日本“清理太空垃圾”行动失败
An artist's impression of the more than 100 million pieces of debris in orbit around the Earth (AFP Photo/)
想象图：超过一亿个太空垃圾碎片环绕着地球轨道（法新社图片）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.
东京（法新社）- 本周一，日本官员尴尬的宣布，日本一项实验性质、旨在清理地球轨道上的“太空垃圾”的行动，以失败告终。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.
通常认为地球周围有超过一亿片垃圾，包括旧卫星上遗弃的设备和火箭碎片。专家认为这会对将来的太空探索带来风险。
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.
日本宇宙航空研究开发机构的科学家试图测试一种电动“缆绳”——由一家渔网公司协助开发——来降低环绕地球的垃圾的速度，把它们带到更低的轨道上。
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.
然后希望这些在过去超过五十年的人类空间探索中形成的混乱，能最终返回地球大气层，并在有机会撞击地球前无害的烧毁。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.
这条七百米长的缆绳，由不锈钢和铝制细网构成，预定从一艘去年12月发射的、为国际空间站的宇航员们带去补给的飞船上展开。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.
然而问题很快出现，技术人员花了几天时间试图修正状况，但是他们只有一周的时间窗口来执行这次行动，之后飞船就要在周一黎明前重返地球大气层了。"We believe the tether did not get released", leading researcher Koichi Inoue told reporters.
“我们认为缆绳没有展开”，首席研究员Koichi Inoue告诉记者。"It is certainly disappointing that we ended the mission without completing one of the main objectives," he said.
“这肯定很令人失望，我们只能在还未达成目标的情况下就结束这次任务，”他说。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.
祸不单行，日本宇宙航空研究开发机构几周前使用一个超小火箭来发射卫星到轨道的计划也流产了。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.
该机构因为宇宙飞行器失联，也放弃了去年2月发射的一枚耗资巨大的超~高科技卫星来搜寻从黑洞和银河星系团中散发出来的X射线的计划。
