天宮一號將上演失控式墜落

China’s space ambitions have taken a further step down a path blazed by the US decades ago, after revelations that its first space laboratory is likely to fall to earth next year.

中國的航天雄心沿着美國幾十年前就趟出的道路又向前邁進了一步。有消息稱，中國首個太空實驗室很可能將於明年墜回地球。

In a press conference at Jiuquan, the desert launch site for China’s space rockets, Wu Ping, a director at China’s space engineering office, said the Tiangong-1 would most likely burn up on descent, confirming suspicions that the lab was no longer in a controlled orbit.

在位於沙漠地帶的酒泉衛星發射中心舉行的新聞發佈會上，中國載人航天工程辦公室副主任武平表示，天宮一號(Tiangong-1)最有可能的結果是在隕落過程中燒蝕銷燬。這一表態證實了關於該實驗室不再處於受控軌道的猜測。

The eight-tonne lab was launched in 2011 and decommissioned earlier this year.

這座重達8噸的實驗室是於2011年發射的，並在今年早些時候退役。

The possibility of an uncontrolled descent is reminiscent of the 1979 re-entry of Skylab, Nasa’s first space laboratory, that generated a storm of media attention in the weeks before it crashed to earth.

可能發生的失控墜落，讓人回想起了1979年美國國家航空航天局(NASA)首座太空實驗室天空實驗室(Skylab)重入大氣層那件事。在墜回地球之前的幾周裏，那次重入引發了媒體的瘋狂關注。

Mr Wu did not say when the Tiangong-1 was likely to re-enter the atmosphere.

武平並未言明天宮一號可能於何時重入大氣層。

China is rapidly catching up with the US, EU and Russia in space, building its own networks of telecommunications satellites and mimicking earlier ambitions for a mission to the moon.

中國正在太空領域飛速地追趕美國、歐盟(EU)和俄羅斯，它建立了自己的通信衛星網絡，並照貓畫虎地制定了自己的登月抱負。

It landed a moon rover, the Jade Rabbit, on the moon in 2013 but a defect in the rover’s solar panels means it is effectively defunct.

2013年，中國將玉兔號(Jade Rabbit)月球車送上月球。然而，玉兔號的太陽能電池板出了故障，導致它事實上無法繼續工作。

A satellite launched earlier this summer has the distinction of being the first where China is scientifically in the lead, as it will test the principle of quantum entanglement over long distances.

中國今年夏天早些時候發射的一顆衛星有一個獨特之處，它是首顆涉及中國在科學上擁有領先地位的領域的衛星。這顆衛星將檢驗長距離的量子糾纏原理。

If successful, the technology will, in theory, allow any snooping on communications to be detected, but a Chinese cryptographer has argued that the messages are still vulnerable to being destroyed, limiting its military value.

這種技術一旦成功，理論上將能夠察覺任何對通信的監聽。不過，中國一位密碼學家認爲，用這種技術傳遞的信息依然很容易遭到破壞，從而限制了它的軍事價值。

The Tiangong-1 served as a base for experiments for more than four years, roughly twice as long as originally anticipated.

天宮一號作爲實驗基地已服役了四年多，差不多是最初預期壽命的兩倍。

It will be replaced with the Tiangong-2, which launched last week.

它將由日前發射的天宮二號(Tiangong-2)代替。

The large expanses of ocean and desert on earth means that the portions of the lab that do not burn up on entering the atmosphere are unlikely to hit populated areas.

地球上海洋和荒漠面積廣大，意味着天宮一號重入大氣層後未燒蝕銷燬的部分不太可能擊中有人居住的地區。

In 1979, large segments of Skylab crashed to earth in a remote part of Australia, prompting the shire of Esperance to fine Nasa A$400 for littering.

1979年，天空實驗室的多塊大型殘骸墜落在澳大利亞一個偏遠的地區，結果NASA被埃斯佩蘭斯郡(Esperance)罰了400澳元，罪名是亂丟雜物。

The fine was only paid in 2009 when an California radio host raised the money from listeners.

這筆罰款到了2009年才被支付，當時加利福尼亞州一電臺主持人從聽衆中那裏籌來了這筆錢。