Saige Sunier
April 25, 2013
Earth Science Core, Block C Even
Ms. Davies
UK designs to
‘harpoon’ old satellites
Citation:
Amos, Jonathon. "UK Design
to 'harpoon' old satellites." BBC News. BBC, 10 Feb. 2012.
Web. 25 Apr. 2013. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19803461>.
Over the
past 50 years space has been building up with debris. This junk is a resultant
of whole dead satellites, upper-stages of rockets, fuel tank explosions, and
unseen particles. Today there is an estimated 22,000 objects that are stuck in
space along with 500,000 particles between 1-10cm across. Further more, there
are tens of millions of particles that are smaller than 1 cm. There objects are
all moving at a great enough velocity that hitting any spacecraft can cause
large amounts of damage. The severity of this situation really began to surface
in 2007 when China deliberately destroyed a weather satellite, resulting in
fragments everywhere. The issue was once more brought to light in 2009 when the
Cosmos 2251 satellite accidently hit the Iridium 33 satellite. When this
happened it became clear that space was becoming unsafe and that so many
objects can and will lead to massive damage if actions are not taken. Dr. Jaime
Reed from Astrium UK is the head designer on a new technology that would
greatly improve the conditions in space. He has created and built a harpoon
that would be sent into space and would hook onto a rouge satellite and either
pull on a trailing polymer cord or deploy a separate thruster unit that would drag
the debris towards the Earth where it would burn up in the atmosphere. The hook
to catch the satellite or rocket stage would be about 30cm long and would be
mounted on a “chaser satellite.” The satellite would get 100m of the junk and
send an image to a lab where the target could be assessed before the harpoon
hooks on and sends the object to burn. The problem with this instrument is the
possibility of doing more damage. A large amount of debris is a result of
explosions of fuel tanks from rocket stages. There is a risk that the harpoon
would hit the fuel tank and make the situation worse. To try and minimize this
occurrence, Dr. Reed put in a crushable cylinder that makes it so when the
harpoon hits the object it will immediately slow down so it won’t pass through
the spacecraft and hit a tank. The United Kingdoms is not the only country
trying to think of possible solutions. In France and Germany, ideas of nets and
robotic grappling devices have been brought into question. There are many great
solutions, yet in order to put one of these to work there needs to be an
international agreement. This is because the satellites and objects in space
affect everyone’s lives. If countries were to send up unknown objects into
space with lasers attached a fear of weaponry could arise. In order to make
amendments in space the space community needs to agree on the right course of
action. There is currently a small window of space before satellites start
crashing uncontrollably. In the next couple of years it is hoped that the UN
will push for a solution and the space debris will begin to be destroyed.
This topic
is important to everyone everywhere. Although very few people have been to
space, it affects the lives of average people more than is realized. Satellites
supply: general facts about the Earth, the weather report, GPS, cable,
telephones, etc. In the modern era, most technology is a result of our ability
to send information from place to place by use of satellites. The space debris
risks the safety of the machines that provide for our average lives. If nothing
is done about the space debris more and more objects will collide creating more
and more debris that will hit satellites and destroy them. It will also become
more difficult to send new satellites up. With millions and millions of
particles and objects a spacecraft trying to enter orbit will shortly be
disrupted by the excessive material and will fail to function. In the modern
age we are constantly moving foreword, but the loss of satellites will send us
backwards. Space is the next frontier and without taking action the ability to
enter space will be completely lost and so will the chances to get to learn
more about what is beyond our solar system. This problem is not very well known
and I chose to research it because I had heard some things about it but not
enough to really understand. Through this article I have been able to realize
the severity of the situation and can accept that something needs to be done
quickly. International agreements can take a very long time; hopefully, actions
will be taken before it is too late.
