Key Sources:
Global Network "It is expected to dock for 6 months, and "space fish farming" will be realized! The launch mission of Shenzhou 18 was a complete success" 2024.4.26
China Youth Network, "Why are the American "Starlink" satellites unruly?", 2021.12.29
Preface
The continental space station has been hit many times in space, and the target has been locked.
On the evening of 25 April, Shenzhou-18 will carry additional armor into the sky for the first time! It will solve the problem of multiple collisions on the continental space station.
So, what exactly has hit the continental space station multiple times?
Hit the murderer
The continent's space station has suffered many impacts in space, especially the mainland's Tianhe core module, the solar wings have been damaged, and Shenzhou 17 has twice left the capsule to repair the space station that has been impacted.
This time, this murderer is finally going to be sanctioned!
The killer of the impact on the continental space station was not some extraterrestrial visitor, nor was it a weapon of any other country, but "space debris".
What is space debris?
The official definition is:
"Space debris refers to all man-made objects in the Earth's orbit or re-entry into the atmosphere that have failed, commonly known as "space junk".
And the main reason why these space debris will hit the continental space station is that there is too much space debris.
However, in addition to space debris, there are also some natural meteorites in the universe that may also impact the space station.
And because in orbit, these meteorites and space debris can reach speeds of up to 7.9 kilometers per second.
Therefore, even if it floats in space, it poses a certain threat to the space station of the continent.
But for now, space debris is more of a threat in Earth's space.
Unexpectedly, it is not aliens that threaten mankind, but space debris created by humans!
At present, only 10% of all space artifacts are in a normal state of operation in space.
And the remaining 90% is space debris, that is, space junk.
In other words, in addition to the "huge garbage dumps" in our oceans, there are also "huge garbage dumps" above our human heads.
This huge garbage dump floats above us all the time, flying back and forth with the Earth's orbit.
Moreover, these space debris, which form a large garbage dump, threaten spacecraft in space all the time.
As of 2021, observatories in various countries have observed debris in space.
More than 23,000 pieces of space debris larger than 10 centimeters have been found, and at least more than 7,000 remain unobserved.
Therefore, more than 30,000 pieces of space debris larger than 10 centimeters are floating in the Earth's orbit, posing a threat to human spacecraft at any time.
And the space debris of 1 cm to 10 cm, which is innumerable and incalculable, has reached nearly a million according to conservative estimates!
So, how dangerous are these debris floating in space?
How dangerous is space debris?
It can be said that the level of danger is extremely high!
These debris floating in space are extremely fast, so they also hide a huge lethality, even if it is only a 10-gram space debris, the power of the explosion is huge.
If a 10-gram piece of space debris crashes into a satellite at a speed of 7 kilometers, it is equivalent to two cars traveling at 100 kilometers per hour crashing together.
After being hit, the satellite will be pierced in 1.5 seconds, and if you are unlucky, you will be destroyed directly!
Destroyed or damaged satellites will continue to generate new "space debris", just like malignant cells, which will multiply indefinitely.
On December 12, 2021, CCTV reported an incident in which space debris hit a satellite, in which South Korea's Arirang satellite was almost hit by a piece of high-speed space junk.
It can be seen that if it is concentrated by a fragment with a speed of 7 kilometers per hour, the power can be imagined, and it is no different from a shell.
Not only that, but the Canadian robotic arm of the International Space Station was also hit by a small space debris with a large hole in it.
It's like someone in space, taking out a gun and shooting at the space station.
It's scary! Staying in the space station and seeing a gun hole on the mechanical arm outside, you can imagine how dangerous it is.
Luckily, it was the robotic arm that hit, not some other critical equipment, if the debris accidentally hit the core equipment inside the space station.
It may lead to air leakage and loss of pressure on the space station, and the lives of astronauts in the space station may be seriously threatened.
After all, this is in space, and there is basically no way to get rescue.
Therefore, although the International Space Station will operate at a relatively safe altitude, it will inevitably encounter the danger of space debris flying over.
The International Space Station, which has been in service for 20 years, is riddled with holes, with hundreds of impact points, and solar panel cells have been knocked out of many dents, and some places have even been directly penetrated.
The continental space station has also suffered many space debris impacts, and the solar wings have been damaged by impacts, so it is very dangerous.
Although protected by the atmosphere, space debris generally does not threaten the safety of humans on Earth, but there are exceptions!
NASA confirmed that the massive metal space debris that crashed inside a house in Florida came from the International Space Station (ISS).
The owner of the house said that the garbage from the International Space Station had smashed into his house and almost hit his son!
So, why is there so much debris in space?
Why is there so much space debris?
Of course, it is the reason why humans have launched a lot of satellites and probes into space.
