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A Stationary Satellite, part 1
地球同步衛星(一)
Some of the best devices in science have been anticipated by science fiction writers years before they existed.
一些最先進的科學設備在被發明前就在科幻小說中被預料到了。
Occasionally a writer comes up with an idea that can be put into practice within their lifetime!
偶然的機會下，作家腦海中涌現出一個設想，就很可能會在他們有生之年內被實施。
Such is the case with the geostationary satellite, first imagined by Arthur C. Clarke.
地球同步衛星就屬于這種情況。它是由Arthur C. Clarke首次構想出的。
Clarke, famous for writing “2001: A Space Odyssey,” also wrote a scientific article titled "Extra-Terrestrial Relays" in 1945.
以作品《2001：A Space Odyssey》而著稱的Clarke，在1945年寫下了一部科學論文《Extra-Terrestrial Relays》。
In it, he proposed a satellite that would remain motionless in the air, rather than passing by overhead.
在這部論文里，他提出了一款衛星模型：可以在太空中保持靜止不動而不是一味從高空在運行。
Such a "fixed" satellite would be useful for relaying television and radio signals, helping ships navigate, and a host of other things.
而這樣一款同步衛星將會被應用于傳送電視和無線電訊號、護送船只航行以及一系列其他事務中。
But how to do it? After all, heavy machinery can't just float.
但是要怎樣做到呢？畢竟，笨重的機械并不能漂浮在太空中。
Most satellites handle this problem by being blasted into orbit around the planet.
我們通過將大多數衛星送至行星運行的軌道，從而解決了這一問題。
But in order to be in orbit, you have to be constantly moving. Can you think of a way around this?
但是，衛星不得不時時刻刻地運行著。你能想出一個解決方法嗎？
How about putting a satellite into orbit both in the same direction as the planet rotates and at the same speed!
在衛星進入行星運行軌道時，使其保持與行星運行同樣的方向與速度。
The result is a satellite that is, in fact, orbiting the planet.
結果顯示衛星實際上是環繞著行星軌道運行的，
But the ground underneath it turns at the same rate as the satellite orbits, so the satellite is always above the same spot of ground.
但是衛星底下的領域卻保持著與衛星軌道同樣的速度。因此這個衛星會一直固定在地面上空某點處。
From our perspective on the earth, a geostationary satellite seems fixed in one spot.
從地面上看，地球同步衛星似乎與地面保持相對靜止了。
