中国量子卫星发射成功，通讯安全大步提升

China has launched the world's first satellite into orbit using a technology to send communications back to Earth that it hopes will be secure from hackers.
中国发射了世界上第一颗量子卫星。中国希望通过使用量子技术来确保空地通信能够抵御黑客攻击。

The satellite was launched into space Tuesday from a military base in Gansu province in the northwest Gobi Desert.
这颗卫星是星期二在中国西北戈壁滩上甘肃的一个军事基地发射的。

The 600-plus-kilogram satellite, dubbed Micius after a 5th century B.C. Chinese philosopher and scientist, will circle the Earth every 90 minutes.
卫星重达六百多公斤，名字叫“墨子”。墨子是生活在公元前五世纪的一位中国哲学家和科学家。“墨子”卫星每九十分钟绕地球一周。

Light particles will be fired at Micius to determine if quantum physics will permit the secure encryption of long-range communication.
中国科学家将向卫星发射光离子，测试量子物理是否能够保证远距离通信的安全。

The official Xinhua news agency said that during the satellite's two-year mission, it will establish "hack-proof" communications by transmitting uncrackable keys from space to ground.
中国官方媒体新华社表示，这颗卫星计划在空间运行两年，在此期间它将向地球发送不可破解的密钥，建立“不可截获的”通信渠道。

"I don't think the quantum communications system is as impregnable as the Chinese would have us believe," Morris Jones, an independent Australian space analyst who monitors the Chinese space program, told VOA's Victor Beattie.
莫里斯·琼斯，独立的澳大利亚太空分析师对美国之音说，“我并不认为量子通信系统会像中国希望我们相信的那样不可破解。” 琼斯一直在跟踪中国的太空计划。

According to the Wall Street Journal, scientists in the U.S., Europe and Japan also are trying to exploit quantum physics technology, which can have military applications. But China has made the technology a top strategic focus in its five-year economic development plan released in March, and may have spent tens of billions of dollars in basic research.
华尔街日报说，美国、欧洲和日本的科学家也在试图利用量子物理技术。这种技术具有军事用途。不过，中国在今年三月公布的五年经济发展规划中，把这项技术列为首要战略重点。中国可能在这项基础研究方面投入了上百亿美元的投资。

Despite his belief that the technology is not impregnable, Jones said the application of it in space is a major step forward for the Chinese.
尽管琼斯认为量子技术未必会不可破解，但是他表示，把这项技术运用在太空项目上，这对中国人来说，是向前迈出的重要一步。

"The Chinese have one of the top space programs in the world, and they are still on an upward trajectory,” he said. “The Russians are stagnating and falling backward. If America does not regroup in the next five years, they will lose ground on China."
琼斯说，“中国的太空项目是世界上最先进的项目之一，而且这些项目还处于向前发展的阶段。俄罗斯在这方面已经停滞，甚至倒退。如果美国在今后五年不重整旗鼓，他们也会让中国追赶上来。”

Jones predicts the U.S. space program could fall behind China's within the next 15 years if the U.S. does not commit more resources to space initiatives.
琼斯预计，如果美国不拿出更多的资源用于太空发展，那么在十五年内，美国就会落后于中国。

The lead scientist on the project, Pan Jian-wei at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, said if this experiment is a success, China plans to launch a second such satellite within the next five years to develop a network based on the quantum technology.
中国量子卫星项目的首席科学家，合肥中国科技大学常务副校长潘建伟说，如果这个实验成功了，中国将在五年内发射第二颗量子卫星，建立一个以量子技术为基础的网络。