Today's Headlines - 03 August 2023
ISRO rocket debris on Australian shore
GS Paper - 3 (Space Technology)
A large object found on the shores of western Australia a couple of weeks ago has been confirmed to be the debris of an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) rocket, the Australian Space Agency said. ISRO has agreed with the assessment, saying the debris could be from one of its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rockets. The ISRO said the agency was still to decide on the future course of action.
Are such incidents normal?
Junk from space objects falling to the earth are not unheard of. Most such incidents involve relatively small fragments from rockets that survive the friction of the atmosphere.
These usually do not make big news, also most of the time the space junk falls into oceans thus posing little danger to human populations.
But there have been a few highly publicised falls as well. In recent times, a large chunk of a 25-tonne Chinese rocket fell into the Indian Ocean in May 2021.
The most famous such case remains that of the Skylab space station, a predecessor to the currently operational International Space Station, which disintegrated in 1979.
Large chunks from this disintegration fell into the Indian Ocean, some of them falling on land in Western Australia.
Isn’t it dangerous?
The threat to life and property from falling space junk is not negligible. Even when falling into the oceans, which is more likely since 70 per cent of the earth’s surface is ocean, large objects can be a threat to marine life, and a source of pollution.
However, there are no recorded incidents of these falling objects causing any appreciable damage anywhere on the earth. When they have dropped over land, so far, it has been over uninhabited areas.
What happens if these objects cause damage?
There are international regulations governing space debris, which include junk falling back on the earth.
Most space-faring countries are signatories to the Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects.
This convention is one of the several international agreements that complement the Outer Space Treaty, the overarching framework guiding the behaviour of countries in space.
The Liability Convention deals mainly with damage caused by space objects to other space assets, but it also applies to damage caused by falling objects on earth.
The Convention makes the launching country “absolutely liable” to pay compensation for any damage caused by its space object on the earth or to a flight in air. The country where the junk falls can stake a claim for compensation if it has been damaged by the falling object.
In the current case, if the PSLV junk had caused any damage in Australia, India could have been liable to pay compensation, even if the object fell into the ocean and was then swept to the shores.
The amount of compensation is to be decided “in accordance with international law and the principles of justice and equity”.
This provision of the Convention has resulted in compensation payment only once so far — when Canada sought damages from the then Soviet Union, for a satellite with radioactive substance that fell into an uninhabited region in its northern territory in 1978. The Soviet Union is reported to have paid 3 million Canadian dollars.
#upsc #news #headline #ISRO #rocket #australian #space #technology #PSLV #satelite #launch #Vehicle #atmosphere #Indian #ocean #western #marine #earth #damage #countries #liability #canada #soviet #canadian #dollars #territory #shores #satellite
ISRO rocket debris on Australian shore
GS Paper - 3 (Space Technology)
A large object found on the shores of western Australia a couple of weeks ago has been confirmed to be the debris of an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) rocket, the Australian Space Agency said. ISRO has agreed with the assessment, saying the debris could be from one of its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rockets. The ISRO said the agency was still to decide on the future course of action.
Are such incidents normal?
Junk from space objects falling to the earth are not unheard of. Most such incidents involve relatively small fragments from rockets that survive the friction of the atmosphere.
These usually do not make big news, also most of the time the space junk falls into oceans thus posing little danger to human populations.
But there have been a few highly publicised falls as well. In recent times, a large chunk of a 25-tonne Chinese rocket fell into the Indian Ocean in May 2021.
The most famous such case remains that of the Skylab space station, a predecessor to the currently operational International Space Station, which disintegrated in 1979.
Large chunks from this disintegration fell into the Indian Ocean, some of them falling on land in Western Australia.
Isn’t it dangerous?
The threat to life and property from falling space junk is not negligible. Even when falling into the oceans, which is more likely since 70 per cent of the earth’s surface is ocean, large objects can be a threat to marine life, and a source of pollution.
However, there are no recorded incidents of these falling objects causing any appreciable damage anywhere on the earth. When they have dropped over land, so far, it has been over uninhabited areas.
What happens if these objects cause damage?
There are international regulations governing space debris, which include junk falling back on the earth.
Most space-faring countries are signatories to the Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects.
This convention is one of the several international agreements that complement the Outer Space Treaty, the overarching framework guiding the behaviour of countries in space.
The Liability Convention deals mainly with damage caused by space objects to other space assets, but it also applies to damage caused by falling objects on earth.
The Convention makes the launching country “absolutely liable” to pay compensation for any damage caused by its space object on the earth or to a flight in air. The country where the junk falls can stake a claim for compensation if it has been damaged by the falling object.
In the current case, if the PSLV junk had caused any damage in Australia, India could have been liable to pay compensation, even if the object fell into the ocean and was then swept to the shores.
The amount of compensation is to be decided “in accordance with international law and the principles of justice and equity”.
This provision of the Convention has resulted in compensation payment only once so far — when Canada sought damages from the then Soviet Union, for a satellite with radioactive substance that fell into an uninhabited region in its northern territory in 1978. The Soviet Union is reported to have paid 3 million Canadian dollars.
