英语翻译9——No Room in Space: The Growing Space Junk Problem

No Room in Space: The Growing Space Junk Problem

在太空无家可归：日益增长的太空垃圾问题

Since the 1950s, the world has launched about 16,000 objects into space, from satellites and probes（探针） to rockets and manned（载人的） spacecraft. Some came back to Earth. Some still perform a function in space. And some just sit in our planet's orbit（轨道）, slowly breaking into pieces.

        从1950年之后，世界大概发送了16000个物体到太空中，从卫星到探测火箭和载人宇宙飞船。其中一些返回地球，一些仍然在太空中发挥功能。还有一些只是留在了我们的星球轨道中，慢慢地碎成碎片。

In fact, at 2,000 kilometers above the ground, a junkyard（垃圾堆放场） with hundreds of millions of pieces of human-made space debris（残骸） circles our planet. And it's getting bigger.

        事实上，在地表2000千米上，有一个由数以亿计的人造宇宙碎片构成的垃圾堆放场围绕着我们的星球。并且正在变得更大。

While the world used to send about 80-100 satellites into orbit each year, that number has grown to around 2,000 being launched in 2022 alone. And the growing number of objects in orbit is causing a number of problems.

        过去，世界每年发送80-100颗卫星到轨道上，但是这个发送的数量仅在2022年就增长到2000颗。而且这些物体在轨道上增长的数量已经产生了一系列的问题。

From parts of rockets to flakes（麦片，鳞片） of paint, the debris that clutters（使杂乱） Earth's orbit travels at speeds of around 7-8 kilometers a second. These can cause great damage — and create even more debris — if objects collide（相撞）.

        从火箭到油漆片，这些残骸弄乱了秒速7到8千米每秒的地球轨道航行。这造成了巨大的破坏，如果物体相撞，甚至会产生更多的残骸。

If key satellites are hit by debris, navigation and communication services could be disrupted across the world.

        如果重要的卫星被残骸击中，全球的导航和通讯服务可能会被中断。

And while even the smallest pieces of space debris can cause damage to satellites and spacecraft in orbit, humans on Earth may be at risk of harm too.

        并且太空残骸中最小的碎片甚至都能破坏轨道上的卫星和宇宙飞船，在地球上的人类同样也有被伤害的风险。

Debris that enters the Earth's atmosphere can fall to the ground at high speeds. In 2022, parts of a SpaceX spacecraft were found littered across（散落在） an area of New South Wales, Australia, after an uncontrolled return to Earth.

        残骸以高速进入地球大气降落到地表。在2022年，SpaceX 宇宙飞船的一部分被发现散落在New South Wales和澳大利亚的一个地区，在其不受控制的返回地球后。

The Pentagon's Space Surveillance（监视） Network currently tracks around 27,000 pieces of orbital debris that are 5 centimeters or larger in size. But is there a way of cleaning up this space junk?

        五角大楼的太空监视网络现在追踪了大约27000个5厘米或更大的轨道残骸。但是有能够清除太空垃圾的方法吗？

Most satellite operators dispose of their satellites by letting them enter the Earth's atmosphere to burn up, destroying the object before it hits the ground. However, this can release harmful chemicals, and larger pieces may not be completely destroyed.

        大部分卫星运营商处置卫星通过让他们进入地球大气层燃烧，从而销毁这些物体在他们冲击到地表之前。然而，这会释放有害化学物质，并且更大的碎片可能不能完全的销毁。

But there may be a way to dispose of some junk without it returning to Earth. Space technology startup ThinkOrbital is designing a satellite that it hopes will be able to catch space debris and even process it, turning it into aluminum powder（粉末） that could be used as spacecraft fuel.

        但是，有一个方法可以处置一些垃圾而不需要让它们返回地球。太空技术初创公司 TinkOrbital 正在设计一种卫星，它希望是能够抓取太空残骸甚至处理它们，把其变成能够被用于太空飞船燃料的铝粉。

原文：

https://engoo.com/app/daily-news/article/no-room-in-space-the-growing-space-junk-problem/coObRCJtEe6VulOZQ7pe1Q