154.（双语文稿）xspace上发射光动能飞船？太科幻

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由太阳光驱动的宇宙飞船将从SpaceX火箭上发射

A major experiment in solar sailing is set to launch this month.

一次重大的太阳帆实验将于本月发射。

Solar sailing is a method that can push, or propel, a vehicle through space. A spacecraft is attached to a large solar sail to capture wind pressure from sunlight. This pressure is the force for movement.

太阳帆是推动或驱动航天器在太空航行的一种方式。航天飞船链接到一个大型太阳帆上来获取太阳风的压力。这种压力成为移动的动力。

A small spacecraft is set to demonstrate this technology after being launched from a rocket on June 22. The spacecraft, called LightSail 2, will launch from a Falcon Heavy rocket built by American aerospace company SpaceX. The rocket will launch from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center.

6月22日，一艘小型宇宙飞船从一枚火箭上发射之后将演示这种技术。名为LightSail 2的宇宙飞船将从美国太空探索技术公司SpaceX建造的猎鹰重型火箭上发射。火箭将从弗罗里达州肯尼迪太空中心发射。

LightSail 2 is a small spacecraft that weighs about five kilograms. It was designed by a not-for-profit group, The Planetary Society. Such small spacecraft are known as CubeSats. These provide a low-cost way for scientists, governments and private organizations to carry out space experiments.

LightSail 2是一艘约重五千克的小型宇宙飞船。它是由一个非盈利性组织行星协会设计而成。 这样的小型宇宙飞船被称作CubeSats。这些宇宙飞船为科学家、政府和私营组织提供一种廉价的进行太空实验的方式。

LightSail 2 will be part of a U.S. Department of Defense operation that will also launch about 24 satellites. The Planetary Society launched a similar spacecraft in 2015 called LightSail 1. That spacecraft successfully tested the sail deployment system.

LightSail 2将成为美国国防部军事行动的一部分。国防部也将发射约24个卫星。在2015年行星协会发射了类似的宇宙飞船，名为LightSail 1。那艘宇宙飞船成功测试了太阳帆的部署系统。

American scientist, writer and television star Carl Sagan, along with others, created the Planetary Society. Bill Nye currently leads the organization. Nye says the operation will attempt to raise the first solar sail spacecraft to orbit Earth.

美国科学家、作家兼电视明星卡尔·萨根与其他人共同协作创立了行星协会。现在比尔·奈是这个组织的领导人。奈表示这次行动将试图发射第一艘围绕地球运动的太阳帆宇宙飞船。

In a statement, Nye added that this month’s launch could complete one of Sagan’s major goals. "Forty years ago, my professor Carl Sagan shared his dream of using solar sail spacecraft to explore the cosmos. The Planetary Society is realizing the dream," he said.

在一次声明中，奈补充道本月这次发射将完成萨根的重要目标。“四十年前，我的教授卡尔·萨根分享了他的梦想，即通过太阳帆宇宙飞船探索宇宙。行星协会将要实现这个梦想。”他说。

The Planetary Society said citizen donations have paid for the project. Nye said thousands of people from all over the world came together to support it. He said the society was created to “empower people everywhere to advance space science and exploration.” Now, he said: “We are go for launch!"

行星协会表示市民捐款支付了这个项目。奈表示全世界成千上万的人走到一起去支持这个项目。他说这个协会创立的目的是“赋予全世界的人推进太空科学和探索的能力。”现在他说：“我们要准备发射了！”

A main goal of the operation is to demonstrate the power of sunlight to propel spacecraft without the need for costly rocket fuel.

这次行动的主要目标是演示在不需要消耗火箭燃料的情况下太阳光驱动宇宙飞船的能力。

Light is made up of particles called photons. Photons themselves do not have any mass. But when they travel through space they can pick up momentum.

光是由被称为光子的粒子组成。光子本身没有任何质量。但是当他们穿越太空时能获得动量。

The sail used with LightSail 2 has a very bright surface that can reflect light. When the photons in the light hit the solar sail, it creates momentum. This momentum results in small pushes as the photons repeatedly strike the sail.

与LightSail 2一起发射的太阳帆拥有很明亮的表面，它能反射光。当光里的光子撞击太阳帆时，它能产生动量。当光子不断地撞击帆使，这个动量生成了微小的推动力。

Once in space, LightSail 2 will deploy its solar sail system, which covers a total area of about 32 square meters. Over time, it will seek to raise its orbit using the small, continual pushes from solar photons.

一旦进入太空，LightSail 2将部署它的太阳帆系统。太阳帆总面积约有32平方米。随着时间的推移，它将利用来自太阳光子的微小的持续的推动力设法提升它的轨道高度

The sail will turn towards the Sun for half of each orbit, “giving the spacecraft a tiny push no stronger than the weight of a paper clip,” the Planetary Society said in a statement. “For about a month after sail deployment, this continual thrust should raise LightSail 2's orbit by a measurable amount.

太阳帆每个轨道的半程向着太阳，“给宇宙飞船一个比回形针的重量还小的微小的推力，”行星协会在一次声明中说。“太阳帆部署约一个月后，这种持续的驱动力将会将LightSail 2的轨道提升一个可测量的高度。”

Project officials say they expect LightSail 2 to fly to an orbit of 720 kilometers high. The spacecraft might be able to be seen in the night sky to observers within 42 degrees of the equator, they added.

项目负责人表示他们期望LightSail 2能飞到720千米高的轨道。他们补充道，宇宙飞船可以被在离赤道42纬度范围内的观测者在夜空中被观测到。

“This will be the first time navigating by light in Earth orbit,” Nye told the NBC’s Mach website. He noted that the amount of orbital energy needed to move LightSail 2 forward can be increased by changing the position of the sail.

“这将成为地球轨道上首次由光推动的航行，”奈告诉国家广播公司的Mach网站。他指出推动LightSail 2前进的所需要的轨道能量额可以通过改变太阳帆的位置来增加。

When a solar sail faces the Sun directly, photons push the spacecraft forward, away from the Sun. But the sail can move in other directions permitting control over where it travels, the society said on its website.

当太阳帆垂直面对太阳时，光子推动宇宙飞船向前，远离太阳。但是太阳帆能朝着其他的方向移动从而控制它的航行轨迹，该协会在其官网上说。