How many minutes does it take to reach space?

Thank you for your enquiry.

You asked how many minutes it takes to reach space. I assume you mean how long it would take to reach outer space on a space shuttle.

According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a space shuttle travels at a speed of approximately 5 miles per second (8.04 km) and 17,500 miles per hour (28,164 km/h). The distance between Earth's surface and space is 100 km, hence it would take a space shuttle only 12 seconds to reach space.

If you are interested to read more about spaceflight, you may wish to check out these resources:

Print
Title: Space and spaceflight / written by Harry Ford and Kay Barnham.
Author: Ford, Harry.
Publisher: London : Puffin Books, 1995.
Call no.: J 523 FOR

Title: Voyage through space / Peter Grego.
Author: Grego, Peter.
Publisher: London : QED, 2007.
Call no.: J 629.4 GRE

Title: Can we travel to the stars? : space flight and space exploration / Andrew Solway.
Author: Solway, Andrew.
Publisher: Oxford : Heinemann Library, 2006.
Call no.: J 629.4 SOL

Title: Journey into space / by Gerry Bailey ; illustrated by Steve Boulter and Jan Smith.
Author: Bailey, Gerry.
Publisher: Minneapolis, Minn. : Picture Window Books, 2005.
Call no.: J 629.4 BAI

Title: The astronaut's survival guide / E. Young.
Author: Young, Emma.
Publisher: London : Puffin, 2004.
Call no.: J 629.45 YOU

The availability of these titles can be checked via our online catalogue at www.pl.sg.


Online
Spaceflight, last accessed from Wikipedia on 30 May 08 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaceflight
NASA Human Space Flight, last accessed from NASA on 30 May 08 at http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/home/index.html
Spaceflight Now, last accessed on 30 May 08 at http://spaceflightnow.com

We hope that the above has been useful to you. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need further assistance.

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Safety Precautions

Hi,
 
I like to know
 
1) What are the safety precautions one can follow for home and office in the event of earthquake?
 
2) What are the natural disasters that are found in Nanjing, China?
 
3) What are the specific safety measures for each natural disasters that are found in Nanjing, China?
 
Thank you.

Thank you for your enquiry.

(1) According to the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), the following are precautions to take in the event of an earthquake:

• When tremor occurs:
- Keep calm and take cover under a desk, table or against interior walls. Stay away from windows, outside doors or walls, display shelves and anything that can fall and hurt you, such as lighting, furniture or fixtures;
- Do not rush for the exit which may start a stampede;
- If you are outdoors, stay away from buildings and overhead electrical cables. Remain in the open until the tremor stops;
- Do not use candles, matches or other naked flames during and after the tremor, as there might be a gas leak; and
- If driving, stop quickly and safely and stay in the vehicle. Avoid stopping near or under trees, buildings, bridges, overpasses or overhead electrical cables.

• After vibrations have stopped:
- Do not touch any damaged electrical wiring. Report any gas leaks;
- Give help to those who are injured or who require assistance. Call the Police or SCDF if necessary; and
- Check your home for any structural defects and alert relevant authorities such as the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and HDB Essential Maintenance Service Unit.

In addition, here are some more precautions culled from various websites:

• During an earthquake:
- The most important thing is to remain calm.
- If you are indoors, stand in a doorway or crouch under a desk or table, away from windows or glass fixtures.
- If you are outdoors, stay away from objects such as light poles, buildings, trees and telephone or electric wires which could fall and injure you.

• After an earthquake:
- Check for injuries in your family and in the neighbourhood. Seriously injured persons should not be moved unless they are in immediate danger of further injury. First-aid should be administered, but only by someone who is qualified or has a working knowledge of first-aid.
- Turn off appropriate utilities. Do not use matches, lighters or open flame, appliances or electrical switches until you are sure that there are no gas leaks.
- Keep battery-operated radios and listen for emergency bulletins.
- Be prepared for additional earthquake shocks.

(2) Due to its sheer size, China is one of the countries most affected by natural disasters. Disasters such as drought, flooding and earthquakes have occurred in parts of China before and no particular state is especially prone to any specific form of natural disaster. I was not able to find any information on natural disasters that have occurred in the city of Nanjing in history. However, as earthquakes are much more common along fault lines, you may be interested in this web resource which maps seismic activity : neic.usgs.gov/neis/epic/epic_global.html (choose "Generate Map" under the Select Output Type field and "Significant Worldwide Earthquakes" under Search Parameters)
You can also find out more about earthquakes in China from the US Geological Survey website at earthquake.usgs.gov

Here are some resources on Nanjing that you may wish to read up on:
Print
Title Nanjing and the lower Yangzi : from the past to present / text and photos by Eric N. Danielson.
Author Danielson, Eric N.
Publisher Singapore : Times Editions-Marshall Cavendish, c2004.
915.1 DAN -[TRA]

Online
- Nanjing. (2007). In Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition [Web]. Retrieved May 20, 2008, from http://www.bartleby.com/65/na/Nanjing.html
- Nanjing. (2008). In Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2008 [Web]. Retrieved May 20, 2008, from http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761573209/Nanjing.html
- Nanjing. (2008). In Wikipedia [Web]. Retrieved May 20, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanjing

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