Word: orbit
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Ever since a Soviet nuclear-powered satellite broke apart over a remote region of northern Canada in 1978, the use of atomic reactors in space has been highly controversial. Once again the debate over nukes in orbit has heated up. Last April the Soviets lost control of another nuclear satellite, raising fears that it would fall to earth before they managed to boost the reactor into a safer, high-altitude orbit. Then, at a scientific conference in New Mexico last month, the Soviets said they had begun putting a new generation of powerful reactors in space and were even interested...
That nearly happened in 1978, when the Soviets' Cosmos 954 fell from orbit and burned on re-entry, showering northern Canada with radioactive debris. The only reason no one was hurt was that the impact site was virtually unpopulated. The incident persuaded the Soviets to design more effective safety devices into their nuclear satellites...
Those safeguards were put to a test last September, when the nuclear-powered Cosmos 1900, containing about 70 lbs. of radioactive fuel, began falling out of orbit. But before the satellite re-entered the atmosphere, an automated safety system kicked in. The reactor was separated from the satellite and shot into a higher orbit. If, however, the reactor should collide with a defunct satellite or some other piece of debris left from more than 30 years of human activity in space, it could be knocked out of orbit anyway. Says Daniel Hirsch, director of the Stevenson Program on Nuclear Policy...
...half a dozen Harvard seniors were asked on graduation day to explain why there are seasons. All blithely described how the earth is closer to the sun in summer and farther away in winter. Wrong. The seasons result from the tilt of the earth's axis relative to its orbit. When the sun is highest in the sky, we have summer. In fact, the earth is closest to the sun in January...
Still, South Yemen remains firmly in the Soviet orbit. Aden's strategic location gives the Soviet navy a deep-water port with excellent facilities to service its large Indian Ocean fleet. From there, Soviet ships could control access in or out of the Red Sea, a choke point of global importance. South Yemen refuses to accord the U.S.S.R. full base rights for its navy, and is rumored to restrict port calls by Soviet warships to twelve a year. But bunkering and repair services are always available...