Thus a "space garbage patch" over the Earth was formed.
These debris garbage are mainly formed in four ways, so space debris mainly includes:
"Failed spacecraft, rocket wreckage, operational debris, and disintegration debris. ”
It is not difficult to explain the failure of spacecraft, after all, since the 50s of the last century, mankind has launched satellites into Earth orbit.
And these satellites or spacecraft that have been launched in the past have completely lost control after running out of fuel, and spacecraft that have lost control are no different from space junk.
Because it can be collided with other space debris at any time, or other abandoned satellites, thus forming more debris.
The other is the debris from rockets, which are separated after the spacecraft is sent into space.
After all, the burned rocket is useless, so it remains in the Earth's orbit forever and becomes space junk.
The operational debris is that when the rocket is flying, it will produce high temperature and vibration, so under the high temperature and huge space pressure, some debris will fall off.
Of course, these three types account for a relatively small proportion of space debris, but these debris are also the "culprits" that breed more debris.
It is these "uncontrolled" debris that will collide in orbit and form "disintegration debris".
It's just two abandoned satellites or spacecraft.
But in the high-speed flight state, they suddenly collided together, and the huge impact force caused the "two big garbage" to decompose into countless "small garbage".
That's why there is so much junk in space, and according to NASA, there are at least 100 million pieces of debris in orbit that are currently smaller than 1 centimeter.
Therefore, the root cause of the large amount of space debris is due to the current technical problems of human disposal of abandoned spacecraft.
Moreover, a large number of frequent satellites will also lead to more space debris, and the United States' Starlink will cause a lot of space junk in the future, after all, the total number will exceed 42,000, and the life span is only five years.
So, how does the continental space station defend itself in the face of space debris that cannot be processed at the moment?
The "defensive" strategy of the continental space station
The continental space processing method is also very hardcore!
That is to let Shenzhou 18 bring some "protective armor" up.
At present, Shenzhou-18 has successfully connected to the continental space station.
The three astronauts of Shenzhou-18 will not only use the scientific test aircraft in the cabin and the extravehicular load to conduct some physical experiments.
There are other experiments on space life sciences, aerospace medicine, and space materials.
The Shenzhou-18 crew will also carry out 2 to 3 out-of-cabin missions, and these tasks are to install these "protective devices", that is, space-grade "armor".
In addition, it is said in the mission introduction that on the basis of the existing space debris protection measures, "debris protection and reinforcement devices" will be installed on the cables, pipelines and some key equipment outside the cabin.
Therefore, it is very hardcore, that is, to install "new armor" in key places of the space station to protect the security of the space station.
However, this alone will not be able to completely protect the security of the space station.
The space station on the mainland has several other measures of "passive defense".
- It is tracked by the radar on the space station and optoelectronic equipment, so as to scan various things near the space station in advance.
In this way, the experience is perceived, so as to predict the arrival of danger in advance, leaving time for the continental space station to react.
In July and October 2021, the United States approached the mainland's space station twice by operating the "Starlink" satellite, and it was in this way that the mainland sensed the danger in advance and decisively took emergency avoidance.
This United States is really bad, and it is not honest in space, and we still have astronauts on it, and our lives are seriously threatened.
- It is to detect damage in advance and repair it as soon as possible by conducting an optical inspection of the appearance of the space station.
- The mainland has also installed an impact leakage monitoring and positioning system for the space station, if something goes wrong with the space station, the astronauts can predict the danger in advance, the space station is really dangerous, and there is still time to fly away on the Shenzhou spacecraft!
- The other is to announce the orbital parameters of the space station and establish flight safety communication with other countries to avoid danger in advance.
Although there is an incalculable amount of space debris in space, the continent has also launched a "cleaner".
In June 2016, the mainland launched the "Aolong-1", whose main role is to actively remove aircraft debris and prevent failed satellites or debris from crashing into major cities on Earth.
epilogue
Therefore, it is these space debris that have hit the continental space station many times, but in the face of debris, the continent has a variety of solutions to solve it.
However, if a "Starlink" event like the one in 2021 happens again, the mainland will make all security preparations and space debris will be easy to defend, but some hegemonic countries will be the most difficult to prevent.
Resources:
Global Network "It is expected to dock for 6 months, and "space fish farming" will be realized! Shenzhou 18 launch mission is a complete success" 2024.4.26
China Youth Network, "Why do the American "Starlink" satellites unruly when they create many dangerous situations?", 2021.12.29
CCTV "South Korean Satellite Almost Collided with Space Junk, the Closest Distance is Only 62 Meters" 2021.12.12
Tangshan Science and Technology Museum, "What is the harm of space junk?", 2022.8.27