[原创翻译]美国记者：卫星拍到中国首艘航母

原文：http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/14/9447273-satellite-spots-chinas-first-aircraft-carrier-at-sea

老瓦全速航行的照片被美国卫星拍到后，不仅在中国引发轰动，在美国同样引起了关注。看看msnbc网站著名科学编辑Alan Boyle是怎么说的：

Satellite spots China's first aircraft carrier at sea

卫星在海上拍摄到中国首艘航母

Alan Boyle writes

A commercial satellite operator says it has captured a rare image of China's first aircraft carrier as it sailed through the Yellow Sea, after going through an exercise that's the 21st-century equivalent of finding a needle in a haystack.

一家商业卫星运营商说，它已经捕捉到了中国首艘航母在黄海航行的罕见画面，拍摄这种画面的难度，在21世纪的今天，相当于从干草堆里寻找一根针。

DigitalGlobe said the aircraft carrier showed up on a cloud-filled picture snapped on Dec. 8 by its polar-orbiting QuickBird satellite from a height of 280 miles (450 kilometers). An analyst spotted the ship while checking the image on Tuesday, said Stephen Wood, the director of the company's analysis center.

数字地球公司表示，这艘航母出现在云层覆盖的照片上，照片在12月8日由该公司的极地轨道卫星QuickBird从280英里（450公里）高度拍摄。公司分析中心主任史蒂芬·伍德说，一名分析员在本周二检查这幅图像时，发现了该舰。

"There is something that is always indispensable about having people involved," Wood told me. The ship was identified "using a combination of the satellite imagery plus open-source material on the Internet, and geography," he said, but "at the end of the day, it still comes down to a person."

“对于有些事，人工干预总是必不可少的。”伍德告诉我。该舰的确定“是使用卫星图像以及互联网上的开源材料，还有地理知识的结合。”他说。但是“直到目前为止，它仍然要由一个人来完成。”

Experts have been hoping for months to get a glimpse of the aircraft carrier at sea. The former Soviet Union started building the ship, originally known as the Varyag, but never finished it. After the Soviet breakup, the Varyag ended up in the hands of the Ukrainian government. The ship was auctioned off to the Chinese in 1998. Since then, the Varyag, which has reportedly been rechristened the Shi Lang, has been under refurbishment for sea service.

几个月来，专家们一直希望能在海上看到这艘航空母舰的概貌。该舰由前苏联开工建造，最初被称作瓦良格号，但是并未完工。苏联解体后，瓦良格号落入乌克兰ZF手中。1998年，中国人通过拍卖获得该舰。从那时起，据说已经被重新命名为“施琅”的瓦良格号，一直在进行翻新，准备在海上服役。

"This is a ship and a story that has had legs for many years," Wood said.

伍德说：“这是一艘军舰，也是一个多年来一直在发展的故事。”

DigitalGlobe said this picture was taken during the carrier's second sea trial, approximately 62 miles (100 kilometers) south-southeast of the port of Dalian. Wood said the picture indicates that the ship is "moving at a decent rate of speed, which would be expected in the middle of the ocean." The U.S. military could no doubt glean more information about the Shi Lang's status, from QuickBird's pictures as well as from classified, higher-resolution imagery.

数字地球公司说，这张照片拍摄于该舰二次海试期间，地点大约是大连港东南偏南62英里（100公里）处。伍德说，照片显示，该舰正在以“令人满意的速率移动，这种速率预计会在远洋航行时出现。”根据QuickBird卫星照片，以及分类过的更高分辨率图像来看，美国军方无疑可以收集到有关施琅号当前状态的更多信息。

China says the Shi Lang will be used for research and training, and the project is thought to be part of the country's strategy to expand its presence as a naval power. The Chinese military is expected to build more copies of the ship in coming years. In fact, sources told Reuters in July that a second aircraft carrier was under construction.

中国说，施琅号将用于科研和训练。这项工程被认为是国家战略的一部分，用于扩大该国作为海军强国的存在。中国军方预计将在未来几年内，建造该舰的多艘复制品。事实上，有消息人士在今年七月告诉路透社，第二艘航母正在建造中。

"China's next moves have to be watched carefully, or there eventually could be a negative impact on maritime safety in Asia," Yoshihiko Yamada, a professor at Japan's Tokai University, told Reuters at the time.

“必须密切观察中国的下一步行动，这有可能最终对亚洲海上安全产生负面影响。”当时，日本东海大学教授山田吉彦这样告诉路透社。

（photoblog往期照片列表，与中国航母无关，略）

Update for 10:45 p.m. ET: The Associated Press' Dan Elliott got in touch with a Pentagon spokeswoman, Cmdr. Leslie Hull-Ryde, who said the progress made by the Chinese on the aircraft carrier was in line with the U.S. military's expectations. A Defense Department report to Congress said the carrier could become operationally available to China's navy by the end of next year, but without aircraft. "From that point, it will take several additional years before the carrier has an operationally viable air group," Hull-Ryde told Elliott in an email.

