VOA慢速英语2020--北约计划在德国建立太空中心

NATO to Set Up New Space Center Amid Russia Concerns 

The Belgian village of Kester is home to a group of top-secret, fenced-off buildings on a hill some call "the radar¹ station." Some people have claimed to have seen mysterious Russians near the buildings. Others have suggested that the area might have been used as a base for U.S. nuclear warheads.

It's easy to see why the buildings would be of interest. Four large, white, Kevlar domes³ sit like shining spacecraft in the middle of farmland, about 25 kilometers west of Brussels.

The buildings make up the Kester Satellite Ground Station, an important center that supports NATO's space communications network. It is the biggest and most modern of four stations the military alliance runs.

Satellites are important to NATO. More than half of the 2,000 satellites orbiting Earth are operated by NATO countries. The satellites make sure everything is connected, from mobile phone and banking⁴ services to weather forecasts. NATO commanders in places like Afghanistan or Kosovo use some of them to navigate⁵, communicate, share intelligence and identify missile launches.

This week, the Kester Satellite Ground Station will be part of a new defense⁶ organization. NATO is set to announce it is creating a space center to operate its satellite communications. It will also assist in important military operations around the world.

In December, NATO leaders declared that space was the alliance's "fifth domain⁷" of operations, after land, sea, air and cyberspace⁸.

Starting Thursday, NATO defense ministers will begin two days of discussions. During the talks, the ministers are expected to approve plans for the new space center, to be based at NATO's Air Command in Ramstein, Germany.

It will be the center for space support for NATO operations, "sharing information and coordinating⁹ our activities," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.

It is part of NATO's efforts to keep ahead in the fast-moving world of technology. NATO is worried about what it sees as increasingly aggressive behavior in space by China and Russia.

Around 80 countries have satellites and private companies are adding to that number. In the 1980s, only a small part of NATO's communication network used satellites. Today, it is at least 40 percent. During the Cold War, NATO had more than 20 stations. But new technologies now permit the world's largest security alliance to double its coverage¹⁰ with only about four stations.

At Kester, four satellite dishes beneath Kevlar domes connect NATO's civilian¹¹ and military headquarters in Belgium to other operations around the world.

The dishes send information and images from across Europe and Africa into space above the equator where satellites owned by allies like the United States, Britain, France and Italy orbit. NATO itself does not own any satellites.

Around the world, commanders in ships, aircraft and buildings decrypt the information to get orders, pictures and intelligence, prepare missions, or move troops and military equipment. From Kester, new lines of communication can be set up for NATO within 30 minutes.

The buildings have special security systems and were built to resist terrorist attacks. But NATO allies are worried about other kinds of attacks involving anti-satellite weapons high above the Earth.

"Some nations – including Russia and China – are developing anti-satellite systems which could blind, disable or shoot down satellites and create dangerous debris¹² in orbit," Stoltenberg said.

NATO says its actions "will remain defensive¹³ and fully¹⁴ in line with international law." And Stoltenberg has repeatedly said over the past year that NATO has no plans to put weapons in space.

Words in This Story

dome² – n. a circular enclosure

navigate – v. to determine the correct sea or land route

domain – n. a specific area

coordinate¹⁵ – v. to put the details together

dish – n. the rounded exterior¹⁶ of a satellite

equator – n. an imaginary line drawn¹⁷ around the earth equally distant from both poles, the parallel of latitude¹⁸

decrypt – v. cracking a language code

debris – n. the leftover garbage after a catastrophe

1 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

2 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

3 domes   

n.圆屋顶( dome的名词复数 )；像圆屋顶一样的东西；圆顶体育场

参考例句：

• The domes are circular or ovoid in cross-section. 穹丘的横断面为圆形或卵圆形。 来自辞典例句
• Parks. The facilities highlighted in text include sport complexes and fabric domes. 本书重点讲的设施包括运动场所和顶棚式结构。 来自互联网

4 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

5 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

8 cyberspace   

n.虚拟信息空间，网络空间，计算机化世界

参考例句：

• She travels in cyberspace by sending messages to friends around the world.她利用电子空间给世界各地的朋友们发送信件。
• The teens spend more time in cyberspace than in the real world of friends and family.青少年花费在电脑上的时间比他们和真正的朋友及家人在一起的时间要多。

9 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

10 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

11 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

12 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

13 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

14 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

15 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

16 exterior   

adj.外部的，外在的；表面的

参考例句：

• The seed has a hard exterior covering.这种子外壳很硬。
• We are painting the exterior wall of the house.我们正在给房子的外墙涂漆。

17 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

18 latitude   

n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区

参考例句：

• The latitude of the island is 20 degrees south.该岛的纬度是南纬20度。
• The two cities are at approximately the same latitude.这两个城市差不多位于同一纬度上。