Russian cosmonaut considers a threat to the Earth from meteorites overrated

The threat to the Earth from meteorites and space debris are small, although sooner or later all these remains will fall, said on air of radio Baltkom Russian cosmonaut Yuri Usachev.

“I am frequently told that from space the Earth looks small, fragile, like a Christmas toy, but to me it seemed huge. When the station carried at a speed of 8.5 kilometers per second and one revolution takes an hour and a half, do you understand this scale,” — said the astronaut.

In his words, “the Earth is large, but the child does not feel that the parents more than him, and I didn’t feel any pressure”. “The beauty of the planet surprised me. I could admire it at the window for hours. I’ve never been sick for a year and a half never had the same pictures. And I fell in love with the planet, in this beauty with such force that it is impossible to be fed. For me it was a huge shock,” — said the astronaut.

At the same time, the danger of meteorites for astronauts and earthlings Usachev considers overvalued.

“Space debris and the remains of satellites fly at an altitude of 600-800 kilometers, and our station (ISS) — only at 400. Of course, some measures to get rid of this garbage should be taken, and sooner or later he will fall, but the risk is very small, most of it will burn during the passage of the atmosphere”, — said the astronaut.

According to Usacheva, “regarding the meteorites, the space is so huge that a risk of collision is negligible. The more that scientists now keep track of all potentially hazardous objects larger than a tennis ball, and we received a warning in advance can turn on the engines and slightly change the flight path”. “There were such cases, but with mutual speeds greater than 30 km/h and I, of course, nothing could not notice, once only seen tiny cavern from a speck of dust on the window”, he added.

Having worked in space more than two years, Usachev and has not lost novelty of sensations, the ability to be surprised.

“Space remains the same as when Gagarin is the same as a million years ago. It only changes our relationship to it. Now for me it is work, but it is still very romantic,” said he.

An astronaut and a writer, hero of Russia Yuri Usachev made four space flights with a total duration 553 of the day, and seven times out to open space.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x