Look out! Second Chinese space station set to fall to Earth next year (but officials say Tiangong-2 will undergo a 'controlled deorbit')

当心!第二个空间站将于明年坠落地球(但有关官员表示，天宫二号将进行受控脱轨)

China is planning to bring its second space lab back to Earth in July 2019 in a 'controlled deorbit', the country's space agency has revealed.

航天局透露，计划于2019年7月在“受控脱轨”的状态下，将第二个太空实验室带回地球。

It comes just six months after the country's first space lab, named Tiangong-1, made international news when it infamously plummeted out of orbit in an uncontrolled descent.

就在6个月前，第一个太空实验室“天宫一号”失控坠落，这一声名狼藉的事件成为国际新闻。

It fell into the South Pacific Ocean in April, mostly burning up in the atmosphere before it reached the ocean.

今年4月，“天宫一号”坠入南太平洋，在坠落海洋之前大部分已在大气中燃烧。

'Tiangong-2 has fulfilled its mission during the two-year time, and all the loads are now in good condition,' said Lin iqiang, deputy director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, according to state media.

'It will be in orbit until July 2019, and then will be controlled to deorbit.'

据官媒报道，载人航天工程办公室副主任林西强表示，“天宫二号”在这两年已经完成任务，所有载荷都处于良好状态。它将在2019年7月之前继续在轨航行，之后将受控脱轨。”

In 2016, two astronauts spent a month inside Tiangong-2 as part of China's longest-ever crewed space mission.

2016年，两名宇航员在“天宫二号”驻留一个月，是航天史上历时最长的载人航天任务之一。

According to state media, they conducted experiments related to medicine, physics and biology.

据官媒报道，他们进行了与医学、物理学和生物学相关的实验。

Tiangong-2 is the second Chinese experimental space station. It was launched aboard a Long March 2F rocket on 15 September 2016.

“天宫二号”是第二个实验空间站。2016年9月15日，由长征二号运载火箭发射升空。

The 34 ft (10.4 m) long, 14 ft (4.2 m) wide station weighs 19,000 lb (8,600 kg), and is being used for 'testing systems and processes for mid-term space stays and refuelling,' according to the Chinese State. It is conducting experiments ahead of a Chinese space station planned for 2022.

据政府介绍，这个长34英尺(10.4米)、宽14英尺(4.2米)的空间站重1.9万磅(8600公斤)，可实现中期太空驻留和加油，也正在为2022年的空间站做实验。

The Tiangong-2 spacecraft was recently observed plummeting around 60 miles (95 km) toward the surface of the planet. It has since returned to its normal orbital height, sparking speculation that China may be preparing to decommission the vessel in the near future.

近期，“天宫二号”被观察到向地球表面突然下降大约60英里(95公里)，之后后又恢复了正常的轨道高度，这引发了人们的猜测，即可能准备在不久的将来让它退役。

China will be ho to avoid an embarrassing repeat of the events of April, when the nation's out-of-control Tiangong-1 space station returned to Earth with a bang.

希望避免重蹈4月份的覆辙，当时失控的“天宫一号”太空站轰然坠落地球。

Tiangong-1 was launched in September 2011 and spent at least five years in operation before it 'ceased functioning' in March 2016, according to the Chinese space agency officials.

航天局官员称，“天宫一号”于2011年9月发射升空，在运行了至少五年之后，于2016年3月“停止运转”。

It was not revealed why it had suddenly stopped working.

目前尚不清楚为什么它突然停止工作。

The Tiangong program (Tiangong means 'Heavenly Palace' in English) is intended as the initial steps towards China's ultimate space goal: launching a permanent space station around 2022.

天宫计划是实现终极太空目标的第一步：在2022年前后建立永久空间站。

But a space station is just one part of the chinese's wide-ranging ambitions when it comes to its space program.

