Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Space Junk
Mains level: Read the attached story
A Chinese booster rocket made an uncontrolled return to earth, leading to US furore against Beijing for not sharing information about the potentially hazardous object’s descent.
Yet another Chinese irresponsibility
- Ending over a week of global anxiety and alarm, the debris from a large Chinese rocket – the Long March 5B — crashed to earth over the Pacific and the Indian oceans.
- It felt into the Sulu Sea near Malaysia.
- The 22-tonne core stage of the rocket hurtled uncontrollably back to earth. There were fears that it might hit a populated area.
- China, however, had dismissed these fears despite widespread criticism for rocket re-entry risks imposed by it on the world.
What is an Uncontrolled Re-entry?
- Generally, the core or first stage of a rocket is made up of heavy pieces that usually don’t reach orbit after liftoff, and fall back safely along a near-precise projected trajectory.
- If they do enter an orbit, then a costly de-orbit manoeuvre is required for a steered, controlled return using engine burn.
- Without a de-orbit manoeuvre, the orbital core stage makes an uncontrolled fall.
Why did it fell back?
- Gigantic remnants from China’s Long March 5B rockets’ core stage are known to make such fiery, out-of-control descents back to earth.
- Most nations’ rockets, separate the launcher from the payload before leaving the atmosphere.
- An extra engine then gives the payload a final boost.
- But China’s 5B series does NOT use a second engine and pushes right into orbit, the report points out.
Why is it difficult to track uncontrolled descents?
- The variables involved make it difficult to precisely track the re-entry time and drop zone of rocket debris in uncontrolled descents.
- The factors that make this prediction extremely challenging include atmospheric drag, variations in solar activity, angle and rotational variation of the object among others.
- A miscalculation of even a minute in re-entry time could result in the final resting place of the debris changing by hundreds of kilometres.
- It’s important to understand that among the 10 tough things that we do in space, debris re-entry is probably one of the toughest ones to predict.
Are there laws regulating space junk?
Yes. The Space Liability Convention of 1972.
- It defines responsibility in case a space object causes harm.
- The treaty says that a launching State shall be absolutely liable to pay compensation for damage caused by its space objects on the surface of the earth or to aircraft, and liable for damage due to its faults in space.
- The Convention also provides for procedures for the settlement of claims for damages.
- However, there is no law against space junk crashing back to earth.
- In April this year, suspected debris from a Chinese rocket was found in two Maharashtra villages.
Cases of settlements
- In 1979, the re-entry of NASA’s 76-ton Skylab had scattered debris over uninhabited parts of Australia, and the space agency was fined $400 for littering by a local government.
- The only settlement using the Liability Convention was between the erstwhile Soviet Union and Canada over the debris of Soviet Cosmos 954 falling in a barren region.
- Canada was paid CAD 3 million in accordance with international law for cleaning up the mess.
Do you know?
The 1979 Skylab was rumoured to be falling in India. We may ask our parents who were apparently kids at that time. The event was widely perceived as a Pralay (doomsday) in rural India back then! People were in all joy with festive food/partying every day fearing so that they would never see the next dawn!!
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Exercise AL NAJAH-IV
Mains level: Read the attached story
India and Oman will carry out a 13-day military exercise with a focus on counter-terror cooperation.
Exercise AL NAJAH-IV
- This is the fourth edition of India-Oman joint military exercise ‘AL NAJAH-IV’.
- It is held between contingents of Indian Army and the Royal Army of Oman is scheduled to take place at the Foreign Training Node of Mahajan Field Firing Ranges.
- The previous edition of the exercise was organised in Muscat in March 2019.
- The scope of the exercise includes “professional interaction, mutual understanding of drills and procedures, the establishment of joint command and control structures and elimination of terrorist threats”.
India-Oman Relations: A Backgrounder
- The Sultanate of Oman is a strategic partner of India in the Gulf.
- Both nations are linked by geography, history and culture and enjoy warm and cordial relations.
- An Indian consulate was opened in Muscat in February 1955 which was upgraded to a consulate general in 1960 and later into a full-fledged embassy in 1971.
- The first ambassador of India arrived in Muscat in 1973.
History of the ties
- Oman, for many years, was ruled by Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said, who was a friend of India.
- Sultan Qaboos, the longest-reigning leader of the modern Arab world, died in January ‘2020 at the age of 79.
- He was a man who was, as a student, taught by Shankar Dayal Sharma who went on to become the President of India.
- Sultan Qaboos’s father, an alumnus of Ajmer’s Mayo College, sent his son to study in Pune for some time, where he was former President Shankar Dayal Sharma’s student.
Economic ties
- Expatriate community: Oman has over five hundred thousand Indian nationals living there making them the largest expatriate community in Oman. They annually remit $780 million to India.
- Bilateral trade: In 2010, bilateral trade between India and Oman stood at $4.5 billion. India was Oman’s second-largest destination for its non-oil exports and its fourth-largest source for Indian imports.
- Energy: India has been considering the construction of a 1,100-km-long underwater natural gas pipeline from Oman called the South Asia Gas Enterprise (SAGE).
Defense cooperation
Oman is the first Gulf nation to have formalized defense relations with India.
- Naval cooperation: The Indian Navy has berthing rights in Oman, and has been utilizing Oman’s ports as bases for conducting anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.
- Tri-services base: In February 2018, India announced that it had secured access to the facilities at Duqm for the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy. Duqm had previously served as a port for the INS Mumbai.
- Arms trade: The standard issue rifle of the Royal Army of Oman is India’s INSAS rifle.
- Bilateral exercises: Naseem al-Bahr (Arabic for Sea Breeze) is a bilateral maritime exercise between India and Oman. The exercise was first held in 1993.
Significance of Oman for India
- Oman is India’s closest defense partner in the Gulf region and an important anchor for India’s defense and strategic interests.
- It is the only country in the Gulf region with which all three services of the Indian armed forces conduct regular bilateral exercises and staff talks, enabling close cooperation and trust at the professional level.
- It also provides critical operational support to Indian naval deployments in the Arabian sea for anti-piracy missions.
Duqm port and its strategic imperative
- In a strategic move to expand its footprint in the Indian Ocean region, India has secured access to the key Port of Duqm in Oman for military use and logistical support.
- This is part of India’s maritime strategy to counter Chinese influence and activities in the region.
- The Port of Duqm is strategically located, in close proximity to the Chabahar port in Iran.
- With the Assumption Island being developed in Seychelles and Agalega in Mauritius, Duqm fits into India’s proactive maritime security roadmap.
- In recent years, India had deployed an attack submarine to this port in the western Arabian Sea.
Deterrent in ties: Chinese influence in Oman
- China started cultivating ties with the Arab countries following the former Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
- Beijing has cultivated close ties with Oman and the latter was, in fact, the first country to deliver oil to China.
- As of today, 92.99 per cent of Oman’s oil exports go to China, making China Oman’s largest oil importer.
- Oman and China signed an agreement to establish an Oman-China Industrial Park at Duqm in 2016.
- China has identified Oman as a key country in the region and has been enhancing defence ties with it steadily.
Way forward
- India does not have enough energy resources to serve its current or future energy requirements. The rapidly growing energy demand has contributed to the need for long term energy partnerships with countries like Oman.
- Oman’s Duqm Port is situated in the middle of international shipping lanes connecting East with West Asia.
- India needs to engage with Oman and take initiatives to utilise opportunities arising out of the Duqm Port industrial city.
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