太空站排出1.5噸垃圾 清爽多了作者黃啟霖 | 中央廣播電台 – 2016年2月19日 下午9:37


                                             

國際太空站今天(19日)整個變得清爽多了。

美國國家航空暨太空總署(NASA)的2名太空人，今天(19日)在太空站飛越玻利維亞上空的時候，釋出1具裝載1.5噸垃圾的太空艙。這具太空艙將於20日重新進入大氣層，並在太平洋上空燒成灰燼，不會造成任何傷害。
美國航太總署供應商軌道ATK公司(Orbital ATK)去年12月發射這具太空艙到太空站，當時艙裡裝載了糧食、衣服以及其他物品。太空人在移除這些寶貴的補給品之後，以太空站的垃圾、老舊的設備填滿，準備燒成灰燼。
太空站上的美國太空人：太空站指揮官凱利(Scott Kelly)和飛行工程師柯帕拉(Timothy Kopra)按下指令，釋出這具太空艙，從地球上空250英里高的太空緩緩降下。
凱利在釋出垃圾艙之後寫道：「實在很榮幸」。
地面管制中心則回應道：「漂亮的釋出」。

凱利將在不到2個星期之後，結束長達1年的太空任務。

無怪乎我有時看到的流星，搖搖晃晃的，哈
不過太空人哪來那麼多大便？滿天的流星都是他們的大便？不會滴下來就好了
我還是相信大多數流星都是隕石和太空垃圾形成的

:o很無言也很搞笑，這篇文章原意應該是記錄太空人的生活史。

其中有提到太空人的排泄物進入大氣層時會有類似流星墜落的燃燒光芒，不就算如此應該也只佔少數必竟在太空生活的人數量並不多所以絕大多數的燃燒光芒都是真正的流星喔。

如果是真的 看到流星應該就不會有興奮的感覺了

原文:
Scott Kelly’s Epic Yearlong Space Mission Reaches Mid-Point, Infographic

Famous astronaut Scott Kelly is part of a NASA program called “Year in Space” and he’s almost halfway there. With this occasion, the International Space Station has set up a conference with Earth where he talked about his experience so far.
On Monday, an infographic was released also marking the progress that’s been made so far, featuring some fun facts on what living in space means for the human body. Prepared to be surprised – and probably a little grossed out – by some of the practices we were never aware of before.
You were probably never curious as to what happens with all the human waste that is produced on the space station, but even so, NASA chose to disclose some of the details about what is involved in disposing of astronauts’ personal business.
A year in space is not a short while, and the human body experiences plenty of changes living in microgravity. But one thing remains: astronauts have to poop, too. NASA scientists calculated that by the end of his stay, Kelly will have produced around 180 pounds (82 kilograms) of poop.

All that human waste is regularly discharged from the ISS and it burns up in Earth’s atmosphere. Did you think you were making a wish upon a shooting star? You might want to reconsider, as scientists say that burning feces might not sound so glamorous, but they resemble very much a dying star.
Prepare for some more, because that’s not the end of it. It turns out that pee and sweat are recycled on the space station, so Kelly will have around 730 liters (193 gallons) of his own stuff to keep him hydrated. There’s nothing magical about this fun fact, however. It’s just plain gross – and maybe practical.
More than 300 experiments are looking to find an answer in Kelly’s one year in space, a time he spends in the company of Russian Cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko. Most of the human experimental programs are observing the effects space has on the body.
If he wants to keep in shape, Kelly has to faithfully exercise for two hours each day, so his bones, muscles and heart don’t deteriorate; even so, there have been reports on bone mass loss and weaker vision, according to NASA. Microgravity also has an effect on the fluids that shift out of his legs and towards his head.
   

So thank you, NASA, for ruining shooting stars for us. But also, thank you for showing us the less glamorous side of being an astronaut, maybe more children will cross this career off their wish list.
Image Sources: here and here