# What was the mystery missile? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 9, 2010, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107 "2010-11-09T23:24:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/21 "2010-11-10T09:52:52Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Um — wouldn’t the military state outright that a jet contrail can look like a missile under certain circumstances, I’m sure this is not the first time this has come up. This is a great point. The military has a long and obvious history of deceiving the public about its various nefarious missions. The likeliest explanation here is a de-population chemtrail (cleverly disguised as a “missile launch” to throw off the Public) from a Government Program, possibly in an effort to reduce future healthcare costs in over-populated areas. Of course, like former Ambassador Ellsworth said on the TV news show, perhaps the military decided to do a submarine ballistic missile launch just to remind the Asians that we can. The key is that the military always denies to the US Public even if the purpose of the mission is to have the Enemy know our capability. And I think everyone is being way too hasty ruling out aliens…if it is an alien launch, you can bet the military is going to cover that up, too. The key to getting to the Truth is to look for the most likely explanation, which is almost always Conspiracy of some kind, rather than utterly ordinary events. It’s all very exciting. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/22 "2010-11-10T13:26:05Z")
[Blofeld](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Stavro_Blofeld) ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/23 "2010-11-10T14:00:14Z")
> [@Alienhand](#): > > I’m sure the military will be along soon with a similar explanation once they eliminate other possibilities and they are confident with their explanation. Weather balloon ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/24 "2010-11-10T14:01:02Z")
As I posted in the other thread: > [@](#): > > Everyone’s acting like we can’t tell whether it was going more or less straight up or a trick of perspective and a normal contrail. But that’s crap. It’s only 35 miles away – fly out there and circle the contrail to look at it from different angles. Seriously, the news organizations have aircraft. Fly 35 miles out and look at the damned thing, or, if you can’t be bothered, shut up about “wondering what it could be.” I assume it was not an unknown ballistic missile launch off our coast because nobody went…well…_ballistic._ In country where the subway loudspeakers constantly warn us to watch for suspicious packages and whole blocks are closed off to investigate somebody’s lunch bag, I would expect _an ICBM launch_ to generate rather more reaction. I’m now envisioning a public-service announcement for Californians: “See it, say it. If you notice anything out of the ordinary off our coast, simply ask the person standing next to you, ‘Excuse me, is that _your_ Intercontinental Ballistic Missile contrail?’” ---
**Author:** ![Apollo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/41988e/32.png) [@Apollo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollo)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/25 "2010-11-10T14:10:19Z")
My guess would be another secret launch of one of these [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing\_X-37](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_X-37) ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/26 "2010-11-10T14:27:33Z")
I find it fascinating that the government is still keeping up the “we have no idea” claim two days later. Even the FAA apparently says “nothing showed up on our radar”. Just watched a summary on MSNBC…who failed to mention the missile launch warning ajb867 posted. Obviously I think it was meant to be seen. If the government wanted to keep a submarine missile launch quiet, all they would have had to do was launch it a few hundred miles further off LA. A local CBS station in LA asked an ex ambassador/Defense Department official and he said it was probably meant to send a “message” of some sort to our Asian friends who Obama is visiting this week. Seems likely, but the secrecy is a little unusual. However, if it was Russian or Chinese…hmm…that’d be a hell of a message for them to send _us_. Launching a missile from inside our own weapons testing range after we sent out notice of a potential test. That seems _a little_ on the provocative side… ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/27 "2010-11-10T14:34:19Z")
