Japan says N Korean rocket may pass over Okinawa

let the event pass over peacefully.

Interesting, we have a few of those vehicles pictured above down this way also.

Could be a good time test them if this "rocket" does not get enough altitude to break the surly bonds of earth.

Japan should have kept quiet on it's intentions. Now if ANYTHING goes wrong with the launch, NK will say the rocket was shot down.

Interesting, we have a few of those vehicles pictured above down this way also.

Okinawa also has Cobra Ball

Who knows which way it'll go?

Least of all the guy who lights the touch paper!

John - how about organizing a rocket-watching party?

I may be in the Philipinnes at the time and it would be nice to watch it come crashing down over here. Should arrange a rocket watching party here too. We can share notes with the Japan watching party with John and Nahaman.

So shoot it down. Okinawa is as far as this "satellite" should get.

Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka said on Monday that the Self-Defense Forces may try to shoot down the rocket if it heads toward Japanese territory or waters.

Do or do not, there is no try.

can i join the party two i live in america

Does the rocket trajectory heading south-east even make sense?

I thought rockets are normally launched east (or west?) to get a boost from the spin of the earth. North-south launches are typical of spy satellites and are less efficient (i.e., cost more), so spy agencies generally only do N-S launches.

I ask because the pretense of a satellite doesn't make any sense, well not that NK has ever had a pretense that made sense.

You would want the most efficient push into space, unless you are testing your ability to launch an ICBM. Then you only need to light the thing and see if it goes where you wanted it to.

I'm all for shooting it down. That way, we can test our rockets too. Stop running scared from NK. The rocket is only a new bargaining chip for the (new) regime, or a marketing tool to sell the tech to Iran or another friend of the world.

Okinawa is ok (sorry for the pun) to shoot over, but Sendai is not? Be consistent with foreign policy or suffer the consequences. There is plenty of air space over the Japanese islands controlled by Russian for NK to practice.

War? It's going to fly over Okinawa sooooooooo we need to keep Marines stationed there for your protection and security Okinawans. Hahaha, good ol oyaji running the show from Tokyo.

viking68...Does the rocket trajectory heading south-east even make sense?

It does if you want to ensure the rocket falls in the drink in an area deep enough and large enough that the odds of it being recovered and examined are remote.

Okinawa is ok (sorry for the pun) to shoot over, but Sendai is not?

The trouble with Sendai is that its not an island.

They way I see it, all of Japan or anywhere is okay to shoot over if you are high enough up. And the single best way to get high enough over everyone from NK is to aim toward Japan.

Does anybody else look at maps, or is that out of fashion these days? Oh, I see Riffraff looks at maps!

RiffraffMAR. 21, 2012 - 01:27PM JST viking68...Does the rocket trajectory heading south-east even make sense? It does if you want to ensure the rocket falls in the drink in an area deep enough and large enough that the odds of it being recovered and examined are remote.

I was being a little rhetorical in pointing at NK's pretense. But, I agree with the point.

Mission parameters: somewhere deep/remote and not over the top of Japan, because people got more angry than scared last time.

Oh, and follow the launch with a nuclear bomb test at least two months after the rocket launch so there is enough separation between the two to assert they are not connected.

does it have fuel enough to reach that far?

VoiceofOkinawa - 3 Mar 2012 11:25PM JST: You are talking about the worst-case scenario imaginable. North Korea launching nuclear-headed missiles at the U.S. mainland? For what purpose? That means the total annhialation of their country. They are fully aware of this, so I'm 100 % sure that they will never commit such folly and stupidity.

VoiceofOkinawa - 6 Mar 2012 9:36PM JST: On the other hand, North Korea has 10 warheads but no active ones. Of course, they will develop active warheads eventually. Even so, do you think NK will launch nuclear-loaded missiles against the U.S. because they insanely believe they can defeat the U.S. and win war? But they know and the world knows that if NK launched missile attacks against the U.S. mainland, the U.S. would certainly retaliate against NK with its overwhelming military power and annihilate it. So NK will never attack the U.S. with their small number of shoddy nuclear weapons ("shoddy" compared with U.S. weapons of mass destruction).

VOO - where are you - we are all waiting for your profound analysis and insight into the NKorea regime? Why are they launching this missile? Please give us your "100%" assured outlook......

By the way, given the launch trajectory, please be careful from 16-21 Apr.....

Japan should have kept quiet on it's intentions. Now if ANYTHING goes wrong with the launch, NK will say the rocket was shot down.<<

That is an incorrect assumption since Japan has NO INTENTIONS of shooting anything down. The Govt is making such public statements so to not look week and incompetent among its citizens.

That is an incorrect assumption since Japan has NO INTENTIONS of shooting anything down. The Govt is making such public statements so to not look week and incompetent among its citizens.

Then if this is true it needs to be put into the Japanese newspapers in a prominent location so all can see.

Maybe the entertainment section?