So we all know that the Independence shuttle went down before they could land, right? So if NASA sent two shuttle teams with two nuclear warheads, what happened to the one that went down w/ the Independence? There's no way it would be intact after crash landing and if it went down w/ the shuttle, shouldn't it have exploded incinerating at the very least AJ, Bear and Lev?
shareI thought the same thing; you would think that it would have been activated when the military enacted the secondary protocal
shareIf we assume that the bomb was intact when the shuttle crashed, it probably had a different activation code than the one on Freedom. So sending the signal to detonate the bomb on Freedom would not activate the one from the Independence.
That would be my guess and the safest thing for both crews. I think like most bombs it would not just explode on impact but need to be activated to go off.
But now I think about it if they were going to remote detonate the Freedom bomb why not also do the one from the Independence.
Like you said they would sure have had two different activation procedures/codes. They were nuclear weapons after all.
Then the radio receiver of the other bomb could possibly be damaged. And not having its position could be against the activation protocol. But it's the least of the issues this movie (although fun) had.
makes not much sense: we know it did not explode and a bomb does not secretly disappear and fly away to outer space, so it must be intact. Its true, earth does not know if it explodes or not. So why setting the timer for the bomb for Freedom? If the Independence bomb exploded earth knows surface explosions is useless. So they just have to try immediate detonation of the Independence bomb, then they know the bomb must be exploded. Then if it did not work, the surviving Freedom team can try it the drilling way.
shareI assume the nuke either:
1. Was sucked out of the shuttle along with the rest of the equipment when it was spinning out of control..
2. Or was too damaged when the shuttle crashed on the asteroid for it to be useable.
Besides, the crew who would know how to operate it are all dead...
That's the only good question I've seen on this board so far...
shareI think it blew up with the nuke that was stuck into the asteroid's core.
shareWhat I don't understand is, why send only 2 teams? Why not send 20+ teams with 20 nuclear warheads and as many drilling equipment as possible? It can only increase the chance of success, right? Even the 2nd best drill team, or 3rd or 4th, etc. could do a job.. With so many things that can go wrong (as it did), they would do as a backup, at least. There's absolutely nothing to lose.
shareGreat question. I wondered the same thing. Also no other countries are collaborating? Like China and Russia are not aware this is happening and are just saying oh well and not doing the same. 2 shuttles,2 teams with not enough replacement transmissions or bits?
sharePerhaps during the crash, all communication with the Independence was lost. Remember at one point we hear that all passengers are "flat lining". Also remember that the Freedoms remote trigger was damaged near the end. The bomb was still functional, but someone had to stay and detonate it by hand. Maybe it was the same for the Independence, but none of the survivors knew how to do that, nor even thought too.
Of course part of the fun of this movie is enjoying the parts that just don't completely make sense.