Governments, Businesses Take Interest in Space Junk
2023-03-16
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1The U.S. Space Command recently released a proposal aimed at reducing the "junk" orbiting the Earth in space.
2Space junk might be a piece of metal that broke off from an orbiting satellite.
3Or it could be a whole satellite that is no longer powered on or controlled by the organization that launched it.
4If other countries and businesses agree to follow the U.S. proposal, outer space could become much safer and cleaner.
5Lloyd Austin is the U.S. Secretary of Defense.
6He approved the proposal, known as "Tenets of Responsible Behavior in Space," in early March.
7It is not a legal document; it is a five-point list of so-called "best practices."
8One of the points reads: "avoid operating...in a way that may harmfully interfere with the function of (another) space object."
9Another is "operate space objects through end-of-life disposal in ways that limit...long-lived debris."
10The other points relate to avoiding collisions, or crashes, between space objects, not interfering with an organization's ability to control a space device and communicating ahead of time about a possible collision.
11The main concern is that there are too many old objects in space that are no longer used.
12Those objects may get in the way of objects that are useful.
13Government space agencies and private businesses are working to create some kind of order, especially in the part of space that is called low Earth orbit.
14That is where a number of internet satellites launched by Elon Musk's company SpaceX are currently active. Amazon is also planning to launch satellites into that area.
15Jack Deasy is a vice president for the company Astroscale, which is based in Tokyo, Japan.
16The company is testing a debris-removal device called ELSA.
17 The device connects to space debris and pushes the objects towards Earth's atmosphere, where they will burn up.
18Deasy said the points included in the U.S. proposal should be adopted by the industry before something bad happens in orbit.
19If something is not done soon and something happens in orbit, Deasy said he is worried the industry will make a fast decision in answer to an accident.
20He said, "That kind of ... crisis-driven thing is not always the best way of setting up long-term policies that sustain the ecosystem."
21So far, Astroscale has raised $376 million for its space-cleaning program.
22One of the investors is Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa.
23He recently published a message on Twitter saying that garbage in space "can become a big problem in the future."
24While Astroscale is developing a system to remove space debris, other companies are working on creating devices that can capture old satellites and refuel them.
25The hope is that the old devices can be reactivated so they can be useful for a longer period.
26Another company, Neumann Space of Australia, is working on a way to collect old satellites and turn them into fuel for currently active satellites.
27The metal can be used to power new satellites, explained Herve Astier.
28He runs Neumann Space.
29"Using the metal that's already there, that's a way to move forward in terms of sustainability," he said.
30Neumann plans to launch a test satellite in June.
31I'm Dan Friedell.
1The U.S. Space Command recently released a proposal aimed at reducing the "junk" orbiting the Earth in space. 2Space junk might be a piece of metal that broke off from an orbiting satellite. Or it could be a whole satellite that is no longer powered on or controlled by the organization that launched it. 3If other countries and businesses agree to follow the U.S. proposal, outer space could become much safer and cleaner. 4Lloyd Austin is the U.S. Secretary of Defense. He approved the proposal, known as "Tenets of Responsible Behavior in Space," in early March. It is not a legal document; it is a five-point list of so-called "best practices." 5One of the points reads: "avoid operating...in a way that may harmfully interfere with the function of (another) space object." Another is "operate space objects through end-of-life disposal in ways that limit...long-lived debris." 6The other points relate to avoiding collisions, or crashes, between space objects, not interfering with an organization's ability to control a space device and communicating ahead of time about a possible collision. 7The main concern is that there are too many old objects in space that are no longer used. Those objects may get in the way of objects that are useful. 8Government space agencies and private businesses are working to create some kind of order, especially in the part of space that is called low Earth orbit. That is where a number of internet satellites launched by Elon Musk's company SpaceX are currently active. Amazon is also planning to launch satellites into that area. 9Jack Deasy is a vice president for the company Astroscale, which is based in Tokyo, Japan. The company is testing a debris-removal device called ELSA. The device connects to space debris and pushes the objects towards Earth's atmosphere, where they will burn up. 10Deasy said the points included in the U.S. proposal should be adopted by the industry before something bad happens in orbit. 11If something is not done soon and something happens in orbit, Deasy said he is worried the industry will make a fast decision in answer to an accident. He said, "That kind of ... crisis-driven thing is not always the best way of setting up long-term policies that sustain the ecosystem." 12So far, Astroscale has raised $376 million for its space-cleaning program. 13One of the investors is Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa. He recently published a message on Twitter saying that garbage in space "can become a big problem in the future." 14While Astroscale is developing a system to remove space debris, other companies are working on creating devices that can capture old satellites and refuel them. The hope is that the old devices can be reactivated so they can be useful for a longer period. 15Another company, Neumann Space of Australia, is working on a way to collect old satellites and turn them into fuel for currently active satellites. 16The metal can be used to power new satellites, explained Herve Astier. He runs Neumann Space. 17"Using the metal that's already there, that's a way to move forward in terms of sustainability," he said. 18Neumann plans to launch a test satellite in June. 19I'm Dan Friedell. 20Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a report by Reuters. 21___________________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23junk-n. unwanted material, trash or garbage 24tenet -n. a rule or idea accepted by many 25practice -n. a way of doing something 26debris -n. something unwanted that takes up space or is an obstacle 27adopt -v. to put something into use 28ecosystem -n. the place where something exists 29garbage-n. unwanted material, or trash; something no longer useful 30sustain-v. to keep something going for a long time 31__________________________________________________________________ 32We want to hear from you. Do you the space debris problem will be solved soon? 33We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 34Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.