Satellite Will Fall to
Earth, but No One Is Sure Where
By: Sarah Torres
A
European aircraft that collects extensive data on Earth’s magnetic field is
scheduled to fall back to Earth sometime between Sunday into early Monday. As
of now no one has concluded as to where or when the aircraft is going to fall
or when. Although the aircraft as a whole is falling back to Earth’s surface,
only around 25 to 45 parts of the machine’s debris are likely to actually make
it to Earth. The largest the weight of the space debris will weight is 200
pounds at the very most. Evidence collected concludes that around 100 tons of
space debris will fall to Earth sometime this year. The GOCE has reported
dangerously low levels of propellant, which then explains the rate of the drop,
which is 2.5 miles per day. Two
years ago, two spacecrafts fell to Earths surface. The first space debris to
drop was NASA’s very own “Upper Atmosphere Research
Satellite”. Luckily, the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite fell into the
Pacific Ocean, harming no humans. Later that year, there was a second scare
pertaining a Russian aircraft. Phobos-Grunt’s mission was to observe Mars but
ultimately failed and fell into the Pacific Ocean as well. According to Dr.
Floberghagen “Debris will endanger about 15 to 20 square yards of the Earth’s
surface. “If you compare that to the surface of the planet, it’s a very small
number,” Now that the GOCE’s propellant tank is empty, the spacecraft is being
guided strictly by gravity and friction. Dr. Floberghagen stated, “Quite
literally GOCE is now nearly flying like an airplane without an engine, with
the upper layer of the atmosphere providing aerodynamic stabilization,” As the
GOCE falls closer to Earth and gets exposed to the denser atmosphere, it will
increase in velocity and should be landing on earth sometime between Monday and
Tuesday.
This
article is very relevant to the public because Europe’s GOCE could fall
anywhere so it is important that people in the society know this in order to
stay safe. If any kind of space debris they could possibly get seriously
injured. Although there is a small chance of someone getting a space debris
injury, the chances are still too high to not be cautionary. This article is
also relevant to scientists who study these sorts of spacecrafts; they can make
adjustments to the type of craft and improve the model. An improvement that
could be fixed for the next aircraft launched into space is too includes
additional thrusters for an ultimately safer landing for everyone.
In
my opinion the author did a very good job of explaining everything except for
the concept of an Ion engine. I was confused as to what the differences are
between an Ion engine and a regular engine that would be chosen during the
construction of a spacecraft. The author also could have gone into more detail
on the subject pertaining solutions to the problem of space debris falling to
earth and how people should prepare for this event. Overall I thought that the article
was well written and interesting due to the fact that it was relevant to
everyone.
Citation:
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I find it very interesting that scientists have no idea where the aircraft will fall and when. It is also very scary that the largest part weighs 200 pounds and we don't know where it could fall. It could fall in the ocean, a park, or even into someones house! I think the review was set up very well and is organized neatly into three paragraphs. I also thought it was impressive how you related the article to how it could affect the public. You also conveyed well that you really read and understood the article. I think the review could have been even better by talking about how the scientists could have possibly prevented this from happening.
ReplyDeleteI found your article very interesting! One thing I thought was well presented was the structure of your article. It was very well written so that it cohesively transitioned from a summary to a connection paragraph to a review. I had a lot of difficulty doing this, so it was refreshing to see someone do it so well. Another thing that I felt was very well presented were your facts, as they all have sources and are also facts that make it easy to visualize this satellite falling from the sky. Lastly, I thought your use of quotes was very well done and it provided interesting insight and expertise. I was astonished to learn that only 25 to 45 pieces of the entire satellite would fall to the Earth, however. Also, I found it interesting that similar events have happened before, yet they both landed in the Pacific. Overall, your review was very well written in my opinion, however one thing I felt you could have improved on is elaborating on what is the GOCE. Good job!
ReplyDeleteUpdate: GOCE burned up and its bits fell into the South Atlantic, off of Tierra Del Fuego. How appropriate!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24894611