#upsc #news #headline #ISRO #rocket #australian #space #technology #PSLV #satelite #launch #Vehicle #atmosphere #Indian #ocean #western #marine #earth #damage #countries #liability #canada #soviet #canadian #dollars #territory #shores #satellite
Today's Headlines - 12 August 2023
‘Sponge cities’ not stopped the floods
GS Paper - 1 (Geography)
China has been hit by devastating floods, inundating cities and causing deaths and infrastructural damage, as well as raising questions about the effectiveness of its 2015 “sponge city” initiative aimed at reducing urban flood risks. The initiative was launched to boost flood resilience in major cities and make better use of rainwater through architectural, engineering and infrastructural tweaks.
Why was the initiative launched?
China has long sought to improve the way it handles extreme weather, and make highly populated cities less vulnerable to flooding and drought.
The “sponge city” initiative was designed to make greater use of lower-impact “nature-based solutions” to better distribute water and improve drainage and storage.
Those solutions included the use of permeable asphalt, the construction of new canals and ponds and also the restoration of wetlands, which would not only ease waterlogging, but also improve the urban environment.
Breakneck urbanisation has encased vast stretches of land in impermeable concrete, often along banks of major rivers that traditionally served as flood plains. With wetlands paved over and nowhere for surplus water to settle, waterlogging and flooding was commonplace.
What has been done so far?
Studies show that many of the local pilot initiatives launched so far have had a positive effect, with low-impact projects like green roofs and rain gardens reducing run-offs.
But implementation has so far been patchy. A total of 30 pilot sponge cities were selected in 2015 and 2016.
By last year, only 64 of China’s 654 cities had produced legislation to implement sponge city guidelines, researchers said in January.
The researchers said the government had so far paid “minimum attention” to sponge city construction, and called for national legislation to be drawn up as soon as possible.
What are the limitations of sponge cities?
Even if sponge city measures had been implemented in full, they would have been unable to prevent this year’s disasters.
Zhengzhou in Henan province was one of the most enthusiastic pioneers of sponge city construction, allocating nearly 60 billion yuan to the programme from 2016 to 2021. But it was unable to deal with its heaviest rainfall in history in 2021.
Experts believe sponge city infrastructure can only handle no more than 200 millimetres (7.9 inches) of rain per day.
At the height of the rainstorms that lashed Beijing at the end of July, rainfall at one station reached 745 millimetres over three and a half days. In July 2021, Zhengzhou saw rainfall in excess of 200 mm in just one hour.
Authorities are also playing catch-up to climate change. This year’s heavy rain hit cities in the normally arid north, where sponge city development is less advanced.
#upsc #news #headline #sponge #floods #geography #china #weather #launched #damage #city #rainwater #wetlands #urbanisation #restoration #canals #ponds #limitations #legislation #disasters #zhengzhou #henan #development #climatechange #rainstorms #rainfall
‘Sponge cities’ not stopped the floods
GS Paper - 1 (Geography)
China has been hit by devastating floods, inundating cities and causing deaths and infrastructural damage, as well as raising questions about the effectiveness of its 2015 “sponge city” initiative aimed at reducing urban flood risks. The initiative was launched to boost flood resilience in major cities and make better use of rainwater through architectural, engineering and infrastructural tweaks.
Why was the initiative launched?
China has long sought to improve the way it handles extreme weather, and make highly populated cities less vulnerable to flooding and drought.
The “sponge city” initiative was designed to make greater use of lower-impact “nature-based solutions” to better distribute water and improve drainage and storage.
Those solutions included the use of permeable asphalt, the construction of new canals and ponds and also the restoration of wetlands, which would not only ease waterlogging, but also improve the urban environment.
Breakneck urbanisation has encased vast stretches of land in impermeable concrete, often along banks of major rivers that traditionally served as flood plains. With wetlands paved over and nowhere for surplus water to settle, waterlogging and flooding was commonplace.
What has been done so far?
Studies show that many of the local pilot initiatives launched so far have had a positive effect, with low-impact projects like green roofs and rain gardens reducing run-offs.
But implementation has so far been patchy. A total of 30 pilot sponge cities were selected in 2015 and 2016.
By last year, only 64 of China’s 654 cities had produced legislation to implement sponge city guidelines, researchers said in January.
The researchers said the government had so far paid “minimum attention” to sponge city construction, and called for national legislation to be drawn up as soon as possible.
What are the limitations of sponge cities?
Even if sponge city measures had been implemented in full, they would have been unable to prevent this year’s disasters.
Zhengzhou in Henan province was one of the most enthusiastic pioneers of sponge city construction, allocating nearly 60 billion yuan to the programme from 2016 to 2021. But it was unable to deal with its heaviest rainfall in history in 2021.
Experts believe sponge city infrastructure can only handle no more than 200 millimetres (7.9 inches) of rain per day.
At the height of the rainstorms that lashed Beijing at the end of July, rainfall at one station reached 745 millimetres over three and a half days. In July 2021, Zhengzhou saw rainfall in excess of 200 mm in just one hour.
Authorities are also playing catch-up to climate change. This year’s heavy rain hit cities in the normally arid north, where sponge city development is less advanced.
#upsc #news #headline #sponge #floods #geography #china #weather #launched #damage #city #rainwater #wetlands #urbanisation #restoration #canals #ponds #limitations #legislation #disasters #zhengzhou #henan #development #climatechange #rainstorms #rainfall