North Korea: why bother with a test?

Originally Posted by YeOldeButchere

There are, as a matter of fact, modifications which can add range or payload capacity to a rocket. It's called adding more stages to your rocket. If you can drop more dead weight more often, then you stop wasting your thrust accelerating what is essentially a useless metal hulk. It's not entirely difficult to prove with the Tsiolkovsky rocket equation. As I've said in my original post, the Taep'o-dong 2 exists in 2 or 3 stage configuration. The first stage remains the same for the Taep'o-dong 2, but this can make a significant difference.

I've already mentioned that the estimates for the missile's capabilities vary from source to source, and I'm not even sure the North Koreans themselves really know exactly what range they can get with the thing.

So far neither of us provided any actual quantitative evidence for our respective opinions, so I'll go ahead and do so, roughly. Take the W-50 thermonuclear warhead, once used on Pershings and for which manufacturing began in 1963. The W-50 weighted 410 pounds, less than a quarter of a metric tonne. To give ourselves a margin of safety, let's triple this number. We get less than 700kg. 700kg is at the lower boundary of the payload weight estimates I've seen for the Taep'o-dong 2 in its 3 stages version. When you consider that the same estimates place the missile's range around 6000km and sometime higher, can you still say that a Taep'o-dong 2 with a nuclear warhead won't be able to get off the ground with the same certainty?

HOLY HELL YeOlde... you really take this stuff seriously, did you study this stuff, or is it just internet-research-based knowledge?

Originally Posted by night phoenix

Let's not forget one simple fact - When it comes to simple army vs. army, navy vs. navy, air force vs. air force the United States shits on the rest of the world.

Spoken like a true arrogant american. If you think equipment and funding makes an army you'd better go review your sources, last i checked an army with DVDs in tanks feels way less like an army than ones where you're forced to kill live animals with your teeth to survive, "oh hell i forgot my Mp3 player in the humvy, WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE HERE!!".

No disrespect meant towards the US military, but ponder what i said while you exhaust your "we're the best military in the world" propaganda. This ain't a Muscle flexing competition, one thing's for sure though, you're one proud american. Congrats.
heh.
Love the bit about LeHah and the Hydrogen bomb . Generic internet jerk, eh?

Why use "jerk"? Can't we be civil?


To add any use to this post, and because i really think so, don't alot of you agree that no country is foolish enough to commit suicide by provoking the american war machine? I say it's impossible North Korea will do anything, except look real cool in WoW and DOTA tournaments. And have Nukes they'll never use.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Dude the Mp3 example was in no way meant to sound clever, your noting that is incredibly useless. If you didn't get it from its intentional stupidity then you're probably too stupid to cater to with such examples. Don't turn this into a little flame war. I take that back, you're not stupid, ok..?

I agree i didn't provide anything to counter the argument that the states is the most fearsome force on earth today, partly because i believe it IS.
BUT the way it was phrased was really arrogant, and apparently semper understood the main part of my argument, the human factor.

You're probably right though, phoenix, i'll admit that. Just the phrase is a bit provocative.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I'm tempted to tell you to shut the fuck up, but that would probably be trolling, besides, what use is your post if you're contrdicting it by stating a useless opinion?

I'd suggest you get back on topic and not state your useless opinion of my useless debate, i made my 'useless' point clear, this goes no further..At least by me..

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Lord Styphon

I'd suggest you not try to member moderate.

Excuse my treading on your ground.. It wasn't intentional..

All i was trying to do was to stop it from going in the flaming back and forth direction, in which case i'd probably be a reason for it, i felt obliged to say something since i was almost gonna start that.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?