VOA慢速英语 飞鸟撞击：航空安全的隐患

　　VOICE ONE:

　　The collision of the Russian and American satellites was the first of its kind in over fifty years of space travel. It spread hundreds of pieces of debris.

　　But the biggest debris-causing event took place in January, two thousand seven. China tested an anti-satellite missile by destroying one of its weather satellites. The test broke the satellite apart into at least two thousand eight hundred identifiable pieces. The debris now circles the Earth in orbits from two hundred kilometers to over three thousand eight hundred kilometers.

　　Currently, there is no treaty to control the spread of space debris. Scientists have proposed many ideas for cleaning up space. They include nets, giant collecting arms and powerful laser beams that would move or destroy space junk. But for now, these are just ideas. And, as more nations launch spacecraft, the risk of debris strikes will only grow.

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　　VOICE TWO:

　　This program was written and produced by Mario Ritter. I'm Faith Lapidus.

　　VOICE ONE:

　　And I'm Steve Ember. Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs are at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for Explorations in VOA Special English.

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