Russian scientists issue warning about US satellite

俄罗斯科学家周六警告说，一颗美国卫星在轨道上部分解体，危及其他环绕地球的航天器。

An American satellite is partially disintegrating in orbit, endangering other spacecraft circling Earth, Russian scientists warned on Saturday.

据位于莫斯科的俄罗斯科学院凯德什应用数学研究所称，这颗卫星是由卫星服务公司国际通信卫星组织运营的美国地球同步通信卫星银河11号。它于1999年发射，作为国际通信卫星组织802号卫星的备用卫星。

The craft in question is the US geostationary communications satellite Galaxy 11, operated by satellite services company Intelsat, according to the Moscow-based Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics at Russia’s Academy of Sciences. It had been launched in 1999 as a backup for the Intelsat 802 satellite.

科学家们说，望远镜一直在追踪从银河11号分离出来的几个小型碎片，这些碎片现在对轨道上的其他卫星构成了潜在威胁。

Telescopes have been following several small-sized fragments that detached from Galaxy 11 and now pose a potential threat for other satellites in orbit, the scientists said.

凯尔迪什研究所表示，目前尚不清楚飞船解体的确切原因，但暗示可能是其隔热材料、太阳能电池板或其他设备老化的结果。

The Keldysh Institute said that the exact reasons for the disintegration of the spacecraft were currently unknown but suggested that it could be the result of the aging of its thermal insulation, solar panels or other equipment.