10 more misconceptions about space, which are also ashamed to believe
A Life / / January 06, 2021
Previous article on this topic caused a very heated discussion. So we exposed another portion of the extremely common "facts".
1. Rockets fly straight up
If you watch any film about space (for example, the same "Interstellar"), You will see how the rockets just take off, rise higher and higher, drop the spent stages - and now they are in orbit. Great, isn't it?
What really is. If you just fly up, sooner or later you will run out of fuel and you will fall back to Earth. To stay in orbit, the ship needs to be given the first space velocitySpace speeds - for the Earth it is 7.91 km / s. Then it will revolve around the planet and not fall.
In reality, spaceships only fly upward for the first few seconds. Then they begin to tilt, gradually gaining horizontal speed. So the flight is not in a straight line, but in an arc. Take a look at the photoCRS ‑ 4 take off any rocket with a long exposure, and you will see the real trajectory of movement.
2. Space debris is very dangerous
Movie "Gravity"Clearly showed what a terrible thing space debris is. Streams of small pieces of destroyed satellites spread first the Hubble, then the ISS and, finally, the Tiangong-1, and Sandra Bullock is saved by a miracle.
US Space Surveillance Network reportsOrbital Debris, UCS Satellite Database, Space debris by the numbersthat there are now about 20,000 artificial objects in orbit: of them 2,218 active satellites and more than 128 million pieces of space debris!
And as if this is not enough! Elon Musk intendsSpaceX Wants to Launch 12,000 Satellites launch 12,000 Starlink satellites into space to provide the world with cheap internet. The hour is not far off when the Earth will be completely surrounded by a layer of orbital debris, and flights into space will become impossible.
What really is. The danger of space debris is somewhat exaggerated. For example, for the ISS, the risk of colliding with something is estimatedSpace Safety is No Accident: The 7th IAASS Conference, Space Law: Basic Legal Documents, The Threat of Orbital Debris and Protecting NASA Space Assets from Satellite Collisions in 1 / 10,000. Anything large or large is easily tracked and easily avoided.
Alexander Lazutkin, cosmonautWhen in filmsThe astronaut named the three most popular myths about space show how the station flies, at the last moment dodging fragments rushing towards it, this is nonsense.
Finally, the last collision of a satellite with space debris occurredU.S. Satellite Destroyed in Space Collision in 2009, so you can see for yourself that this is a very rare event. Near-Earth space is huge, and the chances of colliding with the remains of spacecraft in it are minimal. So this pictureSpace debriscreated by ESA is just an artist's fantasy.
As for satellites Ilona Mask, they fly at very low altitudes. They will be able to stay in space no more than five years, and then they will go out of orbit and burn up.FCC approves SpaceX's plan to operate Starlink satellites at lower altitude in the atmosphere without residue. Despite the fact that each "microsatellite" from a pack of 60 pieces (which is how much Falcon 9 launches into orbit) weighsStarlink mission 260 kg.
So don't worry, space debris isn't nearly as scary as is commonly believed.
3. We will not fly to Mars due to radiation
Many are skeptical about the plans to conquer Mars from the same Elon Musk, and here's why. Space is full of radiation. Its main source in our system is the Sun, but it also arrives fairly from distant stars. On Earth, we are protected by a magnetic field, but in open space and on Mars there is no such protection. So the first Martian settlers will inevitably die.
It's strange that Musk doesn't think about it, but he's not a techie.Rogozin questioned SpaceX's ability to surpass Russia in rocket engines, right?
What really is. NASA's MARS Odyssey probe using an instrument called MARIE (Martian Radiation Experiment), as well as the Curiosity rover, studiedMARS Odyssey, First radiation measurements from the surface of Mars, Measurements of Energetic Particle Radiation in Transit to Mars on the Mars Science Laboratory the radiation situation in the orbit of Mars. It turned out that the constant radiation level there is 2.5 times higher than that on the ISS. On the surface, the phonite is not so strong: the average dose is about 0.67 millisievert (mSv) (for comparison: in orbit - 1.8 mSv).
This is a lot, but to say that those who flew to Mars the astronauts will certainly die, you can't. NASA experts sayMars' Surface Radiation Environment Measured with the Mars Science Laboratory's Curiosity Rover, How Much Radiation Would You Get During A Mars Mission?, How Bad is the Radiation on Mars?that if people spend 500 days on this planet, plus they spend 180 days on the way there and the same amount on the return, the cosmic background radiation will increase their risk of cancer by 5%. For comparison: on the ISS, the risk is 3%. In general, astronauts, even those that flew on The moondid not experience serious consequencesContrapositive logic suggests space radiation not having a strong impact on mortality of US astronauts and Soviet and Russian cosmonauts radiation.
