Remnants of China’s biggest rocket landed in the Indian Ocean on May 9, ending days of speculation over where the debris would hit and drawing US criticism over a lack of transparency.
But the fiery fate of a booster rocket, wherever it comes down, speaks to the larger issue of space debris and space sustainability, especially as space becomes a target not just for national space programs but also increasingly the private sector. Under international treaty, private space actors, who are expected to put 45,000 satellites in low Earth orbit over the next several years, are under the legal responsibility of their host nations.
Add to that an estimated 9,300 tonnes of space junk that is already orbiting the planet and the probability of space collisions and debris pollution is an issue of concern.
Photo: NASA via Wikimedia Commons 照片:美國太空總署∕維基共享資源
Previously, a piece of paint the size of a fingernail struck the windscreen of a space shuttle, piercing two of three layers of glass.
The fate of Long March 5B could refocus governments and international bodies on the issue of space sustainability, and that could provide more opportunity to firms like UK-based Astroscale that are preparing to tackle the debris problem with commercial junk-collecting services.
Astroscale is currently demonstrating a vehicle called “ELSA-d” in lower Earth orbit to show that space debris clean-up is indeed possible. It is a fiendishly difficult task, especially if the target satellite is spinning and tumbling. The test is using a satellite to capture a test drone with a magnet. In time, larger objects will require a robotic arm.
Photo: AFP 照片:法新社
(The Guardian)
中國最大火箭之殘骸已在五月九日墜落印度洋,讓數天來對殘骸究竟將撞擊何處的猜測告一段落,也引起美國對此事缺乏透明度的批評。
火箭推進器在熊熊烈焰中的宿命,無論它掉在哪裡,都觸及太空垃圾與太空永續性這更大的問題,尤其此時太空不僅成為國家太空計畫之標的,也愈趨成為私有公司之標的。在未來幾年中,經營太空業務的私有公司將把四萬五千顆衛星送入低空地球軌道,而根據國際條約規定,法律責任是由其東道國所承擔。
此外,據估計,現已有九千三百噸太空垃圾在繞著地球轉,太空中的碰撞與垃圾污染問題令人關注。
此前,一塊指甲大小的油漆打到一艘太空船的擋風玻璃,刺穿了三層厚玻璃的其中兩層。
長征五號的命運可能使政府及國際組織重新關注太空的永續性問題,而可能給像英國的Astroscale這樣的公司帶來更多機會,這些公司正準備提供收集垃圾之商業化服務,以解決太空垃圾問題。
Astroscale正在地球較低軌道展示一種名為「ELSA-d」的運載工具,以證明清除太空垃圾的確可行。這是一項艱鉅的任務,尤其是目標衛星處於旋轉與翻滾的情況時。該測試透過衛星進行,以磁鐵來捕獲測試用無人機,最後也會需要用到機械臂來抓取較大的物體。
(台北時報林俐凱編譯)
South Korea’s famous kimchi is falling victim to climate change, with scientists, farmers and manufacturers saying the quality and quantity of the napa cabbage that is pickled to make the ubiquitous dish is suffering due to rising temperatures. Napa cabbage thrives in cooler climates, and is usually planted in mountainous regions where temperatures during the key growing summer season once rarely rose above 25 degrees Celsius. Studies show that warmer weather brought about by climate change is now threatening these crops, so much so that South Korea might not be able to grow napa cabbage one day due to the intensifying heat. “We
It’s widely recognized that there are far more right-handed people than left-handed people in the world. Being right-handed simply means preferring to use one’s right hand for tasks that involve only one hand, such as writing and eating. But have you ever wondered about the possible reasons behind the global dominance of the right hand over the left? As with many complex biological questions, multiple factors appear to be at play. First, one reason seems to be genetics. __1__ Therefore, the global dominance of right-handedness is something that has been passed down through many generations of humans. Next,
On blazing hot summer days, fresh ingredients and cool refreshments straight from a refrigerator feel like nothing short of a miracle. However, chilled foods didn’t begin with modern refrigerators. In fact, the origin of refrigeration precedes the invention of this now-indispensable appliance by centuries. Initially, the quest for refrigeration was motivated more by the desire to cool beverages than to preserve food. The ancient Greeks and Romans, for instance, used snow stored in insulated pits to chill wine. Around the fourth century BC, the Persians made a significant stride in refrigeration techniques when they devised the yakhchal. Fashioned from
Continued from yesterday(延續自昨日) https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang Finally, cultural influence also plays a role in which hand people prefer. Historically, items that require physical manipulation have been designed for right-handed use. For example, tools like scissors and musical instruments are often constructed with right-handers in mind, making it difficult for left-handers to use them. __4__ While these factors offer some explanation, they remain speculative. The precise reasons for the global prevalence of right-handed people continue to be debated. Nevertheless, left-handedness will remain a phenomenon of great curiosity among scientists and researchers for many years to come. 最後,文化影響也在人們偏好哪一隻手上扮演一角。歷史上,需要用到肢體操作的物品都被設計來供右手使用。舉例來說,像是剪刀、樂器等工具常常就是考慮到右撇子而打造的,造成左撇子難以使用這些工具。因此,許多天生就是左撇子的人可能就必須透過學習使用右手來適應。 雖然這些因素都提供了一些解釋,但它們仍是推測而已。全球右撇子如此普及,確切的原因仍持續被爭論著。不過,在未來的許多年裡,左撇子依然會是科學家和研究人員相當好奇的一個現象。 What Did You Learn? (A) Specifically, different areas of