Word: orbitals
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...ever walked through a swarm of gnats at a picnic, you have some idea of what it's like to navigate the mass of debris that circles our planet in low-Earth orbit. Space planners have long warned that the growing belt of cosmic junk would eventually lead to collisions, and on Tuesday it happened, when an American satellite and a defunct Russian satellite totaled each other 500 miles above Siberia. This has sparked new worries that space is simply becoming too dangerous a place to travel. Things aren't nearly that severe yet - but they're getting worse...
Like popular commuter routes, orbital corridors have been growing increasingly crowded since the 1950s. Every time we put even a small satellite into orbit, after all, much more than just the satellite comes along for the ride. There are spent booster stages, discarded adapter rings, bolts and panels and bits of insulation and even chips of paint being shed in the process. (See pictures of Earth from space...
...fact, such a directive already exists in some form - the international Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which governs the legal framework for activities in space. Best known for banning governments from putting nuclear weapons into orbit, the treaty also requires space-faring nations to avoid "harmful contamination" of other worlds while exploring the solar system. Human beings have yet to set foot on other planets, so the risk today comes from bacteria that can hitch a ride on unmanned spacecraft like NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander, which arrived on the red planet's surface last May. (See pictures...
...Dear Iranian nation, your children have placed the first indigenous satellite into orbit.' MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, President of Iran, announcing the Feb. 2 launch on state television. The move has raised concern over Iran's ability to develop long-range missiles...
...Asia since 4000 B.C. It is based on 12 temperaments represented by 12 symbolic animals - rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig (the dragon being the well-known favorite). After 12 years, the cycle restarts, matching the length of Jupiter's solar orbit. (Read "China Not So Bullish About the Year...