on a world we can't see.

我們的生活依賴著

Think about your week so far.

一個我們看不見的世界。

Have you watched TV, used GPS,

回想一下這一周 到目前為止的生活，

checked the weather or even ate a meal?

是否曾看過電視， 使用過定位系統，

These many things that enable our daily lives

查詢過天氣預報或甚至吃過飯?

rely either directly or indirectly

這些我們日常生活中的事物

on satellites.

都直接或間接地依賴著

And while we often take for granted

衛星設施。

the services that satellites provide us,

而我們往往認為

the satellites themselves deserve our attention

這些衛星服務是應當的，

as they are leaving a lasting mark

這些設施更值得我們去注意。

on the space they occupy.

因為它們正對它們所在的太空 留下持久的影響。

People around the world rely on satellite infrastructure every day

世界各地的人 每天都依靠著衛星設施，

for information, entertainment and to communicate.

獲取信息、娛樂和溝通交流。

There's agricultural and environmental monitoring,

還有農業和環境監測，

Internet connectivity, navigation.

網際網路連接，導航。

Satellites even play a role

衛星甚至在

in the operation of our financial and energy markets.

我們的財務和能源市場運作中 佔據一席之地。

But these satellites that we rely on

但是我們每天都依賴著的這些衛星，

day in and day out

它們的壽命是有限的。

have a finite life.

它們可能用完助推燃料，

They might run out of propellant,

它們可能會出現故障，

they could malfunction,

或者它們可能只是 到達了它們的使用壽命。

or they may just naturally reach the end of their mission life.

這個時候，這些衛星 會成為太空垃圾，

At this point, these satellites effectively become space junk,

雜亂地存在於軌道環境中。

cluttering the orbital environment.

設想一下，一個美好的晴天 你開著車在高速路上行駛，

So imagine you're driving down the highway on a beautiful, sunny day

你播著音樂，

out running errands.

搖下車窗，

You've got your music cranked,

涼爽的微風在你的髮間吹過。

your windows rolled down,

感覺很好，對吧?

with the cool breeze blowing through your hair.

一切都進行得很順利，

Feels nice, right?

直到突然間， 在高速公路的正中間

Everything is going smoothly

你的汽車壞了。

until suddenly your car stutters and stalls

現在你別無選擇 只能將它留在高速公路上。

right in the middle of the highway.

或許你很幸運的

So now you have no choice but to abandon your car

能夠將它移到路肩上，

where it is on the highway.

這樣不會阻礙交通，

Maybe you were lucky enough

幾個小時之前，

to be able to move it out of the way and into a shoulder lane

你的車還是你每天都依賴的 交通工具。

so that it's out of the way of other traffic.

現在，它只是一堆無用的金屬，

A couple of hours ago,

佔用著寶貴的交通網絡的空間。

your car was a useful machine that you relied on in your everyday life.

試想一下，在國際公路上 亂停著許多故障車輛，

Now, it's a useless hunk of metal

這只是阻礙了交通。

taking up space in a valuable transportation network.

並設想一下， 如果有交通事故發生，

And imagine international roadways all cluttered with broken down vehicles

碰撞之後四處散落的碎片。

that are just getting in the way of other traffic.

成千上萬的小碎片

And imagine the debris that would be strewn everywhere

將成為新的障礙。

if a collision actually happened,

這是衛星行業的一個範例。

thousands of smaller pieces of debris

那些不再被使用的衛星，

becoming new obstacles.

往往被長久地遺留在軌道上，

This is the paradigm of the satellite industry.

或者僅僅被移到一旁 作為臨時解決方案。

Satellites that are no longer working

而且，在太空中沒有國際法律

are often left to deorbit over many, many years,

來強制我們去清理它們。

or only moved out of the way as a temporary solution.

世界上第一個衛星 史普尼克 1 號

And there are no international laws in space

於 1957 年發射。

to enforce us to clean up after ourselves.

