美國報廢衛星今日將撞擊地球 落點尚不確定

正在向地球襲來的美國失控衛星預計將於9月23日下午墜地。英媒報道稱，這枚與大巴大小相似的衛星可能墜落於地球任何地方，而人類的預警時間只有20秒。它向地球進行的速度是每秒8公里，預計其碎片將散落於直徑爲800公里的區域內。

A defunct U.S. satellite is expected to crash down to Earth Friday, with nobody knowing where or when exactly it will hit. This was unavoidable, a Chinese expert said Thursday.
一顆美國報廢衛星將會在週五撞擊地球，然而卻沒有知道這枚衛星具體會在哪裏着陸。這是難以避免的——中國專家週四表示。

Pang Zhihao, a researcher from the Chinese Research Institute of Space Technology, told Xinhua that the crash could have been avoided had the satellite been put into a higher orbit, or manipulated to drop in the South Pacific when it had abundant fuel. It would pose no threat to Earth if these measures had been taken.
中國空間技術研究院研究員龐之浩在接受新華社記者專訪時說，此次衛星撞地球的麻煩本來可以避免。假使在燃料充足時，將衛星引導到不易墜落的更高軌道，或是操控它墜入南太平洋的航天器“墳場”，就不會有今天對地球的威脅了。

The satellite was deactivated in 2005 as it ran out of fuel and was left orbiting Earth like a big piece of space junk.
這顆衛星於2005年由於燃油耗盡報廢，並像一大塊宇宙垃圾一樣被扔在了飛行軌道上。

There are other cases of defunct satellites. The European Space Agency said earlier its observation satellite ERS-2 has run out of fuel and is deorbiting. It would therefore also crash sooner or later.
無獨有偶，歐洲航天局早前稱，據他們預測，ESR-2衛星已脫離軌道，將來的某一天也會撞上地球。

Pang said all countries which are operating space vehicles should take care of their own spacecrafts so that they won't pose any danger.
龐之浩說所有國家都應該好好處理自己國際發射的航天設備，以免造成危險。

The expert also said that the public need not worry too much.
龐之浩專家說，公衆也不必過於擔心。

Pang said most spacecrafts will be incinerated upon re-entering Earth's atmosphere, and the debris will mostly likely fall into the ocean or hit an uninhabited area. In addition, a debris tracker is able to give a comparatively accurate prediction where the craft will fall about two hours before it hits Earth, giving residents, if there are any, time to evacuate.
龐之浩說航天器的很大一部分將會在進入大氣層時被燒盡，而剩餘部分將會落入海洋或者一些無人居住的地區。另外，美國等國家現在已經有能力在碎塊墜地前約2小時較準確地預報墜落地點，因此受威脅地區的人員有時間疏散或躲避。