但空间站只是政府太空项目雄心的一部分。

In August, Beiing unveiled the rover it was planning to send to explore the 'dark side' of the moon later in 2018, while the launch of the country's first Mars probe is planned for 2020.

今年8月，政府公布了计划于2018年发射月球车，以探索月球的“黑暗面”。首个火星探测器计划于2020年发射。

'Our overall goal is that, by around 2030, China will be among the major space powers of the world,' Wu Yanhua, deputy chief of China's national space agency, told reporters in 2016.

2016年，国家航天局副局长吴艳华对记者表示，我们的总体目标是，到2030年左右，将成为世界上主要的航天大国之一。

Tiangong-1 spiralled out of control, with little certainty possible about when and where it might land.

“天宫一号”失控，几乎无法确定何时何地可能着陆。

China's controlled thrust tests, lowering and raising the satellite on command, hint at a desire to bring the station down at a time and place of their choosing.

的受控推力测试，让卫星按照指令下降和上升，暗示着他们希望在选择的时间和地点摧毁空间站。

While it is unclear exactly when they plan to do so, an area known as the 'satellite graveyard' seems a likely location for touch down.

虽然目前尚不清楚他们计划何时着陆，但一个被称为“卫星墓地”的区域似乎是着陆的合适地点。

This is a region of the South Pacific Ocean commonly used by Russian and US space agencies to dump debris.

这是位于南太平洋的一个区域，俄罗斯和美国的航天机构经常使用该区域作为着陆地点。

Tiangong-2 is the second Chinese experimental space station. It was launched aboard a Long March 2F rocket on 15 September 2016.

“天宫二号”是第二个实验空间站。2016年9月15日，由长征二号运载火箭发射升空。

In October 2017, Chinese astronauts spent a 30-day stay on the station - China's longest stay in space.

2017年10月，宇航员在空间站停留30天，这是在太空停留时间最长的一次。

China's out of control Tiangong-1 space station smashed into Earth at 17,000 mph (27,358 kph) off the coast of Tahiti on April 2, 2018, and mostly disintegrated as it hit the planet's atmosphere.

2018年4月2日，失控的“天宫一号”空间站在塔希提岛海岸以每小时17000英里(27358公里)的速度撞向地球，在进入大气层时大部分已经解体。

The demise of the nine-ton space station had been the subject of scientific speculation for months amid fears large chunks of it could come down near population centres.

几个月来，这个重达9吨的空间站的消亡一直是科学界猜测的话题，担心其中很大一部分可能会落在人口中心附近。。

Experts had been unable to predict where the installation, which is roughly the size of a school bus, would come down but in the end it re-entered the earth's atmosphere over the South Pacific.

专家们一直无法预测这个大约相当于一辆校车大小的装置会在哪里降落，但最终它会重新进入南太平洋上空的地球大气层。

The craft re-entered the atmosphere around 8.15am Beiing time (12.15am GMT) and the 'vast majority' of it had burnt up upon re-entry, the China Manned Space Engineering Office said at the time.

载人航天工程办公室当时表示，该航天器在北京时间上午8点15分(格林尼治时间上午12点15分)左右重新进入大气层，“绝大部分”在重返大气层时烧毁。

Authorities said any debris from the space station would be carrying hydrazine - a high toxc rocket fuel - and warned people to refrain from touching it or inhaling its fumes.

有关部门表示，任何来自空间站的碎片都将携带肼——一种高毒性的火箭燃料——并警告人们不要触摸或吸入其气味。

英国每日邮报读者评论：

来源：三泰虎 http://www.santaihu.com/46179.html   译者：Jessica.Wu

外文：https://www.dailymail.co.uk

John Tracy Island, Belfast, 8 hours ago

That'll be one Chinese delivery you didn't order...

这将是个不速之客

Red arrows please, Moms Basement, Antarctica, 12 hours ago

This looks extremely questionable given China's track record with very fake looking space footage.

鉴于的太空视频都是伪造的，这看起来非常可疑。

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