日本“清理太空垃圾”行動失敗
An artist's impression of the more than 100 million pieces of debris in orbit around the Earth (AFP Photo/)
想象圖：超過一億個太空垃圾碎片環繞着地球軌道（法新社圖片）Tokyo (AFP) - An experimental Japanese mission to clear 'space junk' or rubbish from the Earth's orbit has ended in failure, officials said Monday, in an embarassment for Tokyo.
東京（法新社）- 本週一，日本官員尷尬的宣佈，日本一項實驗性質、旨在清理地球軌道上的“太空垃圾”的行動，以失敗告終。Over 100 million pieces of garbage are thought to be whizzing around the planet, including cast-off equipment from old satellites and bits of rocket, which experts say could pose risks for future space exploration.
通常認爲地球周圍有超過一億片垃圾，包括舊衛星上遺棄的設備和火箭碎片。專家認爲這會對將來的太空探索帶來風險。
Scientists at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) were trying to test an electrodynamic 'tether' -- created with the help of a fishing net company -- to slow down the orbiting rubbish and bring it into a lower orbit.
日本宇宙航空研究開發機構的科學家試圖測試一種電動“纜繩”——由一家漁網公司協助開發——來降低環繞地球的垃圾的速度，把它們帶到更低的軌道上。
The hope was that the clutter -- built up after more than five decades of human space exploration -- would eventually enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up harmlessly before it had a chance to crash into the planet.
然後希望這些在過去超過五十年的人類空間探索中形成的混亂，能最終返回地球大氣層，並在有機會撞擊地球前無害的燒燬。The 700-metre (2,300-foot) long tether -- made from thin wires of stainless steel and aluminium -- was due to be extended out from a cargo ship launched in December carrying supplies for astronauts at the International Space Station.
這條七百米長的纜繩，由不鏽鋼和鋁製細網構成，預定從一艘去年12月發射的、爲國際空間站的宇航員們帶去補給的飛船上展開。Problems arose quickly, however, and technicians tried for days to remedy the situation but only had a one-week window to carry out the mission before the vessel reentered the Earth's atmosphere before dawn on Monday.
然而問題很快出現，技術人員花了幾天時間試圖修正狀況，但是他們只有一週的時間窗口來執行這次行動，之後飛船就要在週一黎明前重返地球大氣層了。"We believe the tether did not get released", leading researcher Koichi Inoue told reporters.
“我們認爲纜繩沒有展開”，首席研究員Koichi Inoue告訴記者。"It is certainly disappointing that we ended the mission without completing one of the main objectives," he said.
“這肯定很令人失望，我們只能在還未達成目標的情況下就結束這次任務，”他說。The disappointment is the latest failure to hit JAXA and comes just weeks after the agency had to abort a mission that sought to use a mini-rocket to send a satellite into orbit.
禍不單行，日本宇宙航空研究開發機構幾周前使用一個超小火箭來發射衛星到軌道的計劃也流產了。The agency also abandoned a pricey ultra-high-tech satellite launched in February last year to search for X-rays emanating from black holes and galaxy clusters after losing contact with the spacecraft.
該機構因爲宇宙飛行器失聯，也放棄了去年2月發射的一枚耗資巨大的超~高科技衛星來搜尋從黑洞和銀河星系團中散發出來的X射線的計劃。
