Donald Kessler’s vision was a rather ominous one. Twenty years ago, the NASA consultant envisioned a scenario in which space junk blocked humans from traveling in space. The risk of colliding with such heavenly detritus, he argued, would one day make it too dangerous for astronauts. He warned that the number of hazardous objects could multiply by breaking apart, hopelessly trapping mankind on Earth.
Tens of thousands of little pieces of space junk are already orbiting the planet. But now a project from a nation known for orderliness and cleanliness aims to prevent Kessler’s nightmare scenario from becoming reality. On Wednesday, researchers at the Swiss Space Center, based at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), presented their plans for “CleanSpace One.” They envisage a launch of their clean-up mission within the next three to five years, with the aim of taking out a recently-discarded satellite. If it proves successful, further space cleanup jobs could follow.The Deadly Dance of Satellites
The EPFL researchers intend to test their technology on one of the country’s flagship projects in space. “We have our eyes set on a clear target,” Swiss Space Center head Volker Gass told SPIEGEL ONLINE. “We initially want to start with one of the two satellites that Swiss universities launched in 2009 and 2010.”
The two mini orbiters known as “Swiss Cube 1” and “TISat 1,” which are cubes with 10-centimeter (four-inch) sides, belong to the class of so-called picosatellites. Universities like to use these low-cost flying devices to give their students real-world experience in using satellites. For example, universities in Würzburg, Aachen and Berlin have their respective satellites “Uwe,” “Compass” and “BeeSat” orbiting the planet at distances between 600 and 700 kilometers (370-430 miles).
But, at a certain point, these satellites either die or outlive their usefulness. Of course, they could just be left alone in their eternal orbits. But not everyone thinks that’s the correct choice. “Universities across the world have to clean up their junk, too,” Gass says. And “CleanSpace One,” he says, should help them do it.
The proposed cosmic disposal service will be only slightly larger than the flying objects it targets for destruction. While traveling at 28,000 kilometers per hour (17,400 mph), it will approach and catch its target using a technique reminiscent of the one that sea anemones use to catch their prey. “It sticks out its feelers and pulls its prey to its chest at the right moment,” Gass explains. Once that is done, the dance becomes deadly: The conjoined satellites race toward Earth together and burn up upon re-entry into the atmosphere.
It wasn’t the usual images — those of long shapely legs and deep cleavage — that outraged Ibrahim Burak Birer, 31. Rather, it was pictures of penises and of fake, strap-on breasts which convinced him that things were getting out of hand. Birer had happened upon a series of photos on the subject of trans-sexuality printed in a major international fashion magazine.
The photos demonstrated conclusively to him that taboos hardly exist anymore — and that it was time to come up with something to combat the “diktat of nudity.” He knew that he and his team were on the right track.“Cosmopolitan, Elle, Vogue, Marie Claire, it’s all about sex and naked skin,” says the devout Muslim. “The motto is that sex sells. But we, and millions of women around the world, believe that fashion can also be different.”
Çamlica is a quiet residential neighborhood on the Asian side of the megacity Istanbul. Birer and his friend Mehmet Volkan Atay, 32, two stout men in jeans and designer jackets, are sitting at their desks on the second floor of a white house.
Soft jazz music is playing on a laptop. The two managing directors of Alâ are in excellent spirits, as are the two women who are sitting across from them: Eyma Yol Kara, 28, the editor-in-chief of Alâ, “the magazine for a beautiful lifestyle,” and Esra Sezi, 24, the head fashion editor. Both women are young, attractive and wearing headscarves.
Most Beautiful of the Beautiful
The core team of the magazine, which is currently the talk of the country, are perusing the sixth issue of Alâ. It’s a complete success, as were the preceding issues, so much so that the magazine has to increase its circulation again, from 25,000 to 30,000 copies. These are impressive sales figures for such a high-gloss product, which only uses models that wear headscarves and only advertises brands specializing in women’s clothing that conforms to Islamic customs. Alâ is the avant-garde of “Tesettür,” or “veiled” fashion. The name of the magazine, which stems from the Ottoman era, means “the most beautiful of the beautiful.”
The liberal daily newspaper Radikal called the fashion magazine “the Vogue of the veiled.” The first issue came on the market in June 2011, at a price of 9 lira (€3.90, or $5.10). A smiling model covered in pink material and black lace, looking bashfully at the floor, appeared on the cover. Inside, were articles such as “The Colors of Summer,” photos of love-struck, freshly married couples and all kinds of shopping tips — chaste, but somehow cool at the same time. All of this seemed to suit the taste of conservatives to a T.