那一年， 一共只有三次發射嘗試。

So the world's first satellite, Sputnik I,

數十年後，世界上許多國家

was launched in 1957,

已經將更多的衛星推送上軌道。

and in that year, there were only a total of three launch attempts.

在未來，衛星發射 只會越來越頻繁，

Decades later and dozens of countries from all around the world

尤其是，如果你考慮到

have launched thousands of more satellites into orbit,

發射 900 多顆衛星 成為一個衛星網是可行的。

and the frequency of launches is only going to increase in the future,

現在，我們會根據衛星的用途

especially if you consider things like the possibility

將它們送至不同的軌道。

of 900-plus satellite constellations being launched.

我們發送衛星最常見的地方

Now, we send satellites to different orbits

是近地球軌道，

depending on what they're needed for.

衛星在高度 2000 公里以內 拍攝地球表面圖像。

One of the most common places we send satellites

在那裡的衛星會受到 地球大氣的阻礙，

is the low Earth orbit,

所以他們的運行高度會不斷降低，

possibly to image the surface of Earth

最終會燃燒殆盡，

at up to about 2,000 kilometers altitude.

整個過程大約是幾十年。

Satellites there are naturally buffeted by Earth's atmosphere,

另一個我們常將衛星發送去的地方是

so their orbits naturally decay,

地球靜止軌道，

and they'll eventually burn up,

高度大約在 35,000 公里。

probably within a couple of decades.

在那裡衛星會與地球同步運轉，

Another common place we send satellites

這使得諸如通信 或者電視廣播之類的事情成為可能。

is the geostationary orbit

衛星在那種高軌道可以停留數百年。

at about 35,000 kilometers altitude.

除此之外， 還有被成為「墳場」的軌道，

Satellites there remain in the same place above Earth as the Earth rotates,

用於堆放太空垃圾的軌道。

which enables things like communications or television broadcast, for example.

在那裡會被蓄意放置一些 到達使用壽命的衛星，

Satellites in high orbits like these could remain there for centuries.

而將軌道空出來 讓那些現用的衛星運行。

And then there's the orbit coined "the graveyard,"

自 1950 年代末期， 已經發射了將近 7000 個衛星，

the ominous junk or disposal orbits,

只有七分之一左右仍在運作。

where some satellites are intentionally placed

並且除了那些不再運作的衛星之外，

at the end of their life

還有成千上萬的彈珠大小的碎屑，

so that they're out of the way of common operational orbits.

和數百萬的色卡大小的碎片，

Of the nearly 7,000 satellites launched since the late 1950s,

圍繞著地球旋轉。

only about one in seven is currently operational,

太空碎片是太空任務的主要威脅，

and in addition to the satellites that are no longer working,

同樣也是我們每日依賴的 衛星的主要威脅。

there's also hundreds of thousands of marble-sized debris

如今，因為太空碎片和垃圾 已讓人越來越擔憂，

and millions of paint chip-sized debris

有一些全國和國際性的工作，

that are also orbiting around the Earth.

推出一些技術規範

Space debris is a major risk to space missions,

幫助我們限制增加太空碎片。

but also to the satellites that we rely on each and every day.

例如，有些建議要求

Now, because space debris and junk has become increasingly worrisome,

那些近地球軌道航天器

there have been some national and international efforts

被設計成為 25 年內會完成脫軌，

to develop technical standards

但這還是太久，

to help us limit the generation of additional debris.

特別是如果一顆衛星 已經停止工作多年。

So for example, there are recommendations

對那些死掉的同步衛星， 還有一些強制要求，

for those low-Earth orbiting spacecraft

要被移入墳場軌道。

to be made to deorbit in under 25 years,

但這些限制條件 都不具有國際法律的約束力，

but that's still a really long time,

普遍的理解是它們會 通過國家機制實施。

especially if a satellite hasn't been working for years.

這些指導方針也不是長期的，

There's also mandates for those dead geostationary spacecraft

不是積極主動的，

to be moved into a graveyard orbit.

它們也沒有處理已經在那裡的碎片。

But neither of these guidelines is binding under international law,

它們只是被用於 限制未來產生的碎片。

and the understanding is that they will be implemented through national mechanisms.

