Atlantis lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Thursday, carrying seven astronauts and a European built research module. The launch follows a two-month delay needed to fix a problem in the fuel gauge on the shuttle's external fuel tanks.
美国宇航局的亚特兰蒂斯号航天飞机再次升空，向国际空间站输送一个新的科学实验室。星期四，亚特兰蒂斯号航天飞机带着7名宇航员和一个欧洲建造的科研舱，从佛罗里达的肯尼迪航天中心起飞。
NASA weather officers had expected bad weather to possibly delay the mission, but the storm system did not affect the launch pad.
美国宇航局的气象官员本来预计天气不好，可能会推迟发射，可是风暴并没有影响到发射基地。
A NASA spokesman described the shuttle's trip into orbit.
美国宇航局的发言人描述了亚特兰蒂斯号进入其轨道的情形。
NASA SPOKESMAN: "A smooth and uneventful ascent, Atlantis now in its preliminary orbit. The Columbus module is headed to the International Space Station."
他说：“航天飞机升空很顺利，没有出现任何问题。亚特兰蒂斯号现在进入了初级轨道。哥伦布舱正朝着国际空间站前进。”
Atlantis is scheduled to dock on Saturday with the International Space Station to deliver the $2 billion Columbus module built by the European Space Agency (ESA). Officials say Columbus will bring new capabilities to conduct research on the space station, such as experiments into the impact of space travel on humans and various materials. Columbus joins a U.S.-built research module already in space and a Japanese module that is set to be delivered later this year.
亚特兰蒂斯号将于星期六跟国际空间站对接，向其交付欧洲宇航局建造的价值20亿美元的哥伦布舱。官员们说，哥伦布舱将为空间站带来新的研究能力，比如测试太空旅行对人类和各种材料的影响。国际空间站上现在已经有一个美国建造的研究舱。日本建造的研究舱将于今年晚些时候送往空间站。
After the launch, NASA administrator Michael Griffin said the international cooperation has been important to expanding the space station.
"This is a real partnership among nations and among societies to bring together a capability greater than any one nation can bring by itself," he said.
NASA officials have scheduled at least five shuttle flights this year to meet a 2010 deadline to finish construction of the space station. |