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China Establishes First Space Trash Observation Center
Beijing (XNA) Mar 14, 2005 At the beginning of March, China established its first space trash observation center, the Space Target and Debris Observation and Research Center, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Nanjing branch), at the Purple Mountain Observatory. The center will set up an early-warning system for China's aerospace field. Space debris, commonly known as space trash, refers to the debris left by humans in space, ranging from deserted satellites and metal components of various spacecrafts, to residues and powder produced by ignition of solid fuel engines. It is estimated that currently there are over 110,000 pieces of untracked space debris with diameters more than 1 cm in space, and over 40 million pieces with diameters of more than 1 mm. The debris weighs about 3000 tons and is increasing at a rate of 2% to 5% every year. Scientists at PMO pointed out that at this rate, nothing would be able to enter space orbit by 2300. The observation and research of space debris aims to protect manned spaceships and large, expensive satellites. Source: Xinhua News Agency Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express The Chinese Space Program - News, Policy and Technology China News from SinoDaily.com
Taikonauts On Moon A Far Off Dream For China Yet
Beijing (XNA) Jan 05, 2006A one-year lunar fly-by mission may start in April 2007 in China, but a manned flight to the Earth's neighbour may be a long way away, a chief lunar exploration scientist said last night. |
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