沒有任何人為太空垃圾負責任。

These guidelines are also not long-term,

現在，珠穆朗瑪峰是 一個有趣的例子，

they're not proactive,

從一種新的視角 來比較我們與環境互相的影響，

nor do they address the debris that's already up there.

因為它經常被稱為

They're only in place to limit the future creation of debris.

世界上最高的垃圾場。

Space junk is no one's responsibility.

在世界最高峰 第一次被征服後的幾十年裡，

Now, Mount Everest is actually an interesting comparison

攀登者留下的眾多垃圾

of a new approach to how we interact with our environments,

已經開始引起人們的擔憂，

as it's often given the dubious honor

你或許已經看過新聞報導，

of being the world's highest garbage dump.

尼泊爾可能對亂丟垃圾的登山者

Decades after the first conquest of the world's highest peak,

採取嚴厲的罰責及法律約束。

tons of rubbish left behind by climbers

這樣做的目的當然是 要說服登山者

has started to raise concern,

自己清理自己產生的垃圾，

and you may have read in the news that there's speculation

因此可能當地非營利組織會向那些 從山上帶下額外垃圾的人支付獎勵，

that Nepal will crack down on mountaineers

或者考察隊將會組織志願者 前去清理垃圾。

with stricter enforcement of penalties and legal obligations.

然而儘管如此，許多登山者認為

The goal, of course, is to persuade climbers

各個團體應該自行監管。

to clean up after themselves,

對此尚未有一個簡單的解決方案，

so maybe local not-for-profits will pay climbers who bring down extra waste,

甚至善意致力於保育，

or expeditions might organize voluntary cleanup trips.

經常都會變成問題。

And yet still many climbers feel

但是這不意味著 我們可以無所作為

that independent groups should police themselves.

來保護我們依賴和生存的環境，

There's no simple or easy answer,

與珠穆朗瑪峰類似，

and even well-intentioned efforts at conservation

太空軌道太遙遠、建設不完善，

often run into problems.

使得廢物處理成為了 頗具挑戰的問題。

But that doesn't mean we shouldn't do everything in our power

但是我們不能 隨便就到達一個新高度，

to protect the environments that we rely and depend on,

然後創建一個更高的垃圾堆積場，

and like Everest, the remote location and inadequate infrastructure

在地球之外。

of the orbital environment

太空中的現實是，

make waste disposal a challenging problem.

如果一個衛星的構件損壞，

But we simply cannot reach new heights

只有很少的機會能對其進行維修，

and create an even higher garbage dump,

而且需要花費大量的金錢。

one that's out of this world.

可是我們在設計衛星的時候 能不能更聰明一些，

The reality of space

是否所有的衛星，

is that if a component on a satellite breaks down,

無論是哪個國家製造的，

there really are limited opportunities for repairs,

都必須被標準化設計成為

and only at great cost.

可回收的，提供維修服務的，

But what if we were smarter about how we designed satellites?

或者會主動脫離軌道的？

What if all satellites,

是否能有強有力的國際法律，

regardless of what country they were built in,

來強制處理那些 在使命結束後被拋棄的衛星，

had to be standardized in some way

而不是採用臨時的辦法

for recycling, servicing

將它們移出軌道？

or active deorbiting?

又是否衛星生產商需要被徵收 一筆垃圾處理費，

What if there actually were international laws with teeth

從而才能發射衛星？

that enforced end-of-life disposal of satellites

而且那筆費用只有在 衛星被適當的處理後，

instead of moving them out of the way

或者他們清理掉 一些碎片時才能被退還。

as a temporary solution?

或者衛星需要配備某些科技，

Or maybe satellite manufacturers need to be charged a deposit

來幫助加速脫軌進程。

to even launch a satellite into orbit,

現在有一些令人激勵的跡象。

and that deposit would only be returned

比如說，英國 2014 年發射的 TechDemoSat-1 衛星，

if the satellite was disposed of properly

透過一個很小的拖曳帆，

or if they cleaned up some quota of debris.