NASA has many projects to protect spacecraft from radiation - for example, shielding the crew with special tanks.Real Martians: How to Protect Astronauts from Space Radiation on Mars with water. A flight to Mars will not be very good for health, but people went for the sake of science and at great sacrifices.
4. The Great Wall of China seen from the moon
Such a funny "fact" is given in many popular science articles. the great Wall of China - the only man-made object visible from the moon with the naked eye. Built so built.
What really is. Here is a photoApollo 11 Mission Image - View of Moon Limb, with Earth on the Horizon Earth taken from the lunar surface during the Apollo 11 mission. Or here's another imageCrescent Earth and the U.S. Flagtaken during the landing of the Apollo 17 crew. Do you think you can see something at a distance of 384,400 km?
NASA officially announcedChina's Wall Less Great in View from Spacethat the Chinese Wall is not visible from the moon.
Alan Bean, Apollo 12 astronautThe only thing that you can see from the Moon is a beautiful sphere, mostly white, with tints of blue and yellow, as well as a little green. No man-made object will be visible at this scale.
Sometimes the Moon is not mentioned and they simply say: “The Great Wall of China is the only object that can be seen from space». And from there, in theory, not only the wall is visible: the astronauts of the ISS notice and photograph cities.
But here is the Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei in his picturesISS010 ‑ E ‑ 8497 and could not capture the wall. Although at least she is presentGreat wall of china on radar pictures. So it is far from the most noticeable object on the planet.
5. The shuttles were very unreliable
In 2011 he made his last flightNASA managers approve STS-135 mission planning for June 28, 2011 launch shuttle "Atlantis". Since then, the Americans have been riding into space, buying seats on Russian Soyuz, and their manned Dragon Crew and Starliner should begin flying only this year.
Why were shuttles - so progressive and reusable - abandoned? Naturally, due to their low reliability and accident rate. No joke - during the flights of space shuttles they diedEngineer who warned of 1986 Challenger disaster still racked with guilt, three decades on, Columbia Crew Survival Investigation Report 14 people.
What really is. Just some numbers. During its history, five shuttles have completedNASA's Space Shuttle By the Numbers: 30 Years of a Spaceflight Icon 135 flights, of which two ended in disaster: the 10th flight for the Challenger and the 28th for the Columbia were the last.
But, for comparison, the Soyuz spacecraft for 2011 madeList of devices of the Soyuz series, FLIGHTS OF THE SOYUZ SPACE SHIPS 116 flights, two of which ended in crashes.
The shuttles took outNASA's Space Shuttle By the Numbers: 30 Years of a Spaceflight Icon 355 people from different countries were brought into space, and 789 were delivered back (often the crew members who flew there on the Soyuz were taken from the ISS). In total, they spent 8,280 days in orbit and brought into space 1,593,759 kg of payload and 180 satellites, and even built most of the ISS.
We abandoned the shuttles due to their high cost. The cost of the 30-year program wasSpace Shuttle Era Facts $ 113.7 billion.
To drive into orbit underloaded monsters capable of sending up to eight people and 24 tons of cargo in one launch turned out to be too expensive even for NASA.
6. "Buran" could take off from the back of the An-225
By the way, more about shuttles. Everyone knows that the USSR had its own shuttle called "Buran". He made his first and only flightLargest spacecraft to orbit and land unmanned in 1988.
Unlike the shuttles that usedSpace Shuttle. The History of the National Space Transportation System: The First 100 Missions reusable solid fuel boosters, "Buran" flew bolted to the super-heavy rocket "Energia", which was irretrievably lostTRIUMPH AND THE TRAGEDY OF "ENERGY", Soviet Buran Space Shuttle, Soviet copy of the shuttle - reusable space system with orbital aircraft OS-120 in the process.
But the Buran had every chance of becoming cheaper than shuttles. After all, they planned to launch it into space, lifting it into the air on its back. An-225 - the famous "Mriya". It is much more efficient and economical.
What really is. "Buran" did not know how to take off. Those who came up with this bike, apparently, confused it with the projected, but abandoned spaceplane "Spiral"Air-orbital aircraft (VOS) "Spiral". The Mriya would never have had the speed and power to send a huge shuttle into suborbital flight.
