2007年VOA标准英语-India Launches Italian Satellite as Part of its

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
23 April 2007

India has ventured on its first commercial space mission by launching an Italian satellite into space. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, this marks a milestone¹ for the country's space program.

Agile2</i> soars into a clear sky in a perfect lift off from the spaceport in Sriharikota, India, 23 Apr 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070601/0927570.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C8, carrying Italian satellite Agile soars into a clear sky in a perfect lift off from the spaceport in Sriharikota, India, 23 Apr 2007

Scores of scientists applauded as the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle blasted off to put a 352-kilogram Italian satellite into space from Sriharikota, in southern India.

The Italian satellite, named Agile, will be used to gather information about the origins of the universe.

Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, Madhavan Nair, described the launch as successful, and called it a historic moment for the Indian space community.

He said the country has made a good start in its efforts to exploit the commercial potential of its space program.

"What we have made is a hundred per cent success," he said. "We have made a good entry into the launch business as far as the space era is concerned, and I hope we will be able to have more and more opportunities in the future."

India wants to gain a foothold in the multi-billion dollar satellite launch market. So far, an exclusive club of nations offers commercial launch services: the United States, Russia, China, Ukraine and the European Space Agency.

Indian space scientists hope to offer satellite launch services at much cheaper rates compared to Western countries. India is reportedly charging $11million for the launch of the Italian satellite.

A representative of the Italian Space Agency, Giovanni Bignami, who was in Southern India to witness the launch, expressed confidence that this was the beginning of more such collaborations in the future.

"I think you have marked a very, very, important score today for the presence of Indian launches into space in general," he said.

India started its space program in 1963, and for decades it focused on providing services such as telecommunications and weather forecasting.

Later the country designed and built rockets to reduce its dependence³ on overseas space agencies. This prompted scientists to look at ways to exploit the program's business potential.

1 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

2 agile   

adj.敏捷的，灵活的

参考例句：

• She is such an agile dancer!她跳起舞来是那么灵巧！
• An acrobat has to be agile.杂技演员必须身手敏捷。

3 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。