在使命結束後會自我處理。

Or maybe a satellite needs to have technology on board

這個設計可行是因為 這是一個小衛星。

to help accelerate deorbit.

但是對於在更高、更大軌道的衛星，

There are some encouraging signs.

或者更遠更大的衛星， 比如說像校車那麼大的，

The UK's TechDemoSat-1, launched in 2014, for example,

則需要其它的處理方式。

was designed for end-of-life disposal

所以或許你會想到使用高強鐳射光線

via a small drag sail.

或者使用網或細繩去拖拉，

This works for the satellite because it's small,

那些在短期內聽起來 盡可能瘋狂的想法。

but satellites that are higher or in larger orbits

一個非常可行而炫酷的想法是

or are larger altogether, like the size of school buses,

一輛在太空軌道上運行的 拖車或機械裝置。

will require other disposal options.

想像如果有個機械手臂

So maybe you get into things like high-powered lasers

裝在一輛類似太空拖車的裝置上，

or tugging using nets or tethers,

可以修理那些受損壞的衛星，

as crazy as those sound in the short term.

使他們恢復正常。

And then one really cool possibility

或者那個機械手臂

is the idea of orbital tow trucks or space mechanics.

可以給那些借助化學劑推進的 太空飛行器加燃料，

Imagine if a robotic arm

就像我們給汽車加油一樣。

on some sort of space tow truck

機器人維修和維護，

could fix the broken components on a satellite,

可以延長數百顆 繞行地球的衛星的壽命。

making them usable again.

無論我們選擇哪種處理或清理方式，

Or what if that very same robotic arm

很明顯都不僅僅是技術問題。

could refuel the propellant tank on a spacecraft

我們還需要理清更加複雜的 太空法和政治問題。

that relies on chemical propulsion

簡單來說，我們還沒有找到 一種可永續使用太空的方法。

just like you or I would refuel the fuel tanks on our cars?

不斷的探索、創新來改變 我們生活和工作的方式，

Robotic repair and maintenance

是我們作為人類的使命。

could extend the lives of hundreds of satellites orbiting around the Earth.

同時在對太空探索，

Whatever the disposal or cleanup options we come up with,

真的已經超出了地球的範圍。

it's clearly not just a technical problem.

然而在我們以學習和創新的名義 不斷推進的時候，

There's also complex space laws and politics that we have to sort out.

我們必須牢記 我們對環境的責任從未消失。

Simply put, we haven't found a way to use space sustainably yet.

近地軌道或地球靜止軌道上 衛星擁擠的狀況是毋庸置疑的，

Exploring, innovating to change the way we live and work

我們不能一味的發射新衛星

are what we as humans do,

去取代那些已經報廢的，

and in space exploration,

卻不先對它們採取任何措施。

we're literally moving beyond the boundaries of Earth.

就像我們從來不會將一輛壞車 停留在高速公路的中間一樣。

But as we push thresholds in the name of learning and innovation,

下一次當你使用你的手機，

we must remember that accountability for our environments never goes away.

查詢天氣預報或者使用 GPS 定位，

There is without doubt congestion in the low Earth and geostationary orbits,

想一下那些使得這些 成為可能的衛星科技。

and we cannot keep launching new satellites

但同時也要想一下

to replace the ones that have broken down

衛星對地球周圍環境的影響。

without doing something about them first,

請各位幫忙傳播這個信息， 我們必須協力減少太空垃圾的影響。

just like we would never leave a broken down car

緊鄰地球的軌道無比美麗，

in the middle of the highway.

也是我們探索太空的門戶。

Next time you use your phone,

我們有責任保護太空。

check the weather or use your GPS,

謝謝。

think about the satellite technologies that make those activities possible.

（掌聲）

But also think about the very impact

that the satellites have on the environment surrounding Earth,

and help spread the message that together we must reduce our impact.

Earth orbit is breathtakingly beautiful

and our gateway to exploration.

It's up to us to keep it that way.

Thank you.

(Applause)