The myth was born from photographyAntonov An ‑ 225 Mriya - Antonov Design Bureauwhere "Buran" is transported on the back of the An-225. Similarly transportedShuttle in Mate ‑ Demate Device being Loaded onto SCA ‑ 747 - Side View and shuttles on Boeing 747SCA.
7. Astronauts eat everything from tubes
Everyone who is even slightly interested in astronautics knows that you can't eat from a plate in an airless space: food in a state of weightlessness scatters throughout the ship. Therefore, astronauts eat from tubes similar to those that sell toothpaste.
What really is. It really was like that before. Gagarin, for example, ate the contents of three tubes in orbitHistory of Nutrition in Space Flight: Overview: two with ground cooked meat, one with chocolate. Americans ate tooFood for space flight from tubes, and also consumed solid food in the form of small pieces from plastic containers.
And the crew members of Gemini 3 took sandwiches with themGemini 3 Fact Sheet, Gemini 3 with corned beef and covered the ship with crumbs, which caused the disapproval of NASA.
But now tubes are almost never used (only for seasonings and juices). Instead, astronauts eatHistory of Nutrition in Space Flight: Overview,Assessment of the Long-Term Stability of Retort Pouch Foods to Support Extended Duration Spaceflight, Space food, Space food semi-finished products, fruits, freeze-dried food from bags and canned food. And also on ISS are popularChris Hadfield's Space Kitchen Mexican tortillas.
8. The end of the universe can be seen in a black hole
If the astronaut crosses the black hole event horizon and is not torn apart by tidal forces (this is theoretically possibleWhat would you see in a black hole? in supermassive black holes), then he, falling to the singularity, will see the future of the Universe and even its end. It’s a pity, he can’t tell anyone exactly what will happen.
What really is. In general, we can so far only theorize about black holes. But physicists believe that you can hardly look at anything in them. You will be destroyedBlack Holes: Complementarity or Firewalls?, Black Hole Firewalls Confound Theoretical Physicists, 10 Questions You Might Have About Black Holes either tidal forces or streams of high-energy quanta. Even if you are invulnerable Clark Kent and manage to fly right up to the singularity, no journey into the future towards the end of the universe will happen.Is it possible to see the infinite future of the Universe when falling into a black hole?, Can one see the infinite future of the universe when falling to Kerr and Reissner ‑ Nordström black holes?.
9. The first in space was the Soviet "Sputnik-1"
Everyone knows that the very first man-made device sent into space was our Soviet "Sputnik-1", or "The Simplest Satellite", launched by Korolev in 1957. He joyfully "beep" from orbit about the beginning of the space age, and this signal was received by radio amateurs from all over the world.
What really is. Sputnik-1 was the first to enter a stable near-earth orbit, that is, it gained a speed of 7.91 km / s. But it was not he who was in outer space before anyone else, but the German V-2 rocket, which roseThe rocket and the reich: Peenemünde and the coming of the ballistic missile era in 1944 to an altitude of 188 km in suborbital flight. She was the first to cross the Cartman line (100 km above sea level), after which, in fact, beginsPresentation of the Karman separation line, used as the boundary separating Aeronautics and Astronautics space.
10. A land without oceans looks like this
If you think the Earth is perfectly round, you are wrong. It actually has the shape shown in the animation. This is how our planet looks if we temporarily remove all oceans from it. Not exactly like a ball, right?
This animation is found in many popular science communities on social networks. And this is definitely not a fake, because the image of the real shape of the Earth was createdEarth's gravity revealed in unprecedented detail scientists from the European Space Agency ESA.
Actually. The picture was really created by specialists from ESA. But this is not the shape of the Earth. What you see in the image is called a geoid. Roughly speaking, this is a model of the gravity field of our planet. The gravitational field of the Earth is not uniformNew Gravity Map Reveals Lumpy Earth, Don’t be fooled by a viral GIF that claims Earth is actually lumpy, not round. Where the image is redder and more prominent, the gravity is stronger. Compiled this picture using the GOCE satelliteGOCE, who spent two years studying the Earth's gravity field.
To think that the gravity model and the actual shape of the planet are one and the same is as ridiculous as thinking that the mapBump map The relief demonstrates the appearance of the Earth in true colors.
If you want to know what our planet would really look like without oceans, seas and other water - take a look at this picture. It was createdAll of Earth's Water in a single sphere! hydrologist Howard Perlman of the US Geological Survey; and illustrator Jack Cook of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.
Here is our Earth, the blue ball next to it is all the liquid from it, the smaller sphere is fresh water, and the tiny dot below is water from lakes and rivers.
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