VOA慢速英语2019--美国宇航员期待新的太空任务

US Astronauts Look Forward to New Space Mission

The first U.S. astronauts chosen to fly on a private spaceship to the International Space Station, or ISS are preparing for the planned trip later this year.

The two astronauts, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, recently spoke¹ with the Reuters news agency in Houston, Texas. They met at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Agency, where NASA, the United States’ space agency, trains astronauts for spaceflight.

Behnken and Hurley spoke about their preparations and recent tests of the spacecraft that will carry them to space.

The two men will fly on the Crew Dragon spacecraft, which was built by private American company SpaceX. In March, the Crew Dragon completed a successful six-day unmanned test mission to the ISS. The spacecraft returned safely to Earth, landing in the Atlantic Ocean, and was recovered several days later.

But during a ground test carried out on April 20, the same Crew Dragon capsule exploded. The test involved a system designed to propel² the spacecraft and its crew to safety in the event of a launch failure. SpaceX is leading the investigation³ into the April accident. The company has called the explosion, an “anomaly.”

Behnken and Hurley both flew on NASA’s space shuttles. They told Reuters the test failure represents “part of the process.” They noted⁴ that the Crew Dragon technology is far more developed than what was used in the space shuttle program, which ended eight years ago.

The two Americans are set to travel on the first manned Crew Dragon flight to the ISS later this year. The rocket will be launched from Cape⁵ Canaveral, in Florida.

Some experts believe the accident investigation and design delays may push the launch into 2020. But the astronauts say they have trust in the abilities of the space vehicles being developed in partnerships⁶ between NASA and private companies. They also said the business of space flight was not always well-ordered or clean.

“People to a degree think it’s pretty glamorous⁷ to be able to go into space, but it’s actually like a messy camping trip,” Hurley told Reuters.

Behnken said the astronauts have received valuable information from SpaceX about the investigation of the accident. “In general, the anomaly that happened to us in the past, that’s the best kind because we’ll figure that one out... and we’ll make sure that that’s not going to happen again,” he said. “We’re the risk-takers, and being informed on that risk is super important as well.”

Mike Hopkins is another astronaut who was chosen for a later mission aboard the Crew Dragon with astronaut Victor Glover. Hopkins spoke about the latest difficulties in the ground tests. “This is part of the process. It’s not surprising that it’s happened,” he said. “We all wish that we haven’t had some of these issues, but ... as long as you’ve got a good process, a good team put together, you can get through them.”

The Crew Dragon and the Falcon⁸ 9 rocket that carry it into Earth’s orbit are both SpaceX creations⁹. The first successful crewed launch will mark a major step forward in NASA’s plans to use private companies to fuel future space travel.

The space agency is paying SpaceX and U.S.-based Boeing a total of $6.8 billion to build competing rocket and capsule systems to send astronauts into space. Since NASA ended its space shuttle program in 2011, U.S. astronauts have used Russian-launched spacecraft to get to the ISS.

Boeing plans to launch its Starliner capsule, without a crew, sometime this year, followed by a later mission with astronauts. The Starliner is designed to return to Earth on land, not sea.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

mission – n. an important task, usually involving travel somewhere

capsule – n. the part of a spacecraft that carries people

propel – v. to push or move something with a lot of force

anomaly – n. something that is unusual or that does not seem right

confident – adj. very sure about your ability to do things well

glamorous – adj. attractive in an exciting and special way

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 propel   

vt.推进，推动，激励，驱策

参考例句：

• They use oars to propel boats.他们用浆推进船只。
• Paddles are used especially to propel canoes and kayaks.短桨特别用于划独木舟和小艇。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

6 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

7 glamorous   

adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的

参考例句：

• The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊，但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
• It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差，并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。

8 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。

9 creations   

创造( creation的名词复数 )； 创造物； （尤指所述由上帝）创造天地； 宇宙

参考例句：

• This artist's creations are worth collecting. 这个艺术家的作品值得收藏。
• The intellectual creations of individual nations become common property. 各民族的精神产品成了公共的财产。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言