美国有线新闻 CNN 欧洲航天局估计太空轨道上有超过9000吨人造材料（在线收听）

What is the meaning of the Russian word Sputnik? Traveling companion, new dawn, distance observer, or next frontier.

俄语中的Sputnik是什么意思？旅伴、新黎明、远程观察者还是未来前沿？

Sputnik, the name of a Soviet satellite and a Russian vaccine means traveling companion.

Sputnik是前苏联卫星和俄罗斯新冠肺炎疫苗的名字，意思是“旅伴”。

Since Sputnik One launched in 1957, people have been putting satellites, rockets and stations into space

自1957年发射“斯普特尼克1号”人造卫星以来，人类一直在将卫星、火箭和空间站送入太空，

and it's getting crowded up there with the stuff we use and the stuff we don't.

我们使用和尚未使用的东西令太空越来越拥挤。

The European Space Agency estimates that there are more than 9,000 tons of manmade materials in orbit.

欧洲航天局估计，太空轨道上有超过9000吨人造材料。

That's the weight of 720 school buses driving around over our heads.

这一重量相当于720辆校车在我们头顶上行驶。

And a new spacecraft launched over the weekend, along with its satellite added about 423 pounds to that.

上周末，一艘新飞船及其卫星发射，将重量增加了约423磅。

But this mission's a little bit different.

但这次任务有些不同。

It's an attempt to demonstrate a way to potentially clean up space junk.

这是寻找可能清理太空垃圾方法的一次尝试。

The plan is for the spacecraft and satellite so separate then reattach using magnets then head back toward Earth to burn up in its atmosphere.

这项计划将先让飞船和卫星分离，然后用磁铁重新连接，并在返回地球的过程中在大气层中燃烧。

Sounds simple but it will take months to accomplish.

这听起来很简单，但需要数个月才能完成。

If it works though, the demo flight could set the stage for a new space junk clean-up.

不过，如果成功的话，这次示范飞行可能会为新太空垃圾清理工作奠定基础。