1.新闻网址︰
※超过一行请缩址※
https://tinyurl.com/vxo3tov
2.新闻来源︰
MIT Technology Review
3.新闻内容︰
※请完整转载原文 请勿修改内文与编排※
A Russian satellite is probably stalking a US spy satellite in orbit
俄罗斯卫星可能在轨道上跟踪美国间谍卫星
It’s a scenario that will almost certainly repeat over and over in the years
to come.
在以后的几年中，这种情况几乎肯定会反复发生。
On January 20, something rather strange happened in orbit. A Russian
satellite suddenly maneuvered itself so that it was closely shadowing a US
spy satellite. The pair are now less than 186 miles (300 kilometers) apart—a
short distance when it comes to space. While we don’t know for sure what’s
going on, the Russian satellite’s actions strongly suggest it is there to
spy on the US one—and there is very little the US can do about it.
1月20日，在轨道上发生了一件非常奇怪的事情。 一枚俄罗斯卫星突然改变自身轨道
，使它能够紧紧的尾随着掩盖了美国间谍卫星。 现在两者相距不到186英里（300公里）
，这是太空中的一小段距离。 尽管我们不确定到底发生了什么，但俄罗斯卫星的行动
强烈表明它有可能监视美国一颗卫星，而美国对此几乎无能为力。
Russia’s official story is that the satellite, called Kosmos 2542, is part
of its program to test out satellite “inspection” technologies so that the
country can closely observe its own orbital assets. A parent satellite is
supposed to deploy a sub-satellite nearby, and then approach and image it.
俄罗斯官方的说法是，名为Kosmos 2542的卫星是其测试卫星“检查”技术的计划的一部
分，以便该国可以密切观察自己的轨道资产。 母卫星应该在附近部署一个子卫星，然后
靠近它对其进行成像。
None of the recent maneuvers made by the Kosmos 2542 parent satellite or
sub-satellite support this cover story, however. Michael Thompson, a graduate
student studying astrodynamics at Purdue University who first broke the news
about Kosmos 2542 on Twitter, notes that the parent satellite’s sync with
the US satellite, called USA 245 (which orbits between 171 and 630 miles high
in low Earth orbit), is unusually sharp, while the sub-satellite doesn’t
seem to have any real function.
但是，Kosmos 2542母卫星或次卫星最近进行的操作均不支持此说法。 迈克尔·汤普
森（Michael Thompson）是普渡大学（Purdue University）的一名研究空气动力学的研
究生，他首先在Twitter上发布了有关Kosmos 2542的新闻，他指出，母卫星与美国卫星
美国245号（在低地球轨道上绕行171至630英里）同步非常的吻合，而子卫星似乎
没有任何实际功能。
Although the evidence is still circumstantial, Thomas Roberts, a former
aerospace security fellow at the Center for Strategic and International
Studies (CSIS), thinks that Kosmos 2542 is purposely shadowing USA 245 to spy
on it. “Things do move around in low Earth orbit, but to expend your
valuable propellant in this way to perfectly position yourself to view
another satellite like this to me is just beyond the pale,” he says. ”It’s
not a coincidence.”
尽管证据仍然是间接的，但战略与国际研究中心（CSIS）的前航空安全研究员Thomas
Roberts认为，Kosmos 2542故意尾随了美国245以对其进行监视。 他说：“卫星确实会在
低地球轨道上四处移动，但是以这种方式消耗宝贵的推进剂以完美地定位自己去看
另一颗卫星，这简直是难以想像，”他说。 “这不是巧合。”
Todd Harrison, the head of the Aerospace Security Project at CSIS, says
inspector satellites can reveal exactly what kinds of targets on Earth are
being surveilled by the spy satellite. We don’t know exactly what Kosmos
2542 is capable of, but Harrison speculates it could determine the aperture
and resolution of the cameras on USA 245. If it has a radio-frequency probe,
it could listen for faint signals from USA 245 to deduce what kinds of
computer processes are happening onboard, when it’s operating, and when it
is taking pictures.
CSIS航空航天安全项目负责人托德·哈里森（Todd Harrison）表示，检查卫星可以准确
显示间谍卫星正在监视地球上的哪些类型的目标。 我们不确切知道Kosmos 2542的功能，
但Harrison推测它可以确定USA 245上相机的光圈和分辨率。如果有射频探测器，它可以侦
听来自USA 245的微弱信号以推断出卫星上的处理器在进行怎样的运算，何时运行以及
何时拍照。
In fact, Russia has been pulling these kinds of stunts on a regular basis for
about 10 years now. The most notorious case is the country’s Luch satellite,
which has a history of repeatedly moving and parking itself next to other
neighbors in geostationary orbit (GEO), ruffling the feathers of the
international community.
实际上，大约十年来，俄罗斯一直在定期拉这类特技。 最臭名昭著的例子是该国的卢克
（Luch）卫星，该卫星具有反复移动并停泊在地球静止轨道（GEO）的其他邻国旁边的历
史，惹怒了国际社会
The Russians aren’t alone. Brian Weeden, a space policy expert at the Secure
World Foundation, says the first example of these inspector satellites was an
American satellite code-named “Power,” launched in 1990 and never
acknowledged by the US. It appears its job was to approach other satellites
in GEO for surveillance. A series of Chinese satellites starting with the
launch of SJ-12 in 2010 suggest that China is running a similar program.
俄罗斯人并不孤单。 安全世界基金会（Secure World Foundation）的太空政策专家布莱
恩·维登（Brian Weeden）表示，这类检查卫星的第一个例子是代号为“ Power”的美国
卫星，该卫星于1990年发射，但从未得到美国的承认。 它的工作似乎是接近GEO中的其他
卫星进行监视。 从2010年SJ-12发射开始，一系列中国卫星暗示中国正在运行类似计划。
“This is not unique to Russia,” says Weeden. “It doesn’t happen every
day, but it’s a capability that China, the US, and others have been testing
out over time.”
这不是俄国独有的。它并不是每天发生，但中国、美国和其它国家都在测试这种技术
There are no rules about these kinds of close approaches, either, so Russia
isn’t breaking any laws. “You can get as close as you want, as long as you
don’t touch or interfere with the other satellite,” says Weeden. The US can
’t do much except perhaps move its satellite into a new orbital position,
but even a small maneuver means expending precious fuel. And the Russian
satellite could simply follow the American asset to the new location.
对于这种紧密的接近也没有任何规则，因此俄罗斯没有违反任何法律。 Weeden说：“只
要您不触摸或干扰另一颗卫星，您就可以尽可能接近。” 美国除了将卫星移动到新
的轨道位置外，无能为力，但即使是很小的移动，也意味着要消耗宝贵的燃料。 俄罗斯
卫星可以简单地跟随美国卫星到新的位置。
This latest incident is certainly troublesome, but Roberts hopes the
discussion and response will say away from alarmist predictions and fears. “
We have to talk about these things in the right way,” he says. “Behavior
can be suspicious without being malicious.”
最近的事件当然是麻烦的，但是罗伯茨希望讨论和回应能够摆脱危言耸听的预言和恐惧
。 他说：“我们必须以正确的方式谈论这些事情。” “行为可以是可疑的，而不是恶意
的。”
4.附注、心得、想法︰
美国死定了
间碟卫星被跟踪了
但没犯法～不能拿它怎么样
我建议啦～
干脆用卫星帮俄罗斯的卫星拍一张照片算了～