PART 4

In today's astronomy lecture, I'm going to talk about the need for a system to manage the movement of satellites and other objects in orbit around the Earth.

在今天的天文学讲座中，我将介绍我们需要的一个用来管理环地球轨道上的卫星和其他物体的运动的系统。

In other words, a Space Traffic Management system.

换句话说，一个太空交通管理系统。

We already have effective Air Traffic Control systems that are used internationally to ensure that planes navigate our skies safely.

我们已经拥有有效的空中交通管制系统，这些系统已被多国使用来确保空中的飞机的飞行安全。

Well, Space Traffic Management is a similar concept, but focusing on the control of satellites.

好吧，太空交通管理是一个类似的概念，但侧重于对卫星的控制。

The aim of such a system would be to prevent the danger of collisions in space between the objects in orbit around the Earth.

这种系统的目的是预防绕地球轨道上的物体在太空中发生碰撞。

In order to do this, we'd need to have a set of legal measures, and we'd also have to develop the technical systems to enable us to prevent such accidents.

为了做到这一点，我们需要有一套法律措施，我们还必须开发技术系统，让我们有能力防止此类事故的发生。

But unfortunately, at present we don't actually have a Space Traffic Management system that works.

但不幸的是，这样一个有效的太空交通管理系统目前并不存在。

So why not? What are the problems in developing such a system?

那为什么没有呢？开发这样一个系统有什么困难？

Well, for one thing, satellites are relatively cheap these days, compared with how they were in the past, meaning that more people can afford to put them into space.

好吧，一方面，与过去相比，如今的卫星相对便宜，这意味着更多的人有能力将卫星发射到太空中。

So there's a lot more of them out there, and people aren't just launching single satellites but whole constellations, consisting of thousands of them designed to work together.

所以太空中的卫星更多了。人们不只是发射单颗卫星，而是发射整个“星座”，由数千颗被设计用来协同工作的卫星组成。

So space is getting more crowded every day.

所以太空一天天变得越来越拥挤。

But in spite of this, one thing you may be surprised to learn is that you can launch a satellite into space and, once it's out there, it doesn't have to send back any information to Earth to allow its identification.

尽管如此，大家可能会惊讶地发现，人们可以将卫星发射到太空，而且一旦成功，卫星就不必向地球发回任何信息来进行身份确认。

So while we have international systems for ensuring we know where the planes in our skies are, and to prevent them from colliding with one another, when it comes to the safety of satellites, at present we don't have anything like enough proper ways of tracking them.

因此，虽然我们有国际系统来确保我们知道飞机在我们天空中的位置，并防止它们相互碰撞，但当涉及到卫星的安全时，目前我们没有足够的正确方法跟踪他们。

And it isn't just entire satellites that we need to consider.

我们需要考虑的不仅仅是全部的卫星。

A greater threat is the huge amount of space debris in orbit around the Earth – broken bits of satellite and junk from space stations and so on.

更大的威胁是环绕地球轨道的大量太空碎片，卫星的碎片和空间站的垃圾等等。

And some of these are so small that they can be very hard to identify, but they can still be very dangerous.

其中一些非常小，很难识别，但它们仍然非常危险。

In addition, some operators may be unwilling to share information about the satellites they've launched.

此外，一些运营商可能不愿意分享有关他们发射的卫星的信息。

For example, a satellite may be designed for military purposes, or it may have been launched for commercial reasons, and the operators don't want competitors to have information about it.

例如，一颗卫星可能是为军事目的而设计的，也可能是出于商业原因而发射的，而运营商不希望竞争对手获得有关它的信息。

And even if the operators are willing to provide it, the information isn't easy to collect.

而且即使运营商愿意提供，信息也不容易收集。

Details are needed about the object itself, as well as about its location at a particular time – and remember that a satellite isn't very big, and it's likely to be moving at thousands of kilometres an hour.

需要有关卫星本身及其在特定时间的位置的详细信息，请记住，卫星不是很大，它可能以每小时数千公里的速度移动。

We don't have any sensors that can constantly follow something moving so fast, so all that the scientists can do is to put forward a prediction concerning where the satellite is heading next.

我们没有任何传感器可以持续跟踪如此快速移动的物体，因此科学家们所能做的就是对卫星接下来的前进方向提出预测。

So those are some of the problems that we're facing.

所以这些是我们面临的一些问题。

Let's consider now some of the solutions that have been suggested.

现在让我们考虑一些建议的解决方案。

One key issue is the way in which information is dealt with.

一个关键问题是处理信息的方式。

We need more information, but it also needs to be accessible at a global level, so we need to establish shared standards that we can all agree on for the way in which this information is presented.

我们需要更多信息，但也需要在全球范围内获取这些信息，因此我们需要建立信息分享标准，让我们都能就这些信息的呈现方式达成一致。

We already do this in other areas of science, so although this is a challenge, it's not an impossible task.

我们已经在其他科学领域这样做了，所以尽管这是一个挑战，但并非是不可能完成的任务。

Then, as all this information's collected, it needs to be put together so it can be used, and that will involve creating a single database on which it can be entered.

然后，当收集到所有这些信息时，需要将它们放在一起以便使用，这将涉及创建一个可以输入这些信息的数据库。

As we continue to push forward new developments, congestion of the space environment is only going to increase.

随着我们继续推进新的发展，太空环境的拥堵只会增加。

To cope with this, we need to develop a system like the one I've described to coordinate the work of the numerous spacecraft operators, but it's also essential that this system is one that establishes trust in the people that use it, both nationally and at a global level.

为了解决这个问题，我们需要开发一个像我描述的那样的系统来协调众多航天器操作员的工作。但同样重要的是，这个系统能在使用者间建立信任，无论是在国内还是在全球范围内。

One interesting development …

一个有趣的发展......