مخلفات الفضاء قطعة قراءة ستيب رقم 6

نص القطعة

(1) Old rockets, loose bolts, and silent satellites now spin round Earth faster than a rifle bullet. Engineers from many nations are already pooling their ideas to solve the growing problem. (2) At a recent summit, space agencies set a new rule: any fresh satellite may stay in orbit for only five years before it must begin its return journey. This limit should stop the sky from filling up with dead machines. (3) Makers fit today’s spacecraft with a tiny extra engine. After that, the craft fires downward, burns in the upper air, and avoids drifting inside the atmosphere for decades. (4) Giant radars track more than forty-thousand pieces of metal. A single nut could puncture a solar panel, so flight directors plan avoidance moves each week. (5) Nets, robotic arms, and ground-based lasers are being tested as well to grab older junk. These tools might clean the busiest traffic lanes and keep future missions safe. (6) The Italian Space Agency warns that action must be swift; delay could turn low-Earth orbit into a shooting gallery. It says cooperation must speed up before that nightmare becomes real.