Brussels is looking to negotiate a ‘security agreement’ with US to keep its space program running.

布鲁塞尔正在寻求与美国谈判达成“安全协议”,以保持其太空计划正常运作。


The European Commission wants to cut deals with private American space companies like Elon Musk''s SpaceX to launch cutting-edge European navigation satellites due to continued delays to Europe''s next generation Ariane rocket system.

欧盟委员会希望与像伊隆·马斯克的SpaceX等私营美国航天公司达成协议,以发射尖端的欧洲导航卫星,因为欧洲下一代“阿丽亚娜”火箭系统的持续延迟。

In a draft request to EU countries seen by POLITICO, the Commission is planning to ask for a green light to negotiate "an ad-hoc security agreement" with the U.S. for its rocket companies to "exceptionally launch Galileo satellites.”

欧盟委员会在《政治》杂志看到的草案要求欧盟成员国批准与美国谈判“临时安全协议”,允许美国火箭公司“特别发射伽利略卫星”。

The Commission reckons only SpaceX's Falcon 9 heavy launcher and United Launch Alliance's Vulcan system are up to the job of sending the EU's new geo-navigation Galileo satellites — which weigh around 700 kilograms each — into orbit.

委员会认为,只有SpaceX的猎鹰9号重型发射装置和联合发射联盟的火神系统能够胜任将欧盟的新地理导航伽利略卫星(每颗重约700公斤)送入轨道的工作。

Seeking U.S. help to keep its flagship space program running puts a dent in the EU’s idea of strategic autonomy. Galileo is a point of pride for the EU, as it seeks to become less dependent on other regions for critical infrastructure, services and technology — a quest strongly backed by Paris.

寻求美国的帮助来维持其旗舰航天计划,削弱了欧盟的战略自主性。伽利略是欧盟的一项骄傲,欧盟希望减少对其他地区重要基础设施、服务和技术的依赖,这一追求得到了巴黎的坚定支持。

The EU is having to seek assistance to launch new versions of its navigation satellites because the Ariane 5 rocket, developed by France-based ArianeGroup and launched from France's South American spaceport in French Guiana, is to be retired in the next months.

欧盟不得不寻求协助以发射其导航卫星的新版本,因为由法国阿里亚娜集团开发、从法属圭亚那的法国南美洲航天基地发射的“阿丽亚娜5”火箭将在未来几个月内退役。

The deployment of its replacement, Ariane 6, has been delayed; the new system is currently expected to carry out a maiden launch at the end of this year, with full commercial deployment starting next year.

其替代品“阿丽亚娜6”的部署已经延迟;新系统目前预计将于今年年底进行首次发射,全面商业部署将于明年开始。

The alternative to the Ariane series would have been launching Galileo satellites with Russian-built Soyuz rockets, a version of which are also used at the French Guiana site. However, since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, two Galileo launches using Soyuz rockets have been cancelled, prompting the search for alternatives.

阿里亚娜系列导弹的替代品将是使用俄罗斯建造的联盟火箭发射伽利略卫星,其变体也在法属圭亚那使用。然而,自俄罗斯入侵乌克兰以来,两次使用联盟火箭的伽利略发射任务已经取消,引发了寻找替代方案的探索。

Galileo satellites beam highly accurate navigation and precise time data back to earth — and also provide a top secret encrypted

伽利略卫星将高度精确的导航和精确时间数据传回地球,并为政府机构提供一个高度保密的加密服务。这意味着发射通常只能在欧盟领土上根据严格的安全规定进行。

service for use by government agencies. That means launches typically can only be carried out from EU territory under tight security rules.

“考虑到包含在伽利略卫星中的敏感安全信息,需要与美国签订特别的法律约束保安协议,以保护卫星和伽利略星座的完整性,”欧委会的一份草案提议中部分描述道,该草案已被政治学家所看到。

"In view of the security sensitive information … included in Galileo satellites, an ad-hoc legally binding security agreement with [the] U.S. is necessary, in order to protect the integrity of the satellites and the Galileo constellation," said part of a draft proposal from the Commission seen by POLITICO.

该草案建议,欧盟国家将批准协议的谈判,该协议将纳入交换机密信息的常规协议框架内。

It will be up to EU countries to approve negotiations for an agreement, which would come under the umbrella of standing deals on the exchange of classified information, the proposal states.

这份提案表示,欧盟成员国将批准谈判协议,该协议将作为机密信息交换常规协议的一部分。

Capacity to launch satellites and humans into space independently of other powers has been a key part of French efforts to develop the concept of strategic autonomy for Europe.

独立于其他大国具备发射卫星和人类进入太空的能力一直是法国努力发展欧洲战略自主性概念的关键部分。

But the need to contract out launches of critical space infrastructure to private companies operating in the U.S. undermines the argument that Europe is able to manage its own alternative to the U.S. GPS, Russia's Glonass and China's BeiDou constellations.

但是,将关键空间基础设施的发射承包给在美国经营的私营公司的需要,削弱了欧洲能够管理自己的美国GPS、俄罗斯的格洛纳斯和中国的北斗的替代方案的论点。

"Analyses are ... ongoing to ascertain whether or not launching with an alternative launch service provider would be feasible," said Commission spokesperson Sonya Gospodinova, adding that no decision has yet been taken. Assessments are being made on technical compatibility, launch site security and cost, she said.

“正在进行分析,以确定是否可行利用替代发射服务提供商进行发射,”委员会发言人索尼娅-戈斯波迪诺娃表示,补充说还没有做出任何决定。她说,正在进行技术兼容性、发射场地安全和成本的评估。

While SpaceX's Falcon rocket is already operational, ULA only plans its first Vulcan mission in May.

虽然SpaceX的猎鹰火箭已经投入运营,但ULA计划的首个猛禽任务将于5月展开。

The Paris-based European Space Agency, which isn't an EU institution but helps manage Galileo and runs the French Guiana spaceport, had already been looking at alternative launch options for satellites.

总部设在巴黎的欧洲航天局不是欧盟机构,但帮助管理伽利略系统,并经营法属圭亚那的太空港,它已经在研究卫星的替代发射方案。

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