VOA慢速英語: 美國航空航天局測試新的航天飛船

美國航空航天局測試新的航天飛船

The United States plans to launch a new spacecraft on Thursday. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration plans to launch the Orion spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The flight is expected to last four and one-half hours. The spacecraft is designed to carry people into space. But no astronauts will be on Orion. NASA scientists will use the flight to test the launch, control and reentry systems of the new exploration vehicle.

美國計劃在周二發(fā)射一艘新飛船。美國航空航天局計劃從弗羅里達的卡納維爾角空軍基地發(fā)射“獵戶座”太空飛船，試飛預(yù)計持續(xù)四個半小時。設(shè)計這艘飛船是為了將人送入太空。但是這次“獵戶座”太空飛船上沒有宇航員。美國航空航天局的科學(xué)家使用這次飛行來測試探索飛行器的發(fā)射系統(tǒng)、控制系統(tǒng)和重返系統(tǒng)。

Space agency officials are closely watching weather conditions to make sure that the launch can go forward. Space launches take place within a “window” of time, which permits wind or other conditions to be within acceptable limits.

航空航天局的官員密切關(guān)注天氣狀況確保發(fā)射能夠順利進行。發(fā)射時間就是采用“窗口”的時間，也就是說在可接受的范圍內(nèi)允許風(fēng)和其它一些情況。

Recent spaceflight incidents raise concerns

最近航天飛行器事故引起人們關(guān)注

The test of the Orion spacecraft comes after two setbacks in space exploration. Recent accidents have shown how difficult and dangerous space travel can be. In late October, an unmanned, privately-owned rocket exploded as it left NASA’s launch center on Wallops Island, Virginia. The Antares rocket was to carry tons of supplies to the International Space Station. The explosion has raised questions about the engine design used by Orbital Sciences Corporation, the company that built the Antares rocket. The incident is still under investigation.

兩次太空探索的失誤后，賴恩太空飛船進行測試考驗。最近一些事故表明太空旅行有多么困難和危險。十月下旬，一枚沒有載人的、私營的火箭在弗吉尼亞州的瓦勒普斯島發(fā)射中心發(fā)射后發(fā)生爆炸。“天鵝座”火箭原計劃攜帶數(shù)噸的補給給國際空間站。這次爆炸引發(fā)一些關(guān)于美國軌道科學(xué)公司的一些引擎設(shè)計問題，因為是該公司設(shè)計了“天鵝座”火箭。這次事故原因仍在調(diào)查中。

Days later, a problem during the test flight of a manned spaceship resulted in a deadly crash in California. One pilot on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShip Two was killed and the other was seriously injured. Virgin Galactic is a spaceflight company. It plans to develop a space tourism industry by taking people into space for a fee.

幾天后，載人飛船的試飛測試問題在加利福尼亞引發(fā)嚴重碰撞。維珍銀河飛船的試驗導(dǎo)致兩死、一重傷的嚴重后果。維珍銀河是個飛船制造公司，計劃把人有償送入太空，發(fā)展太空旅游業(yè)。

Investigators are looking at the possibility that one of the pilots made a mistake by attempting to slow down the spaceship too soon. The head of the company, Richard Branson, has denied that he ignored safety warnings about the spaceship before the crash. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into that accident.

調(diào)查者尋找飛行員太早試圖減緩飛船飛行速度時做出的錯誤決定的可能性。公司的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人，理查德·布蘭森否認忽視飛船墜毀之前發(fā)出的安全警報。美國國家運輸安全委員會負責(zé)調(diào)查這一事故。

Orion is NASA's return to manned spaceflight

“獵戶座”是美國航空航天局重返載人飛船的一步

For NASA, Orion represents a return to manned exploration of space after the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011. The agency hopes Orion will be able to carry humans to, what it calls, deep space: the Moon, Mars or beyond.

對于美國航空航天局來說，“獵戶座”代表著2011年航天飛機退役后，重返載人飛船探索。航空航天局希望能夠載人深入探索太空：登月、登陸火星或者登陸其它星球。

Orion has three main parts: the crew module, the service module and the launch abort system. When fully developed, the crew module will hold four astronauts. For this test flight, a United Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket will carry Orion into space. NASA says this rocket will not be used for Orion’s manned spaceflights. A different rocket, called the Space Launch System, will be developed instead.

“獵戶座”有三大組成部分：船員艙、服務(wù)艙和發(fā)射中止系統(tǒng)。完全研發(fā)成功后，船員艙能夠容納四名宇航員。這次試飛測試，Delta IV Heavy火箭會搭載“獵戶座”進入太空。美國航空航天局稱這枚火箭不會用來搭載“獵戶座”載人飛船。另一枚“太空發(fā)射系統(tǒng)”火箭會代替Delta IV Heavy火箭。

The space agency held a news conference two days before the planned launch date. Officials explained to reporters what NASA was hoping to accomplish with the test flight.

航空航天局在計劃發(fā)射飛船的前兩天舉行了一個新聞發(fā)布會。相關(guān)負責(zé)人向記者說明這次試飛希望達到的目的是什么。

The officials noted that not all of the systems involved in Orion were ready. They said the main purpose was to test the control system for the spacecraft. Lockheed Martin Program Manager Mike Hawes said the aviation systems were ready and much of the computer software was complete. But, he said life support systems for astronauts were not ready and would not be part of the test.

官員指出：并不是“獵戶座”飛船的所有系統(tǒng)都已經(jīng)準(zhǔn)備好了。試飛的主要目的就是檢測飛船的控制系統(tǒng)。洛克希德馬丁公司的項目經(jīng)理邁克·哈維斯說航空系統(tǒng)已經(jīng)完備，大部分的電腦軟件也已完成。但是能夠支撐宇航員的系統(tǒng)還沒有完成，而這不是這次試飛測試的一部分。

Mark Geyer is the Program Manager for Orion. He told reporters that the test flight would cost over $370 million. The capsule will be reused for another test flight. He noted that Orion is still in the development stage. Scientists will closely watch the performance of the heat shield, which will protect the spacecraft as it re-enters the atmosphere at a speed of over 32,000kilometers an hour.

馬克·蓋爾是“獵戶座”飛船的項目負責(zé)人，他告訴記者試飛大概會花費3.7億美元。太空艙會在另一次試飛中重新利用。他指出：“獵戶座”飛船仍在發(fā)展階段?？茖W(xué)家會密切關(guān)注熱隔離的情況，熱隔離能夠在飛船以一小時32000千米的速度重新進入大氣時保護飛船。

NASA scientists are calling the test, Exploration Flight Test-1. They say Orion will travel 5,800 kilometers into space and orbit the earth twice before splashing down in the ocean.

美國航空航天局的科學(xué)家稱這次測試叫“探索飛行試驗-1”他們說“獵戶座”飛船會飛行5800千米，然后進入太空，在飛船最后落入海洋之前，會繞著地球軌道飛行兩圈。

I’m Mario Ritter.

我是馬里奧·瑞特。