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)
Tourists will benefit as yen falls 日本6月將開放觀光！日圓「貶值」學換匯英文 自疫情爆發至今已超過兩年，全球逐漸邁向與疫情共存的方式，日本政府也將陸續鬆綁邊境管制，最快有機會六月就開放外國觀光客以團體旅遊方式入境。加上日圓近期狂貶，來到二十年來新低點，專家預估，日本將迎來新一波的旅遊熱潮。今天我們就從國外報導的日圓貶值現象，提前為旅日做好準備吧！ yen weakness 日圓疲軟 Yet economists see building pressure for a shift if persistent yen weakness exacerbates inflation by raising import costs, particularly for energy, and reckon that 125 is a key level. （然而，若是日圓持續疲軟而提高進口成本，尤其在能源上，將加重通貨膨脹，經濟學家認為政策轉變的壓力很大，並預估貶破125是關鍵點。） yen weakness是「日圓疲軟，weak (a.)意思是「虛弱的、疲弱的，加上「-ness」名詞字尾，代表「疲軟的概念；加上「-en」動詞變化則有「弱化、削弱」的意思。 The bill would seriously weaken environmental protections. （這項法案將嚴重削弱對環境的保護。） exacerbate (v.)「惡化、加劇、加重，英文的定義為to make something that is already bad even worse（使某件已經很糟的事情更糟）。文章中提到通膨（inflation）加劇，將會對經濟造成負面的影響，因此可以看出作者的態度是不樂觀的。 This attack will exacerbate the already tense relations between the two communities.（這次襲擊將令兩個原本已經處於緊張狀態的團體關係更加惡化。） 提高成本raise、rise怎麼用？ raise import cost是「提高進口成本，討論數據「上升、下降時，經常使用raise和rise這兩個動詞，但是特別注意兩者使用方式有所不同。raise是及物動詞(vt)，後方必須要接一個受詞（名詞），如raise your hand、raise the eyebrows；然而，rise是不及物動詞(vi)，不能直接加上受詞，而是要在中間穿插一個介系詞作為連結功能的用途，如常見的go (to) school、listen (to) music等，因此rise的用法就是inflation rises，常見的the sun rises in the east就是如此。 The government plans to raise taxes. （政府計畫增稅。） Inflation is rising by 2.1 percent a month. （通貨膨脹一個月增長百分之二‧一。） 升值、貶值怎麼說？ Japanese yen depreciation is a big problem for the Japanese economy, because
A: Are there any other organisms facing extinction? B: Reportedly, over 40 percent of amphibians, 25 percent of mammals and 13 percent of birds could face extinction. A: These are really frightening statistics. B: If humans do not look after the animal kingdom, one day we too might become extinct. A: 那其他生物會不會也面臨絕種危機啊？ B: 據說百分之四十的兩棲動物、百分之二十五的哺乳動物、百分之十三的鳥類都可能滅絕。 A: 這些數字看起來好驚人。 B: 如果人類再不保護動物，總有一天自己也會滅絕。 （Translated by Edward Jones, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩） Audio recordings for Speak Up! dialogues will be suspended until further notice due to the pandemic.
After causing a stir with his first appearance at the Cannes Film Festival in 30 years for his new film Top Gun: Maverick, Tom Cruise made another stunning appearance at the film’s London premiere in Leicester Square on the evening of May 19. Having been given the honor of walking the red carpet with Prince William and his wife the Duchess of Cambridge, Cruise, being the perfect gentleman, extended his hand to the Duchess as she navigated a set of stairs. The sweet moment was spotted by onlookers and greeted with a barrage of camera flashes from the assembled media, while
The Grammys: Music Lovers’ Festival 葛萊美獎：音樂人的盛典 There are few awards ceremonies that get more attention than the Grammys. This annual ceremony, first held more than six decades ago, recognizes outstanding achievements in the music industry. The trophy that is presented to winners is in the shape of an old-fashioned record player called a gramophone. The idea for the Grammys first came about in the 1950s. People in the recording industry were concerned that musicians, singers and songwriters were not getting the same recognition as people working in film and television. The movie industry, for example, had been awarding Oscars since 1929, and the television industry handed out
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