserable way we began in Vietnam.
Our military fought itself for many of those years trying to build their kingdoms. The FBI against the OSS (later reconstituted as theCIA), The Air Fore against the Army Air Corps, Armor against everybody because they were losing a kingdom. As a result we badly handled NK, and everything after both politically and militarily. We feel those effects still today.
GG58
Oh for sure. I’ve never liked him anyway. Even though he pushed the NKorean’s out of South Korea. I still didn’t like him. Even if..he would had completely conquered Korea. Nothing but a pure show boat IMO.
Now looking back at what NK has become China probably wished whoever took them off China’s hand 🙂 Meh.
What if they, (Satellites from any country) are some how purely just EMP attack threats? Not Nuclear..so to speak. We’ve all discussed the reality of an EMP attack. I know this…for a fact. According to the FBI, The 2 highest and biggest threats the FBI consider credible and actively attempt to thwart/prepare for are:
1.) Terrorist attacks
2.) An attack on the American Power grid.
Either-way, we should be preparing for both of those scenarios. You’ve in fact placed some really good information on EMP yourself, for us.
EMP/CME is a real danger and a possibility. The challenge I have is with NK’s ability to produce a significant change/explosion. According to what I read, it is the violent release of Gamma rays that strips away Electrons from air molecules that causes and EMP. The EMP is in effect a wave of negatively charged atomic particles.. The charge travels on and through anything that will conduct electricity and is what overloads electronics. As I read it has three parts E1 through E3, E1 and E3 being the most destructive for what we are talking about.. Part of the explosion of course is immense heat and then the blast wave. We refer to it tons of (TNT.. RE: Mt and Kt for Megatons = millions and Kilotons = thousands) as a measure of force only. One can certainly produce an EMP load electricity but is well beyond the power a Satellite could produce and small by comparison. One can also tailor a Nuclear blast to produce higher EMP and lower conventional Nuclear blast based on specialized materials. Not that I have an in, I just don’t read anything that says NK has other than low yield unspecialized nukes, Two Satellites just can’t do that, They could produce small explosions that would affect a smallish defined area.. Given orbit is defined as 505 km or so..and the max effective airburst is 400 km, the effect is reduced further.
Any nuclear is bad .. yes. Prepping for TEOTWAWKI.. ehh.. Ok you have to do what you think is best for you .. agreed. I could be totally wrong and in this fight, game, thing, whatever we are prepping for, you can be wrong once .. but you have to be right often because of the risk.
I’m going to manage risk with priority of most likely events.. vs worst case events. Here a Tornado or earthquake are likely. Racial unrest a little less likely except on elections apparently. Nationally financial collapse .. is the outcome of just about any severe attack vector whether power grid, biological, financial or civil. We’re only talking about degrees. Among all that an outbreak of something we don’t know about, A tweak to the preps (meds/medical etc).. and more about knowledge than stuff. The brain being your best weapon (quoting PR)
I guess, and this didn’t start out to be an e-book, I want to be as realistic about risk as I can and not get too caught up in “hype”. Not saying it isn’t real or possible, but how likely. I’ve bent some ears (JR among them) over the last couple years trying to come down to realistic from getting spun up. My reasoning is that I waste a lot of time fuming and it gets in the way of preps, not to mention quality of life.
OK .. done wandering.. for now 🙂
GG58
What about this possibility? NK puts a nuke on one, or more, of their approximately 70 diesel submarines and brings them off the West Coast on a suicide mission in which they detonate them and try to take out L.A., or San Diego, or San Francisco, etc.
The US Navy operates what is known as the ‘Integrated Underwater Surveillance System’ (IUSS). It uses various advanced technological methods around the world to surveil possible hostile targets. These methods include (SOSUS)- Sound Surveillance System and (SURTASS)- Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System.
Yes there are stealth subs that have successfully remained hidden during war games. According to US intelligence NK doesn’t have the wherewithal to build them and has yet to purchase any from those that do….
Fox news tonight said that NK has TONS of chemical/biological weapons which are a great threat to us and the rest of the world.Tons of small pox, plague , anthrax etc.
This would be extremely devastating as well as an EMP.
For years I have been advocating that we vaccinate against small pox.( we had the
vaccination as children ) but the generations since have no immunity against small pox which is a brutal disease.
By the way my Dr. said that MOST meds are good for 20 plus years.(they may lose some potency but are still effective) and that turmeric is good for reducing pain.
Lightning
PS John G you sure are a great source of knowledge