No Room in Space: The Growing Space Junk Problem

在太空無家可歸：日益增長的太空垃圾問題

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

????????從1950年之后，世界大概發(fā)送了16000個物體到太空中，從衛(wèi)星到探測火箭和載人宇宙飛船。其中一些返回地球，一些仍然在太空中發(fā)揮功能。還有一些只是留在了我們的星球軌道中，慢慢地碎成碎片。

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

????????事實上，在地表2000千米上，有一個由數(shù)以億計的人造宇宙碎片構(gòu)成的垃圾堆放場圍繞著我們的星球。并且正在變得更大。

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.

????????過去，世界每年發(fā)送80-100顆衛(wèi)星到軌道上，但是這個發(fā)送的數(shù)量僅在2022年就增長到2000顆。而且這些物體在軌道上增長的數(shù)量已經(jīng)產(chǎn)生了一系列的問題。

From parts of rockets to flakes（麥片，鱗片） of paint, the debris that clutters（使雜亂）?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）.

????????從火箭到油漆片，這些殘骸弄亂了秒速7到8千米每秒的地球軌道航行。這造成了巨大的破壞，如果物體相撞，甚至?xí)a(chǎn)生更多的殘骸。

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

????????如果重要的衛(wèi)星被殘骸擊中，全球的導(dǎo)航和通訊服務(wù)可能會被中斷。

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.

????????并且太空殘骸中最小的碎片甚至都能破壞軌道上的衛(wèi)星和宇宙飛船，在地球上的人類同樣也有被傷害的風(fēng)險。

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.

????????殘骸以高速進入地球大氣降落到地表。在2022年，SpaceX 宇宙飛船的一部分被發(fā)現(xiàn)散落在New South Wales和澳大利亞的一個地區(qū)，在其不受控制的返回地球后。

The Pentagon's Space Surveillance（監(jiān)視） 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?

????????五角大樓的太空監(jiān)視網(wǎng)絡(luò)現(xiàn)在追蹤了大約27000個5厘米或更大的軌道殘骸。但是有能夠清除太空垃圾的方法嗎？

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.

????????大部分衛(wèi)星運營商處置衛(wèi)星通過讓他們進入地球大氣層燃燒，從而銷毀這些物體在他們沖擊到地表之前。然而，這會釋放有害化學(xué)物質(zhì)，并且更大的碎片可能不能完全的銷毀。

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，有一個方法可以處置一些垃圾而不需要讓它們返回地球。太空技術(shù)初創(chuàng)公司 TinkOrbital 正在設(shè)計一種衛(wèi)星，它希望是能夠抓取太空殘骸甚至處理它們，把其變成能夠被用于太空飛船燃料的鋁粉。

原文：

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