Saturday, February 14, 2009

space command alberta swtiches into high gear.

Just another day for the brave men and woman defending our skies from foreign threats...

Norad alerted officials in Ottawa, who in turn got in touch with emergency officials in Alberta.

Colin Lloyd, executive director of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, said they set up an emergency command centre and alerted the premier.

Lloyd said a public warning notice was about to be sent out at 10:46 a.m.

"As one of our staff was about to press the button to launch the message that would go out to members of the public alerting them of the event, we received notification from the government operations centre in Ottawa that in fact the debris had … sheared off [in] the atmosphere and was now actually in the Atlantic Ocean."

Lloyd said it was a morning at work that he won't forget.

UPDATE: When I first heard of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, I couldn't help but think of another emergency management agency...

6 comments:

  1. I didn't notice anything about what the source of the debris was in any of the coverage I saw. One newscast said it was from a "rocket". I find this curious.

    When a Soviet-era satellite came down on northern Canada years ago, the news was full of details. This re-entry could have wiped out a big chunk of Calgary, and this is all we're told?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Instead of making a stupid comparison of AEMA and Thunderbirds, maybe you could delve into the good work the people in this group actually do.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Isn't anyone interested in finding out who almost destroyed Calgary?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anon - The Thunderbird comparison was just for fun, but as I've only just recently heard of the AEMA, I'll most definitely take a look at what they're up to. Thanks!

    Dave

    ReplyDelete
  5. "Almost destroyed Calgary" might be the frontrunner for largest hyperbole in the history of time.*

    ReplyDelete
  6. Here's the Herald story: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/todays-paper/Calgary+dodges+space+junk/1290211/story.html

    While researching a response to your comment, I answered my own question. The debris was a Soyuz rocket that had been launched as a resupply mission for the international space station. It bounced off the atmosphere, resulting in a landing somewhere near Africa. Otherwise, it would have hit southern Alberta.

    ReplyDelete