damaged

If the ship is damaged, they have three options

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Here we go again. Three Chinese astronauts are functionally stranded at the Tiangong space station after the apparent space debris impact with the Shenzhou-20 ship. The China Manned Mission Space Agency (CMSA) has not yet commented on its return. What we know. Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie were due to return to Earth on November 5. Its return flight was postponed to further examine the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft for the possible impact of small fragments of space debris while it was docked with the Chinese station. The three crew members they are safe. The damage to the capsule was discovered “during final checks prior to re-entry.” But the relief crew had already arrived, meaning there are two ships (Shenzhou-20 and Shenzhou-21) and six astronauts aboard a station designed for three. The CMSA focuses its investigations on the integrity of the ship’s heat shield and parachute systems. A failure in any of these elements during the ship’s atmospheric reentry could be catastrophic. What we don’t know. The CMSA is not a space agency counterpart to NASA and ESA, but a unit of the Chinese army that reports to the military command. Your communications are, consequently, limited. We do not know the extent of the damage to the ship or if it was really due to the impact of space debris. There is still no scheduled date for his return. It will depend on whether the ship is considered safe or the level of risks that the CMSA is willing to take. Assuming the ship is damaged, there are three possible options. The three options. The riskiest plan would be to attempt an in-orbit repair with a spacewalk. Commander Chen Dong is the Chinese astronaut with the most hours of extravehicular activity, but certifying a heat shield as “safe” after an impact is something totally new. If the CMSA decides to sacrifice the ship, then two other alternatives are open: the fast one and the slow one. The quick one would be to use the relief ship (Shenzhou-21) as a lifeboat for the three crew members of the Shenzhou-20. The problem is that the seats are molded to the body of each astronaut, so this option would require disassembling the seats of both spacecraft and exchanging them, a complex operation that has never been done in orbit. The slow option would be to prepare the next ship (Shenzhou-22) on the ground for an “emergency service”, launching it empty to the Chinese space station as happened with the Russian Soyuz MS-23 in 2023. It is the safest option, but also the slowest and most expensive to bring back the astronauts. Three times in three years. This is the first time that China has gone through a situation like this, but the third time in three years in which a crew is left in orbit without a clear return ticket. Soyuz MS-22 lost in spurts coolant liquid after the impact of a micrometeorite while it was docked with the International Space Station, which forced Russia to send the empty Soyuz MS-23 capsule to bring back the cosmonauts. In 2024, the two crew members of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft They became part of the permanent crew of the International Space Station waiting for a SpaceX Crew Dragon ship to arrive with two empty seats for their return. On this occasion, space junk had no nothing to see. Image | CMSA In Xataka | China has built a space empire in 30 years after being kicked out of the ISS. His revenge is about to be completed

The new US tariffs penalize Taiwan almost as much as China. And its chips industry is the most damaged

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The tariffs imposed by the administration led by Donald Trump They are here. The current US president has used this pressure tool throughout his electoral campaign, and just two and a half months after returning to the White House is running your promise. These taxes affect most of the countries with which the US maintains a commercial relationship, among which Spain is, but Taiwan presumably is One of the most damaged. And it is that the Trump government is determined to do everything necessary for the US to recover leadership in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. At the moment In Asia they occur 90% of memory chips, 75% of microprocessors and 80% of silicon wafers. However, the most outstanding country in this continent in this sector is Taiwan, with a production of 90% of high integration chips and 41% of microprocessors. This is the exemplary punishment to Taiwan: some tariffs of 32% The US administration is already taking the necessary measures to cause US companies to buy integrated circuits made of homeland. The tariffs you are approving They largely pursue this objective, and, despite the alignment in the geopolitical field that support the US and Taiwan, the manufacturers of Taiwanese chips are not at all safe from the tariffs. In fact, Donald Trump made a statement at the end of January which he presented his intentions with total. “In the very close future we will impose tariffs on foreign production of computer chips, semiconductors and pharmaceutical products to return the manufacture of these essential goods to the US” “In the very close future we will impose tariffs on foreign production of computer chips, semiconductors and pharmaceutical products to return the manufacture of these essential goods to the US (…) went to Taiwan; Now we want them to return. We do not want to give them billions of dollars in the ridiculous Biden program. They already have billions of dollars. They don’t need money; They need an incentive. And the incentive will be that they do not want to pay a tax of 25, 50, or even 100%, ” The current US president declared. The near future of which speech has already arrived. As explained The countryon Vietnam there are 46%tariffs; About Cambodia, 49%; over China, 34%; and about Taiwan, 32%. The case of the nation led by Xi Jinping is a bit special because the new tariffs approved by the administration of Donald Trump are added to those who had been deployed by the US government previously, which makes a total of 54%. Even so, to some extent it is surprising that Taiwan comes out so disadvantaged. In any case, in regard to this last country, this measure is consistent with the statements in which Donald Trump anticipated that he wants the US to recover leadership in the semiconductor industry. However, Taiwan still has an oxygen ball, although It seems that it will not last long. And is that an epigraph of the newly announced tariff plan Expressalthough in an unclear way, that tariffs for some specific products, such as semiconductors or medicines, will not yet come into force. In that case they will presumably be temporarily subject to the universal tariff of 10%. In Xataka | The USA hits China again with a double purpose: to stop the development of its hypersonic superorders and missiles In Xataka | What’s behind the chips megafabrica that TSMC and Samsung plan to build in Arab Emirates

