Environmental News

All right youse guys, read it here:

When Space Becomes a Danger Zone - ENGtechnica

 

Chap's link is correct. Debris on earth is also a concern but it moves much slower.

 

Star-de-linked are now re entering about one per week. One assumes they use their last bit of ion thrust to splash at Point Nemo but I have not seen that discussed.

An important risk of orbiting pieces too small to track is disabling orderly de-orbiting of satellites. Those then become bumper cars with large cross sectional areas. Bumper cars might not be an ideal analogy because that game is based on surviving impacts.

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Giving Earth an orbital shield of Kessler debris might work in sci fi, but if ETs manage to get all the way here, they'd need to have good bumpers already installed.

 

"US Space Force doesn't have any problems tracking space debris" Larger than 1 cm, no one (in that business) does.

"More recently, they are using satellites to catalog and track debris." Satellite capable of doing this by plasma wake detection from smaller bits has been described and designed but not launched yet.

In a timely story, Stephen Clark lists largest orbital debris hazards:

Removing these 50 objects from orbit would cut danger from space junk in half - Ars Technica

I am not aware of any plans to de orbit large chunks. That would be helpful.

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"If space stuff fascinates you ..." It does, and others here besides me also. I would presume all such know of Starfish Prime.

 

Mt. Everest climbing information, as a news link follows below.

Recent years successful ascents about 850. Recent years success rate about 60%. Average cost about USD$50,000 (with large variation). Main climbing season April through May.

Just now there are about 1000 climbers stranded on the mountain. That is similar to an entire year's number and it is October. Seems there was an unseasonal weather opening and they 'went for it' and the opening closed.

Nearly 1,000 hikers trapped on Mount Everest as heavy snow halts access

Best scenario I suppose would be that most have not yet summited, so they would have more supplies and not been battered by the final leg. Waiting and walking out as opposed to helicopter evacuation of so many.

I don't know that an October mass ascent has been attempted before.

 

1953 ascent without mentioning Tenzing Norgay gets a yellow card.

Current high tech is more than equipment:

Mount Everest Climbers: Total Summit Count and Yearly Stats

Link does not mention drugs mainly Erythropoietin (EPO) and see others here:

AAC Publications - Mountain Medicine, Performance-Enhancing Drugs and Climbing

Nor mention pre-climb training that now includes sleeping in low-oxygen tents.

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Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler achieved the summit without bottled oxygen in 1978. This should rank with 1953, and Messner was unique:

Reinhold Messner | Academy of Achievement

Meanwhile, many are right now on Everest slope not facing certain survival. If this goes badly, mass appeal of 'the 8000s' will be revised.

 

BBC America coverage suggests this was an unwise group of holiday goers in Tibet, and that evacuation is proceeding successfully. This puts a different face on it.

It is the mid-autumn festival in China now, but most (of us) only have large family meals and exit with large boxes of moon cakes we don't really like, but cannot refuse.