Leaders Satellites Space: the next startup frontier
社論精粹 衛星 太空：下一個
Where nanosats boldly go, new businesses will follow—unless they are smothered with excessiveregulations
微型衛星大膽地去哪兒，新的商業就會跟去哪兒—除非他們受到過度監管的阻礙
AROUND 1,000 operational satellites are circling the Earth, some of them the size and weight of a large car. In the past year they have been joined by junior offspring: 100 or so small satellites, some of them made up of one or more 10cm (4-inch) cubes. They may be tiny, but each is vastly more capable than Sputnik, the first man-made satellite launched by Russia in 1957. And many more are coming.
大約1000顆運轉著的衛星正圍繞著地球旋轉，其中有些衛星的體積和重量和汽車差不多。去年，初級后代加入了他們的隊伍：100顆左右的小衛星，他們中有些是由一個或多個10厘米(4英尺)的立方體組成。他們可能很小，但是他們每個都比1957年前蘇聯發射的首顆人造衛星Sputnik功能性強得多。而且還有更多這樣的衛星即將面世。
Space hardware used to cost so much that it was available only to generals, multinationals and the most privileged scientists. No more. Many of these nanosats, as small satellites weighing no more than a few kilograms are called, have been launched for small companies, startups and university departments, sometimes with finance raised on crowd funding websites. Their construction costs can be down in the tens of thousands of dollars, which makes them thousands of times cheaper than today's big satellites. Admittedly, there is much they cannot do, but with that sort of price differential, and some ingenious use of the abilities they do have, they could be surprisingly competitive players on a number of fronts. In the next five years another 1,000 nanosats are expected to be launched.
過去，太空硬件太貴了，只有將軍，跨國公司和最享有特權的科學家才能有權使用。沒有其他人有權使用。許多這種微型衛星——由于小衛星質量不超過幾千克而得此名——已經提供給小公司、新創辦的公司和大學一些系發射，有時在集體融資網站集資。他們的制造成本可以降低好幾萬美元，這使得他們比目前的大衛星便宜成千上萬倍。不可否認的，這些衛星有許多辦不了的事兒，但是在那種價格差下，加以巧妙使用他們已有的功能，他們可以在許多方面出乎意料地成為有競爭力的選手。在接下來的五年，還有1000顆微型衛星有望被發射出去。
Two trends are setting up nanosats for further success. Like people working on everything from robots to 3D printers, nanosat builders are harvesting the benefits of ever better, evercheaper components built for smart phones and other consumer electronics. Some nanosatseven contain complete smart phones, making use of the clever operating systems, radios and cameras which phones now contain. For as long as phones go on getting cheaper and morecapable, so will nanosats. The cheapest so far—a tiny chipsat—was assembled for just $25,though it has yet to be successfully launched.
兩個趨勢為微型衛星進一步的成功奠定了基礎。就像從研究機器人到3D打印的人們一樣，微型衛星的制造者從智能手機和其他家用電子產品中獲得了更廉價更好的元件。有些微型衛星甚至裝有整個手機裝置，利用手機目前現有的智能的操作系統、電臺和照相機功能。只要手機在一直降價并且越來越智能化，微型衛星也會同樣變便宜并且更智能。目前最便宜的——微型芯片衛星——只花了25美元進行配置，盡管它暫時還沒有被成功發射出去。
The launch systems too are getting much cheaper. SpaceX, the innovative rocket-maker founded by Elon Musk, has already brought down the costs of getting into space; it and its competitors could reduce them a lot further. The biggest beneficiaries will at first be people who make big satellites. But more big satellites will mean more opportunities for small satellites to piggy-back on their launches. And some companies are looking at cheap little launch systems tailored specifically to the needs of the nanosatellite. One reason space engineers are notoriously conservative is that the costs of failure are high. As making and launching satellites gets cheaper, it will be ever easier for innovative, risk-taking nanosat-makers to orbitaround the lumbering incumbents.
發射系統也越來越便宜了。伊隆?馬斯克創辦的創新火箭制造公司太空探索技術公司已經降低了發射衛星到太空的成本了，該公司及其競爭對手可以進一步降低發射成本。最大的受益人首先就是制造大型衛星的人。但是越多大型衛星發射就意味著越多的機會給小衛星。一些公司在研究廉價小型發射系統專用于滿足微型衛星的需求。太空工程師出了名的保守一個原因是失敗的代價太高。隨著制造和發射衛星越來越便宜，微型衛星制造者就越容易進行創新和冒險環繞XX運行。
Size does impose limits. Nanosats cannot peer as closely at the Earth or carry out as many experiments as big satellites. But for some jobs that does not matter. The plans that companies already have include using nanosats for monitoring crops, studying the sun andtracking ships and aircraft. Such a system might have been able to track Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, which went missing in March.
體積確實會產生限制。微型衛星不能像大型衛星一樣把地球看得那么仔細，也不能像大型衛星一樣進行那么多實驗。但是對有些工作來說，體積并不重要。公司現有的計劃包括用微型衛星監控農作物，研究太陽和追蹤船只和飛機。這種系統可能可以追蹤三月份失蹤的馬航MH370。