俄軍發射的神祕太空物體引發擔憂
It is a tale that could have come straight from the Cold war. A mysterious object launched by the Russian military is being closely tracked by western space agencies, stoking fears over the revival of a long-defunct Kremlin project to destroy satellites.
這個故事完全可能發生在冷戰(Cold War)時期。俄羅斯軍方發射的一個神祕物體正受到西方太空機構的密切追蹤，各方擔憂俄羅斯重啓擱置多年的衛星摧毀計劃。
For the past few weeks, amateur astronomers and satellite-trackers in Russia and the West have followed the unusual manoeuvres of “Object 2014-28E” in the skies, watching it guide itself towards other Russian space objects in a pattern that appeared to culminate last weekend in a rendezvous with the remains of the rocket stage that launched it.
過去幾周，俄羅斯和西方的天文愛好者和衛星追蹤者都在跟蹤太空中“2014-28E號物體”的一系列不尋常的動作，目睹該物體引導自身飛向俄羅斯其他空間物體，最終似乎在上週末與發射它的火箭末級殘骸會合。The object had originally been classed as space debris, propelled into orbit as part of a Russian rocket launch in May to add three Rodnik communications satellites to an existing military constellation. The US military is now tracking it under the Norad designation 39765.
該物體原本被界定爲空間碎片，是5月一枚俄羅斯火箭將3顆“泉水”(Rodnik)低軌通信衛星送入一個現有的軍用衛星星座時入軌的。美國軍方目前在追蹤它，其北美防空司令部(Norad)代號是39765號。
Its purpose is unknown, and could be civilian: a project to hoover up space junk, for example. Or a vehicle to repair or refuel existing satellites. But interest has been piqued by the fact that Russia did not declare its launch – and by the object’s peculiar, and very active, precision movements across the skies.
目前還不知道該物體的目的是什麼，不能排除民用目的：比如一個吸入太空垃圾的項目。或是對現有的衛星進行維修或充能。但俄羅斯並沒有宣佈發射該物體，而該物體在太空中的飛行軌跡又如此怪異、活躍而精準，這些都激起了人們的興趣。Russia officially mothballed its anti-satellite weaponry programme – Istrebitel Sputnikov or satellite killer – after the fall of the iron curtain, though its expertise in the field has never entirely disappeared. Indeed, Russian military officials have publicly stated in the past that they would restart research into the programme in the event of a deterioration in relations with the US over anti-missile defence treaties. In 2010, Oleg Ostapenko, the commander of Russia’s space forces, and now head of Russia’s space agency, said Russia was again developing “inspection” and “strike” satellites.
“鐵幕”（冷戰時期將歐洲分爲兩個陣營的界線——譯者注）落下後，俄羅斯在官方場合擱置了反衛星武器計劃，即“衛星殺手”計劃(Istrebitel Sputnikov)，儘管俄方在該領域的技術訣竅從未完全消失。的確，俄羅斯軍方官員曾公開聲明，如果俄美在反導防禦條約問題上關係惡化，他們將重啓該計劃的研究。2010年，時任俄羅斯太空部隊司令、現任俄羅斯航天署署長奧列格•奧斯塔片科(Oleg Ostapenko)曾說，俄羅斯已恢復研發“監測”和“攻擊”衛星。Russia’s ministry of defence did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
俄羅斯國防部沒有立即迴應記者的置評請求。