美国东部时间10:45更新：美联社的丹·埃利奥特与五角大楼女发言人莱斯利·赫尔-莱德指挥员取得了联系。发言人说，中国航母计划的进展符合美国军方预期。国防部发送给国会的一份报告称，这艘航母在明年年底就可以被中国海军接收，但是不包括飞机。“从那时开始，还需要几年时间，这艘航母才会有确实能够使用的飞行团。”赫尔-莱德在电子邮件中告诉埃利奥特。
原文：http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/14/9447273-satellite-spots-chinas-first-aircraft-carrier-at-sea

老瓦全速航行的照片被美国卫星拍到后，不仅在中国引发轰动，在美国同样引起了关注。看看msnbc网站著名科学编辑Alan Boyle是怎么说的：

Satellite spots China's first aircraft carrier at sea

卫星在海上拍摄到中国首艘航母

Alan Boyle writes

A commercial satellite operator says it has captured a rare image of China's first aircraft carrier as it sailed through the Yellow Sea, after going through an exercise that's the 21st-century equivalent of finding a needle in a haystack.

一家商业卫星运营商说，它已经捕捉到了中国首艘航母在黄海航行的罕见画面，拍摄这种画面的难度，在21世纪的今天，相当于从干草堆里寻找一根针。

DigitalGlobe said the aircraft carrier showed up on a cloud-filled picture snapped on Dec. 8 by its polar-orbiting QuickBird satellite from a height of 280 miles (450 kilometers). An analyst spotted the ship while checking the image on Tuesday, said Stephen Wood, the director of the company's analysis center.

数字地球公司表示，这艘航母出现在云层覆盖的照片上，照片在12月8日由该公司的极地轨道卫星QuickBird从280英里（450公里）高度拍摄。公司分析中心主任史蒂芬·伍德说，一名分析员在本周二检查这幅图像时，发现了该舰。

"There is something that is always indispensable about having people involved," Wood told me. The ship was identified "using a combination of the satellite imagery plus open-source material on the Internet, and geography," he said, but "at the end of the day, it still comes down to a person."

“对于有些事，人工干预总是必不可少的。”伍德告诉我。该舰的确定“是使用卫星图像以及互联网上的开源材料，还有地理知识的结合。”他说。但是“直到目前为止，它仍然要由一个人来完成。”

Experts have been hoping for months to get a glimpse of the aircraft carrier at sea. The former Soviet Union started building the ship, originally known as the Varyag, but never finished it. After the Soviet breakup, the Varyag ended up in the hands of the Ukrainian government. The ship was auctioned off to the Chinese in 1998. Since then, the Varyag, which has reportedly been rechristened the Shi Lang, has been under refurbishment for sea service.

几个月来，专家们一直希望能在海上看到这艘航空母舰的概貌。该舰由前苏联开工建造，最初被称作瓦良格号，但是并未完工。苏联解体后，瓦良格号落入乌克兰ZF手中。1998年，中国人通过拍卖获得该舰。从那时起，据说已经被重新命名为“施琅”的瓦良格号，一直在进行翻新，准备在海上服役。

"This is a ship and a story that has had legs for many years," Wood said.

伍德说：“这是一艘军舰，也是一个多年来一直在发展的故事。”

DigitalGlobe said this picture was taken during the carrier's second sea trial, approximately 62 miles (100 kilometers) south-southeast of the port of Dalian. Wood said the picture indicates that the ship is "moving at a decent rate of speed, which would be expected in the middle of the ocean." The U.S. military could no doubt glean more information about the Shi Lang's status, from QuickBird's pictures as well as from classified, higher-resolution imagery.

数字地球公司说，这张照片拍摄于该舰二次海试期间，地点大约是大连港东南偏南62英里（100公里）处。伍德说，照片显示，该舰正在以“令人满意的速率移动，这种速率预计会在远洋航行时出现。”根据QuickBird卫星照片，以及分类过的更高分辨率图像来看，美国军方无疑可以收集到有关施琅号当前状态的更多信息。

China says the Shi Lang will be used for research and training, and the project is thought to be part of the country's strategy to expand its presence as a naval power. The Chinese military is expected to build more copies of the ship in coming years. In fact, sources told Reuters in July that a second aircraft carrier was under construction.

中国说，施琅号将用于科研和训练。这项工程被认为是国家战略的一部分，用于扩大该国作为海军强国的存在。中国军方预计将在未来几年内，建造该舰的多艘复制品。事实上，有消息人士在今年七月告诉路透社，第二艘航母正在建造中。

"China's next moves have to be watched carefully, or there eventually could be a negative impact on maritime safety in Asia," Yoshihiko Yamada, a professor at Japan's Tokai University, told Reuters at the time.

“必须密切观察中国的下一步行动，这有可能最终对亚洲海上安全产生负面影响。”当时，日本东海大学教授山田吉彦这样告诉路透社。

（photoblog往期照片列表，与中国航母无关，略）

Update for 10:45 p.m. ET: The Associated Press' Dan Elliott got in touch with a Pentagon spokeswoman, Cmdr. Leslie Hull-Ryde, who said the progress made by the Chinese on the aircraft carrier was in line with the U.S. military's expectations. A Defense Department report to Congress said the carrier could become operationally available to China's navy by the end of next year, but without aircraft. "From that point, it will take several additional years before the carrier has an operationally viable air group," Hull-Ryde told Elliott in an email.

美国东部时间10:45更新：美联社的丹·埃利奥特与五角大楼女发言人莱斯利·赫尔-莱德指挥员取得了联系。发言人说，中国航母计划的进展符合美国军方预期。国防部发送给国会的一份报告称，这艘航母在明年年底就可以被中国海军接收，但是不包括飞机。“从那时开始，还需要几年时间，这艘航母才会有确实能够使用的飞行团。”赫尔-莱德在电子邮件中告诉埃利奥特。