一名追踪火箭发射超过30年的英国天文学家称，在美国农民玉米地里发现的一块烧焦的金属块，可能让中国陷入尴尬，并从技术上构成一起“国际事件”。
A scorched hunk of metal that turned up in a US farmer’s cornfield may have handed China an awkward moment and technically an “international incident”, according to a British astronomer who has tracked rocket launches for more than 30 years.
这名农民于10月14日在明尼苏达州西中部收割玉米时，发现了这个碗状物体，直径约3.35米（11英尺）。网上，一些居民开玩笑说外星人降落了，而中国网民则说它看起来像一个巨大的火锅。
The farmer found the bowl-shaped object, measuring about 3.35 metres (11 feet) across, while harvesting corn in west-central Minnesota on October 14. Online, some residents joked that aliens had landed, while Chinese internet users said it looked like a giant hotpot.
然而，太空观察者表示，该物体很可能来自9月15日发射的一枚中国火箭。
However, space observers said it most likely came from a Chinese rocket launched on September 15.
这个圆顶状物体似乎是燃料箱烧焦的端盖，其宽度正好与北京陆空科技公司制造的朱雀二号E型火箭相同，该公司此前宣布此次任务成功。
The dome appears to be the blackened end cap of a fuel tank, and it is exactly as wide as the Zhuque-2E rocket built by Beijing-based LandSpace, which had declared the mission a success.
起飞后不久，堪萨斯州和明尼苏达州的居民就发布了视频，显示火焰般的碎片划过天空。
Shortly after lift-off, residents of Kansas and Minnesota posted videos of fiery debris streaking across the sky.
“这对中国来说很尴尬，”位于伦敦附近的前哈佛天体物理学家乔纳森·麦克道尔周四表示。“这种事情本不应该发生。”火箭制造商通常会将返回的弹道引导至偏远海域，以便任何在重返大气层过程中幸存的碎片都能安全落入水中。
“It’s embarrassing for China,” Jonathan McDowell, a former Harvard astrophysicist based near London, said on Thursday. “This sort of thing should not happen.”Rocket makers usually steer returning projectiles towards remote ocean, so that any fragments that survive the plunge through the atmosphere after re-entry land safely in the water.
陆空科技公司的火箭为中国千帆互联网网络（类似于SpaceX的星链）部署了10颗卫星，然后在开始返回地球的下降过程中再次点火。
The LandSpace rocket released 10 satellites for China’s Qianfan internet network – similar to SpaceX’s Starlink – before firing its engine again as it began its descent back to Earth.
麦克道尔表示，他怀疑发动机比预期的要强劲一些，点火时间稍微长了一点。火箭部件本应像陆空科技公司可能计划的那样，进入较低轨道并绕地球飞行几天才坠落，但该部件却直接落了下来，他说。
McDowell said he suspected the engine was a bit stronger than expected and fired a little too long. Instead of dropping into a lower orbit and circling Earth for a few days before falling, as LandSpace probably planned, the rocket part came straight down, he said.
“他们不太可能瞄准美国，”他补充道，同时指出，如此大块的碎片在下降过程中幸存并不罕见。
“It seems very unlikely that they would have targeted America,” he added, while pointing out that it was not unusual for such a sizeable fragment to survive the trip down.
大型薄壁部件（如燃料箱端部）在高层大气中会迅速减速，在变得足够热而烧蚀殆尽之前就已降速。
Large, thin parts such as the ends of fuel tanks slow down quickly high in the atmosphere, before they get hot enough to burn away. In 1997, a 250kg (550lbs) steel fuel tank from a US Delta II rocket landed nearly intact in Texas.
1997年，一枚美国“德尔塔2号”火箭重达250公斤（550磅）的钢制燃料箱几乎完好无损地落在得克萨斯州。
Stevens county sheriff Jason Dingman said he could not yet answer questions about the object, including its location, but expected more details to be released soon.
史蒂文斯县治安官杰森·丁曼表示，目前还无法回答关于该物体的问题，包括其位置，但预计很快会发布更多细节。
LandSpace did not respond to a request to confirm whether the object found in the cornfield came from its rocket or if US authorities had contacted the company.
蓝箭航天未回应确认请求，未说明玉米地里发现的物体是否来自其火箭，也未说明美方当局是否已与该公司联系。
The Minnesota debris is the latest in a string of problems for the Zhuque-2E. On the rocket’s previous flight in June, its upper stage broke apart in orbit, leaving dozens of fragments, US media reported.
美国媒体报道，这块在明尼苏达州发现的碎片是朱雀二号改进型（Zhuque-2E）接连出现问题的最新一例。在该火箭6月的上一次飞行中，其上面级在轨道上解体，留下数十个碎片。
“Restarting rocket engines in orbit is always hard,” McDowell said. “But it’s been done for a long time, and it’s meant to be a solved problem. Clearly, they’ve got some wrinkles to iron out.”The debris could also make the cornfield a matter of international law between Washington and Beijing, he said. The 1972 UN Space Liability Convention holds the country that launches a space object fully liable for any damage it causes on the ground.
麦克道威尔说：“在轨重启火箭发动机向来很难。但这项技术已实施很长时间，本应是个已解决的问题。显然，他们还有一些棘手的技术难题需要攻克。”他还表示，这些碎片还可能让这块玉米地成为华盛顿和北京之间的国际法问题。1972年《联合国空间物体造成损害的国际责任公约》规定，发射空间物体的国家须对其在地面造成的任何损害承担完全责任。
LandSpace needed the Chinese government’s permission to launch and in return Beijing took responsibility for the rocket, McDowell said. “It’s always about the country. It all has to go through country to country. So it’s automatically an international incident.”McDowell explained that if the farmer’s land was damaged, he would have to complain to the US government, which would then be responsible for taking the claim to Beijing, which could then settle the matter with LandSpace.
麦克道威尔说，蓝箭航天发射需要中国政府许可，作为交换，北京对该火箭承担责任。“这始终关乎国家。一切都必须通过国家对国家的渠道进行。所以这自动构成了一起国际事件。”麦克道威尔解释说，如果农民的土地受损，他必须向美国政府投诉，然后由美国政府负责向北京提出索赔，北京再与蓝箭航天解决此事。
Such cases were rare, so the rules had not been well tested, he said, adding that while any single falling rocket part was unlikely to hurt someone, the odds increased as more came down.
他说，此类案件罕见，因此相关规则未经充分检验，并补充道，虽然单个火箭碎片落下不太可能伤人，但随着落下碎片增多，风险也会增加。“我们真的必须停止这种做法，因为最终会有人受伤。”
“We really need to stop doing this, because eventually someone will get hurt.”