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FPNIVeManee Network and NASA woilk togetlner to keep track of the largest pieces
efspace jank、 When the shuttle is in obit、 for exmnple (heir attention ja on nearby junk that might
SS mthe way Ifthe Seven asmallchanee ofa collis ion, then the shuttle speeds up while changing
dnecton、 Theyw ane about 1S.000 pieces of garbage lger (ham four inches。 The Space Surveilance
pieces、 With dozems of telescopes and antennas on the Earth and in
ーー
Network トeeps a list of all these
Becawse all the piecesare in motion allthe time, keeping track ofthem is di仙cult.
SDace towatch them.
gS: where the garbage is now, and where is going to be in the
The sientists have to know tyo thin
The prediction ofdinection js not simple because the junk can move north or south. east or west。
futune、
They ane always looking about four days into the future, tracking objects which mmight
and up or down.
come close. Scientists cannot Keep track of them al however. Instead ofwatching each piece one by
one. scientists watch one area of SKy and count the number of pieces that pass overhead. With that
Small measurement,they can use a computer program to get a good idea ofwhat the whole sky looks hike.
Researchers pay Hittle attention to small pieces of space junk even when they have high possibihhty o
colhsion.
イ What makes tracking pieces of space junk dificult is the fact that they are always moving around.
"The fture position of space junk is far more important than the current position of 直. だ
tjsinmpossible for scientists to track all pieces of Space junki so they dont watch 1
オオ Now that scientists can use a computer Dora they dont have to
ノ eyeS.