The
article, overall, was very good. It taught me a lot about the topic of space
debris and its negative effects on Earth. The article was well written but is
generated more to a knowledgeable crowd than to the general public. When
explaining how the harpoon worked the author used some words that are not very
common and he did not explain what they meant. The article is also a little
choppy. It flows from time to time but could have been more effective in teaching
about the topic if rearranged in a different way. However, a lot of quality
points were made on the severity of the situation and Amos gives many examples
and evidence to backup his points. He does a nice job talking about the one
technology but making sure to include the situations around the topic to give
good context in the matter of space debris. He could have included more about
why no international agreement has been made. Amos mentions that time is
running short but he fails to mention any reasons that the UN might have for
not taking action right away. Despite small improvements, I thought that it was
a very interesting article that taught me a lot of facts that I did not
previously know and made me much more aware of the condition in space and the
actions that need to be taken to solve our problem.
Overall, Saige did a great job on her current event article. She described in great detail about Dr. Jaime Reed and is new piece of technology that would improve the hazardous conditions in space. Saige also did a significant job on connecting how all of the debris in space would have an effect on the lives of people on Earth. She clearly explained how most of our modern technology is able to work because it sends information to satellites, which transfer it to another place on Earth. She states that if nothing is done the debris will collide with satellites and could destroy them. Saige’s transitions flowed really well, and connected the different ideas. She started her first paragraph with the amounts of debris in space. She flowed into her next idea of Dr. Jaime Reed’s new technology, by stating that if no actions are taken, space will be a dangerous place. Saige explains that Dr. Reed’s technology will get junk out of the space, but it also has negative effects. Saige then states ways that Dr. Reed is trying to minimize the danger of his technology by putting in a crushable cylinder that when it hits the object, the piece of technology will slow down.
ReplyDeleteSaige’s depiction of the article was interesting to read. I found out that there is debris in space that could affect our modern technology. If the debris hits the satellites, they will destroy them and cell phones, internet, television, cables, and other forms of technology would not work. I also learned that even with Dr. Reed’s piece of technology that could get rid of debris in space, also has some dangerous effects. Even though the instrument burns the objects by pushing it into the atmosphere, the piece of technology could do more damage. The harpoon, the piece of technology, has a possibility of hitting fuel tanks of rocket stages. What also interested me was the fact that much of this debris is our fault. For example in 2007, China deliberately blew up a satellite, creating debris in space. Although, Saige did a fantastic job on her current event article, she could do a better job on proofreading her article. For example, she missed a word when she said there objects instead of there are objects. She also used foreword, instead of forward. Also, when writing, she should avoid using the word “things.”
Overall, Saige did a great job on her current event article. She described in great detail about Dr. Jaime Reed and is new piece of technology that would improve the hazardous conditions in space. Saige also did a significant job on connecting how all of the debris in space would have an effect on the lives of people on Earth. She clearly explained how most of our modern technology is able to work because it sends information to satellites, which transfer it to another place on Earth. She states that if nothing is done the debris will collide with satellites and could destroy them. Saige’s transitions flowed really well, and connected the different ideas. She started her first paragraph with the amounts of debris in space. She flowed into her next idea of Dr. Jaime Reed’s new technology, by stating that if no actions are taken, space will be a dangerous place. Saige explains that Dr. Reed’s technology will get junk out of the space, but it also has negative effects. Saige then states ways that Dr. Reed is trying to minimize the danger of his technology by putting in a crushable cylinder that when it hits the object, the piece of technology will slow down.
ReplyDeleteSaige’s depiction of the article was interesting to read. I found out that there is debris in space that could affect our modern technology. If the debris hits the satellites, they will destroy them and cell phones, internet, television, cables, and other forms of technology would not work. I also learned that even with Dr. Reed’s piece of technology that could get rid of debris in space, also has some dangerous effects. Even though the instrument burns the objects by pushing it into the atmosphere, the piece of technology could do more damage. The harpoon, the piece of technology, has a possibility of hitting fuel tanks of rocket stages. What also interested me was the fact that much of this debris is our fault. For example in 2007, China deliberately blew up a satellite, creating debris in space. Although, Saige did a fantastic job on her current event article, she could do a better job on proofreading her article. For example, she missed a word when she said there objects instead of there are objects. She also used foreword, instead of forward. Also, when writing, she should avoid using the word “things.”
I really like your way of expressing the opinions and sharing the information.Recently I read one article related about this topic wrote by genuine writers from best writing service reviews site.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for sharing.