玛西亚·邓恩卡纳维拉尔角，佛罗里达州——旨在拯救一台年久失修的美国国家航空航天局（NASA）望远镜但最终失败的机器人航天器，于周五坠回地球，距离其展开这场大胆任务还不到三个月。
MARCIA DUNN CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The robotic spacecraft that failed to rescue an aging NASA telescope plunged back to Earth on Friday less than three months after launching on the bold mission.
催化空间技术公司（Katalyst Space Technologies）宣布了其名为“林克”（Link）的三臂航天器陨落的消息。它于夜间重新进入大气层，为这项耗资3000万美元、由NASA资助的“雨燕”天文台（Swift Observatory）打捞行动画上了句号。
Katalyst Space Technologies announced the demise of its three-armed spacecraft named Link. It reentered the atmosphere overnight, bringing the $30 million, NASA-sponsored salvage effort of the Swift Observatory to a close. Swift is expected to follow in early November as its orbit steadily sinks.
随着“雨燕”的轨道不断下降，预计它也将在11月上旬步其后尘。
“While we’ll be sad to see Swift’s mission come to a close, we knew this boost effort would be worthwhile either way,” NASA’s Shawn Domagal-Goldman said in a statement.
NASA的肖恩·多马加尔-戈德曼（Shawn Domagal-Goldman）在一份声明中表示：“虽然看到‘雨燕’的任务走向终结令人难过，但无论如何，我们都知道这次轨道提升的努力是值得的。”
It provided valuable practice for future satellite-rescue missions and pushed teams to rush against the clock like never before, Domagal-Goldman added.
多马加尔-戈德曼补充说，这为未来的卫星救援任务提供了宝贵的实践经验，并促使团队以前所未有的紧迫感与时间赛跑。
Thrown together in under a year, Link was supposed to capture the 22-year-old Swift and then boost it to a higher, longer-lasting orbit so it could keep observing some of the biggest explosions in the universe. The sun’s intense flare-ups had put the telescope on a downward spiral faster than engineers anticipated.
“林克”在不到一年的时间里仓促拼凑而成，本应捕获服役已久的22岁“雨燕”卫星，然后将其推升至更高、寿命更长的轨道，以便它能继续观测宇宙中一些最大规模的爆炸。太阳剧烈的耀斑爆发导致该望远镜下坠螺旋的速度超出了工程师们的预期。
To buy time, NASA suspended observations early this year and repositioned Swift to minimize the atmosphere’s downward drag. Otherwise, the telescope would have come down before help could arrive, according to managers.
据管理人员称，为了争取时间，NASA在今年早些时候暂停了观测，并重新调整了“雨燕”的位置，以尽量减少大气层的下坠阻力。否则，该望远镜在救援到达之前就会坠毁。
Link launched on July 3, but quickly ran into electronic problems that took out two of the three reaction wheels needed to turn the spacecraft. Then a bad valve sent the satellite into a fast spin that disrupted communication. Engineers regained control, but Link didn’t have enough fuel left to carry out its job and the rescue effort was called off in August.
“林克”于7月3日发射，但很快遇到了电子故障，导致航天器转向所需的三个反作用轮中有两个失效。随后，一个故障阀门使卫星陷入高速旋转，导致通信中断。工程师们虽然恢复了控制，但“林克”剩下的燃料已不足以完成任务，救援行动于8月宣告取消。
Link launched on July 3, but quickly ran into electronic problems that took out two of the three reaction wheels needed to turn the spacecraft. Then a bad valve sent the satellite into a fast spin that disrupted communication. Engineers regained control, but Link didn’t have enough fuel left to carry out its job and the rescue effort was called off in August.
Katalyst利用剩下的几周时间练习操控Link的机械臂，每条机械臂长约3英尺（1米），末端装有类似手的夹具。飞行控制人员甚至成功将飞船引导至距离Swift 7至9英里（12至15公里）的范围内，近到足以拍摄照片。
Katalyst used the few weeks remaining to practice moving Link’s robot arms, each about 3 feet (1 meter) in length with a handlike gripper on the end. Flight controllers even managed to guide the spacecraft to within 7 miles to 9 miles (12 kilometers to 15 kilometers) of Swift, close enough to snap pictures. “We knew from the beginning that this was an ambitious mission on an aggressive timeline,” Katalyst CEO Ghonhee Lee said in a statement.
“我们从一开始就知道这是一个在激进时间表下的雄心勃勃的任务，”Katalyst首席执行官Ghonhee Lee在声明中说。
Lee said the company will carry all the lessons learned to its future satellite-recovery endeavors. “This is a foundation we can build on,” he added.
Lee表示，公司将把吸取的所有经验教训带入未来的卫星回收任务中。“这是我们可以在此基础上继续建设的基石，”他补充道。Swift已恢复扫描宇宙，其剩余寿命约为一个月左右。
Swift is back to scanning the universe in the month or so that it has left.
该天文台于2004年发射，耗资3.64亿美元，设计用于快速转向——正如其名称所暗示的——以捕捉伽马射线暴、爆发的恒星和其他突发的宇宙事件。这种能力使Swift能够充当瞭望台或第一响应者，供其他望远镜跟随其指引进行观测。NASA正在紧锣密鼓地研究如何填补这一空白。
Launched in 2004, the $364 million observatory is designed to pivot quickly — as its name suggests — to capture gamma ray bursts, exploding stars and other fast-breaking cosmic action. That ability allows Swift to serve as a lookout or first responder for other telescopes that can follow its lead. NASA is scrambling to see how it now will fill that gap.
美联社的健康和科学报道获得美联社新闻基金和私人基金会的资金支持。美联社对所有内容承担全部责任。请访问AP.org查看美联社与慈善机构合作的标准、支持者名单及资助报道领域。
The Associated Press’ health and science coverage receives financial support from the AP Fund for Journalism and private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org .