I can’t believe no one’s stating the obvious here - that it was in fact a missile, but the government’s playing dumb because they don’t want to fess up to whatever secret activities they were conducting out there. It certainly wouldn’t be the first the military has told a boldfaced lie in an effort to cover something up. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/28 "2010-11-10T14:59:41Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > I find it fascinating that the government is still keeping up the “we have no idea” claim two days later. > > …Defense Department official … the \*\*secrecy is a little unusual. > \*\* > . Ha Ha! That is funny! Do you really think barry hussein obama would be so transparent as to reveal information about a foreign/terrorist missile being fired off of the American coastline? Barry will not even reveal his old high school records. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/29 "2010-11-10T15:02:16Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > I can’t believe no one’s stating the obvious here - that it was in fact a missile… It certainly wouldn’t be the first the military has told a boldfaced lie in an effort to cover something up. I already said that in **post #13** > [@Susanann](#): > > It is probably just the same old thing that 100’s of people saw when flight 800 blew up a few years ago. Except this time no plane blew up. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/30 "2010-11-10T15:05:18Z")
Wow. 27 posts, and no mindless political potshots. _checks again_ Oh, damn. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/31 "2010-11-10T15:11:07Z")
Welcome to all late arriving conspiracy theory crackpots! Birthers, please form a line to the left. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/32 "2010-11-10T15:16:11Z")
Time traveler. They’ve been caught on numerous videos recently. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/33 "2010-11-10T15:22:42Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > Do you really think barry hussein obama would be so transparent as to reveal information about a foreign/terrorist missile being fired off of the American coastline? Has anyone heard anything from Phoenix, Arizona lately? I have a sneaking suspicion that the city is nothing more than a smoking crater right now, and Barry is covering it up. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/34 "2010-11-10T15:30:54Z")
I’m waiting for passports to be found floating on ocean surface in a waterproof bag. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/35 "2010-11-10T15:50:41Z")
[QUOTE=Sitnam] Perhaps a contrail of a plane bursting into flames, at around 0:19 you can see bright light in front of a darker contrast. [/QUOTE] And yet the ‘missile’ trail continues after that. I think what you are seeing there is someone editing the clip to fast forward, possibly a flash of sun or light off whatever the object is, and then a cut to a talking head. I’ve seen the whole thing (it was on Good Morning America this morning with Dr. Michio Kaku explaining the contrail theory) and you don’t see an explosion followed by the end of the ‘missiles’ vapor trail (and all the falling debris and such you’d see if someone blew up a missile). Since I’ve seen zero physical evidence of any debris found (or any report of the military or UFO Lizard Overlord craft cordoning off the area while they scoop up all the evidence), I’d say the theory that it was a missile that was detonated has nothing to back it up. So…I’m staying with the contrail theory at this point until some substantial evidence to the contrary comes out. A YouTube video does not constitute substantial evidence. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/36 "2010-11-10T15:56:22Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/37 "2010-11-10T15:59:22Z")
:o My bad. I was just **wondering** where I left that thing! But, don’t worry! I keep the safety on every fission warhead in my collection at all times! (Don’t ask me about the fusion warheads.) ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/38 "2010-11-10T16:02:45Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > …you don’t see an explosion followed by the end of the ‘missiles’ vapor trail (and all the falling debris and such you’d see if someone blew up a missile). > > Since I’ve seen zero physical evidence of any debris found Of course not. You only get explosions, and debris, when an airliner is knocked out of the sky - a la flight 800. This California missile apparently **missed** , or else it was fired off by accident. Regardless, it did not make contact, hence, no exposion. There was no explosion since the missile did not hit an airliner, i.e, did not hit a target. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/39 "2010-11-10T16:05:47Z")
[QUOTE=Susanann] Of course not. You only get explosions, and debris, when an airliner is knocked out of the sky - a la flight 800. [/QUOTE] If you detonate a missile in the air (which was what Sitnam was implying by linking to the YouTube video and directing us all to look at the video) then you get a flash and debris…just like if an air craft blows up. Right? > [@](#): > > This California missile apparently missed, or else it was fired off by accident. Regardless, it did not make contact, hence, no exposion. Did the missile warp out of the universe afterward? It had to go somewhere, if it was indeed a missile. Again…right? > [@](#): > > There was no explosion since the missile did not hit an airliner, i.e, did not hit a target. Did it not hit the ground too? -XT ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/40 "2010-11-10T16:13:37Z")
Ah, the perpetual bane of the conspiracy theorist: logic. Our government can build a missile that tracks fighter jets with the radar cross-section of a bird, but apparently it can’t build one that can track a 200-foot airliner. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107.md?page=3)