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As the amount of space traffic continues to grow, the United Nations is calling for increased international cooperation to improve safety.
随着太空运输量的持续增长，联合国呼吁加强国际合作，改善太空安全。
Continued deployment of satellites and sharp increases in space debris over the years have resulted in the crowding of low Earth orbit.
多年来，卫星的持续部署和太空碎片的急剧增加导致近地轨道非常拥挤。
Space experts and industry leaders say this has created safety risks that will worsen if the problem is not dealt with.
太空专家和行业领袖表示，这造成了安全风险，如果这个问题得不到解决，安全风险会继续恶化。
A U.N. gathering of experts in October called for more sharing of information about orbital space objects, as well as creation of an international process to follow and manage them.
今年10月，联合国召开了一次专家会议，呼吁更多地分享有关轨道太空物体的信息，并建立一个跟踪和管理这些物体的国际程序。
The meeting was organized by the U.N.’s Office for Outer Space Affairs.
这次会议是由联合国外层太空事务办公室组织的。
Data from the American-based company Slingshot Aerospace suggests there are more than 14,000 satellites around the world in low Earth orbit.
总部位于美国的Slingshot航空航天公司的数据显示，世界各地有超过1.4万颗卫星在近地轨道上运行。
That number includes about 3,500 satellites that are currently inactive, Reuters news agency reports.
据路透社报道，这一数字包括目前处于非活动状态的约3500颗卫星。
In addition, there are about 120 million pieces of orbital debris left over from spacecraft launches, crashes or other causes.
此外，还有航天器发射、坠毁或其他原因留下的约1.2亿块轨道碎片。
Only a few thousand of those are large enough to follow, or track.
其中只有几千个足够大，可以进行跟踪或追踪。
"There's no time to lose on space traffic coordination,” the director of the U.N.’s Office for Outer Space Affairs, Aarti Holla-Maini, told Reuters.
联合国外层太空事务办公室主任阿尔蒂·霍拉-迈尼告诉路透社：“在太空交通协调方面没有时间可以浪费了。”
She added, “With so many objects being launched into space, we have to do everything we can to ensure space safety, and that means facilitating the sharing of information between operators.”
她补充道：“这么多的物体被发射到太空中，我们必须尽可能确保太空安全，这意味着促进运营商之间的信息共享。”
Holla-Maini explained that such coordination should involve both public and private organizations.
Holla-Maini解释说，这种协调应包括公共和私营组织。
The goal is to take steps to avoid crashes between space objects orbiting in low Earth orbit.
目标是采取措施，避免在近地轨道上运行的太空物体之间发生碰撞。
She added that this area of space must remain safe to prevent costly difficulties to technologies that drive worldwide communication, navigation and scientific exploration.
她补充说，这一领域的安全必须得到保障，以防止促进全球通信、导航和科学探索的技术遇到代价高昂的困难。
Currently, there is no centralized system to help prevent such problems.
目前，还没有一个集中的系统来帮助防止此类问题。
It has also been difficult for organizations to agree on a set of guidelines aimed at improving safety in low Earth orbit.
各组织也很难就一套旨在改善近地轨道安全的指导方针达成一致。
While some countries are willing to share data, others object because of security or privacy concerns.
虽然一些国家愿意共享数据，但另一些国家出于安全或隐私方面的考虑而反对共享。
There have been several examples of these issues over the past year.
过去一年里，此类问题已经出现了好几次。
A Chinese launcher rocket exploded in August, creating thousands of pieces of debris in low Earth orbit.
今年8月，一枚中国发射的火箭发生爆炸，在近地轨道上产生了数千块碎片。
In June, an unused Russian satellite exploded, releasing thousands of metal pieces.
今年6月，一颗未使用过的俄罗斯卫星爆炸，释放出数千块金属碎片。
That incident forced astronauts on the International Space Station to briefly take shelter.
那次事故迫使国际太空站的宇航员暂时避难。
Low Earth orbit is the most crowded area of space.
近地轨道是太空中最拥挤的区域。
This is because it offers a balance between cost and proximity, making it a popular target for the quickly growing private space industry.
因为这个区域是成本和距离之间的平衡，是快速增长的私人太空行业的热门目标。
It is estimated that many more satellites – tens of thousands more – will enter low-Earth orbit in the coming years.
据估计，在接下来的几年里，将有更多的卫星--数万颗--进入近地轨道。
One prediction by Canada-based space tracking company NorthStar Earth & Space suggests the possible financial risk of space object collisions is likely to reach $556 million over five years.
加拿大太空追踪公司NorthStar Earth&Space的一项预测表明，未来五年，太空物体碰撞可能带来的经济风险可能达到5.56亿美元。
NorthStar’s chief executive, Stewart Bain, told Reuters the situation had reached "a critical point” for establishing rules to cover space objects in low Earth orbit.
NorthStar的首席执行官斯图尔特·贝恩告诉路透社，目前的情况已经到了制定规则约束近地轨道上的太空物体的“临界点”。
Bain noted that SpaceX’s Starlink is launching thousands of satellites per year and China and others are preparing to follow.
贝恩指出，SpaceX的星链每年发射数以千计的卫星，中国等国家正准备效仿。
Such expansion could threaten the load capacity of objects in low Earth orbit, he said.
他说，这种扩张可能会威胁到近地轨道上物体的承载能力。
I’m Bryan Lynn.
我是布莱恩 · 林恩。
