Charlotte Schmuck
Current Event Report
This article that I read is about a
European satellite that ran out of propellant last month. Every day, it has
been dropping 2.5 miles. The satellite, named GOCE, was launched in March 2009.
“It has a highly efficient propulsion system called an ion engine.” The engine
allows the spacecraft to last longer without running out of fuel and it has a
low orbit. At first it was 160 miles up, but later it dropped to 140 miles. The
spacecraft is orbiting the earth to map Earth’s gravitational field. Scientists
used this, along with other measurements, to create global maps of ocean
currents. Now that the tank is empty, GOCE is guided by gravity and air
friction, and as Dr. Floberghagen says, “…nearly flying like an airplane
without an engine…”. It’s final plunge will be sometime between Saturday and
Monday. About 25 to 45 fragments of this spacecraft are supposed to make it all
the way to Earth’s surface. However, past spacecrafts that have gone out of
control have fallen into the Pacific and chances of these fragments injuring
anyone are tiny.
This
article is relevant to our society because the spacecraft could hit anywhere on
Earth. We don’t know if it could hit and injure someone. The chances are tiny,
but they are not zero. “In 2008, the United Nations adopted guidelines to
reduce the dangers caused by space debris.” We need to reduce any danger of
debris hitting the Earth. If it does hit somewhere where humans live, it could
result in damage and severe injuries.
I understood the
article really well. The author used quotes from the mission manager of the
GOCE, Rune Floberghagen, which was good. He had a lot of information that
helped me understand what the article was about. The author could have
explained more specifically what an ion engine was, because I did not
understand. However, I did look it up and I found out that an ion engine uses
electric fields instead of chemical reactions. This means that it is not as
powerful, but it can last for years before running out of fuel.
Chang, Kenneth. "Satellite Will Fall to Earth, but No
One’s Sure Where." The New York Times. N.p., 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 6
Nov. 2013.
Charlotte,
ReplyDeleteThe reason that I commented on this blog, or even bothered to read it was the title. "Satellite Will Fall to Earth, but No One's Sure Where." This title immediately intrigued me and forced me to read on. I thought that you did a good job at not only stating relevant facts, but also analyzing them in such a way that the reader is completely focused in. This could be a big issue. We are not talking extinction, but lives can be lost. If one of the debree strikes a huge sky scraper in manhattan, we are talking about a lot of damage. I will look up when it hits between Saturday and Monday and I look forward to see what will happen. Overall, thank you for informing me about this potentially fatal topic.
Charlotte,
ReplyDeleteI also read this article and found it interesting how we both interpreted it differently. I liked the way you informed the reader for the important information but made in it fun and interesting as well. Another well presented aspect of your interpretation of the article was the briefness of your organized information. I have always struggled with cutting out unimportant information but I liked the way you got to the point and stated the general information on the topic. The final aspect of your interpretation that I liked was your last paragraph. I struggled with the concept of an Ion engine as well, I really enjoyed how you clearly defined what an Ion engine was, it really helped make it clear to the reader. By describing what an Ion engine is you can help them piece together what the actual construction of the space craft. Something that I found interesting in this article was that although we have created so much technology, we are not able to tell exactly when the space debris is going to fall which can be potentially damaging to the society. Another thing that I found interesting about the article was that fortunately both of the space crafts that have fallen to earths surface, have landed in the pacific ocean. I think that overall you were able to comprehend the article well but if you were to improve one aspect of your interpretation it would be adding on to the relevance of the EGOC falling to the ground, elaborate more on the dangers of this event.
Charlotte,
ReplyDeleteLike Andrew, what really made me want to read your blog was the title, "Satellite Will Fall to Earth, But No One's Sure Where" One thing you did a great job of explaining was the danger. 25 to 45 fragments of the satellite will be a lot harder to track and prevent from hitting someone or something, then if it was just one big piece. One other thing you did well was explaining what an ion engine is, when you mentioned it earlier in your review I had no idea what it meant but didn't really pay attention to it. After you clarified what it meant, I went back and reread that section, understanding it much more. Putting a date on when these fragments will hit Earth also greatly enhanced the review. I feel like a lot of things in science are hypothetical and it is easy to be "off by a couple hundred years" so putting a date when it could hit really made it a reality, especially since it's so close. The whole idea of the article is new to me, I had no idea this was happening or being recognized by the news so your review brought it to my attention. Also, the ion engine is completely new to me, before reading this i had never even heard of an ion engine. Now I not only know what it is, but also why scientists choose to use it. Overall I think you wrote a great review. The only thing I would recommend is putting in more details and explaining why those details are important, besides that, good job.