A demonstration mission to test an idea of cleaning up space junk was launched this morning in Kazakhstan. Known as ELSA-D, the mission will exhibit technology that can help deal with space junk. The spacecraft works by attempting to attach itself to dead satellites and pushing them toward the Earth to burn up in the atmosphere.
ELSA-D, which stands for End-of-life Services by Astroscale, will be carried out by a “servicer spacecraft” and a “client satellite” that are launched together, according to Astroscale, spacecraft will release and try to meet with the client satellite, which will act as a piece of space junk.
The mission will carry out this catch-and-release process repeatedly over the course of six months. The goal is to prove the servicer’s ability to track down and dock with its target in varying levels of complexity. However, the spacecraft is not designed to deal with dead satellites already in orbit, but rather future satellites that would be launched with docking plates on them.
Space junk has been a growing problem for years. According to a recent report by NASA, at least 26,000 of the millions of pieces of space junk are the size of a softball. Orbiting along at 17,500mph, they could destroy a satellite. And the most common space junk, more than 100 million pieces, is the size of a grain of salt and could make holes in a spacesuit, amplifying risk to spacecraft and crew.
The development of other cleanup technologies has been underway for years. In 2016, Japan’s space agency sent a 700-meter chain into space to try to slow down and redirect space junk. In 2018, a device called RemoveDebris successfully cast a net around a large piece of space junk. These efforts could prove increasingly important as private space projects like SpaceX continue to fill low Earth orbit in a messy way.
7. How will the servicer spacecraft function?
A.By breaking space junk into pieces. |
B.By pushing space junk towards the Earth. |
C.By adding docking plates to client satellites. |
D.By drawing dead satellites away from the Earth. |
8. What kind of space junk will the servicer mainly deal with?
A.Dead satellites in orbit. |
B.Large pieces of space junk. |
C.Satellites to be launched with docking plates. |
D.Space junk around working satellites in a messy way. |
9. Which of the following can best replace the underlined word “amplifying” in Paragraph 4?
A.increasing | B.removing |
C.examining | D.transporting |
10. What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A.Space research is becoming important. |
B.The function of artificial satellites is various. |
C.It’s necessary to conduct the clear-up mission. |
D.SpaceX plays an important role in sending satellites. |