Sweden has just found another damaged underwater cable in the Baltic. The fourth case already has a suspect

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Last week there were two news that gave an idea that everything that surrounds the cuts and damage of underwater cables in the Baltic is far from ending. After an investigation carried out in the United States, it was slid that the cases in recent months They were not due to a Russian sabotage, but to inexperience and the deterioration. Hours later, United Kingdom put the focus on Russia After detecting a ship in its waters for the second time. Sweden too. A Sweden-Leonia cable. Apparently, A new underwater data cable, now between Sweden and Latvia, was damaged yesterday Sundaymarking the fourth recent incident in the Baltic Sea, one that generates concern in NATO about the vulnerability of critical infrastructure. Latvia’s prime minister, Evika Siliņa, has described the damage as significant and probably “caused by an external force”which has led to the opening of a criminal investigation. As we have explained, previous incidents They have been linked to Russian and Chinese ships. Ongoing research and measures. The Financial Times had a few hours ago That the systemal authorities already have a suspect. In fact, they sent a patrol boat to inspect a vessel near the cable at the time of damage, while two other ships are also being monitored. Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, confirmed the damage to at least one cable and said that Sweden is collaborating closely with Latvia and NATO to clarify the incident. In response to these attacks on critical infrastructure, NATO has deployed drones, submarines, ships and airplanes in the region Under the “Baltic Sentry” operationan action that aims to detect and prevent possible sabotage attempts. As we also count, United Kingdom has deployed its p8 posidon fighters. Background and suspicions. The situation, by repetitive, leads to the affected nations that there is something else. The Recent incidents in the Baltic They have fueled suspicions about possible acts of sabotage by Russian and Chinese vessels. Finland recently seized An oil tanker of the so -called “Shadow Flot” by Russiacomposed of old ships registered in remote jurisdictions such as the Cook Islands, which evade international sanctions. Finland Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen declared that It is unlikely that the damage will be accidentalalthough he avoided pointing directly to Russia. Not just that. In previous incidents, a Chinese ship, the Newnew Polar Bear, damaged a gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia by dragging your anchor, while Chinese load Yi Peng 3 crossed on two data cables In the same region in November. Subsequently, he remained a month in international waters between Denmark and Sweden, where he was approached by Chinese researchers, although access to Swedish inspectors was denied, generating criticism from Stockholm. Why are they so important. It We have underlined On more than one occasion, but now something else joins. This last incident occurs in a high voltage context, since Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are preparing to disconnect in February from the Soviet Electricity Inherited and join the European continental system, a key step for its total integration in the West. The three countries, NATO members and the EU, consider this transition as His last separation from Russian influencewhich has generated fears of possible sabotage attempts to hinder the process. In this regard, Lithuania Defense Minister Kęstutis Budry A review of navigation standards in the Balticespecially when it comes to the use of anchors, underlining the most obvious: that the high number of recent incidents reduces the possibility of accidents. Repairs and contingency measures. Unlike gas pipelines and power lines, whose repair can take months, Fiber optic cables damaged in the Baltic are usually restored in weeks. In fact, the State Radio and Television Center in Latvia has assured that it has already found alternative routes to maintain communications in operation. Be that as it may, the repetition of these incidents, The room in the Baltic in such a short timeposes a significant strategic challenge for the region, one that has intensified its cooperation with NATO to strengthen the protection of its critical infrastructure. In fact, the organization has made it clear that any new sabotage action will be faced with firmer measures to guarantee the protection of communications and energy supply in the region. Image | BORN In Xataka | United Kingdom will display the “Frankenstein” of the electronic war to protect its submarine cables: the P8 Poseidon In Xataka | A British nuclear submarine has discovered a Russian ship in front of its submarine cables. The second time in three months

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