双语新闻：美国宇航局正准备测试一种新的超音速飞机
The American space agency NASA is preparing to test a new supersonic airplane that could help establish a new generation of superfast aircraft.
美国宇航局正准备测试一种新的超音速飞机，这可能有助于建立新一代超高速飞机。
The new aircraft is called X-59, and it was built in partnership with American defense contractor Lockheed Martin. The experimental plane is part of a NASA project, or mission, called Quesst.
这架新飞机被称为X-59，它是与美国国防承包商洛克希德马丁公司合作建造的。这架实验飞机是美国宇航局名为“探索”的项目或任务的一部分。
The mission aims to collect data in the United States on the level of noise produced by supersonic travel. Supersonic describes a vehicle that travels faster than the speed of sound: about 1,235 kilometers an hour.
该任务的目的是在美国收集超音速飞行产生的噪音水平的数据。超音速描述的是一种比声速更快的交通工具:大约每小时1235公里。
The data Quesst gathers could lead U.S. officials to change rules that currently ban supersonic flights over land. NASA says the X-59 was developed to reduce the loudness of the sonic boom it produces when breaking the sound barrier to very low levels heard on the ground.
“探索号”收集的数据可能会促使美国官员改变目前禁止超音速飞机飞越陆地的规定。美国国家航空航天局表示，开发X-59是为了降低它在突破音障时产生的音爆的响度，使地面上听到的声音非常低。
A few U.S. companies are exploring ways to restart supersonic passenger travel for the first time since 2003. That is the year the Concorde aircraft stopped flying. The Concorde was the world's first supersonic passenger jet. It was operated jointly by Britain and France.
一些美国公司正在探索自2003年以来首次重启超音速客运的方法。这一年协和式飞机停止飞行。协和式飞机是世界上第一架超音速客机。它是由英国和法国联合运营的。
The Concorde flew at speeds more than twice the speed of sound, British Airways explained. This meant it could travel from London to New York in about three-and-a-half hours. The same flight took about eight hours with normal passenger jets.
英国航空公司解释说，协和式飞机的飞行速度是音速的两倍多。这意味着它可以在大约三个半小时内从伦敦飞往纽约。这架普通客机的飞行时间约为8小时。
The new supersonic planes being developed make less noise and use less fuel than the Concorde. But manufacturers are under pressure from environmental groups and airports to meet the same noise and carbon emission limits as traditional planes.
正在开发的新型超音速飞机比协和式飞机噪音更小，燃料消耗更少。但制造商受到环保组织和机场的压力，要求它们满足与传统飞机相同的噪音和碳排放限制。
NASA and Lockheed Martin recently showed off the X-59 plane during an event in Palmdale, California.
美国国家航空航天局和洛克希德·马丁公司最近在加利福尼亚州帕姆代尔的一次活动中展示了X-59飞机。
At the ceremony, NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy called the development of the supersonic aircraft a "major accomplishment." She noted that members of the NASA and Lockheed Martin teams had worked hard to take the X-59 from an idea to reality "in just a few years."
在仪式上，美国宇航局副局长帕姆·梅尔罗伊称超音速飞机的发展是一项“重大成就”。她指出，美国国家航空航天局和洛克希德·马丁公司的团队成员在“短短几年内”努力将X-59从一个想法变为现实。
Melroy added her hope that the X-59 "will help change the way we travel, bringing us closer together in much less time."
在仪式上，美国宇航局副局长帕姆·梅尔罗伊称超音速飞机的发展是一项“重大成就”。她指出，美国国家航空航天局和洛克希德·马丁公司的团队成员在“短短几年内”努力将X-59从一个想法变为现实。
The aircraft measures 30 meters long and nine meters wide. NASA said in a press release that the X-59 is expected to fly at 1.4 times the speed of sound, or about 1,500 kilometers per hour. The aircraft's design, shape and technologies will permit it to reach high speeds while producing "a quieter sonic thump," the agency explained.
这架飞机长30米，宽9米。美国宇航局在一份新闻稿中表示，X-59预计将以1.4倍音速飞行，即每小时约1500公里。该机构解释说，这架飞机的设计、形状和技术将允许它在达到高速的同时产生“更安静的撞击声”。
The X-59 has not yet completed a test flight. But NASA officials have said they expect that to happen sometime this year. The team will be carrying out other tests in the coming months, including instrument experiments, fast engine runs and ground testing.
X-59尚未完成试飞。但美国宇航局官员表示，他们预计这将在今年某个时候发生。该团队将在未来几个月进行其他测试，包括仪器实验、快速发动机运行和地面测试。
Once the aircraft has been cleared to fly, it will be deployed to several cities across the U.S. to collect data on the sounds the plane produces and how people on the ground react to the noise.
一旦飞机被允许飞行，它将被部署到美国的几个城市，收集飞机发出的声音以及地面上的人们对噪音的反应。
The data will be provided to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and international flight regulators. The information will help regulators decide whether to change existing laws restricting supersonic flight.
这些数据将提供给美国联邦航空管理局和国际飞行监管机构。这些信息将有助于监管机构决定是否修改限制超音速飞行的现行法律。
NASA said one of the biggest differences between the X-59 and other supersonic planes is that it has a thinner, smaller nose. The nose, which was reduced by about one-third, aims to break up shock waves that results in more intense sonic booms.
美国宇航局表示，X-59与其他超音速飞机最大的区别之一是它的机头更薄、更小。机头缩小了约三分之一，目的是打破冲击波，从而产生更强烈的音爆。
The Quesst team "also designed the aircraft with its engine mounted on top and gave it a smooth underside" in an effort to reduce shock waves near the back of the plane, NASA said.
NASA表示，quest团队“还将发动机安装在飞机顶部，并在飞机底部设计了一个光滑的底部”，以减少飞机后部附近的冲击波。
Another American company developing supersonic aircraft is Boom Supersonic in Colorado. The company first showed off its experimental supersonic plane, the XB-1, in October 2020. Boom has been carrying out tests of the aircraft since then.
另一家开发超音速飞机的美国公司是科罗拉多州的Boom supersonic公司。该公司于2020年10月首次展示了其实验性超音速飞机XB-1。从那以后，Boom一直在对飞机进行测试。
The company says on its website that its development and testing activities during the past few years have centered on ground tests, including a series of taxi runs. In 2024, Boom said it plans to begin its "high-speed taxi testing" early in the year, while preparing for an actual flight test that could happen later in the year.
该公司在其网站上表示，过去几年的开发和测试活动主要集中在地面测试，包括一系列的出租车运行。Boom公司表示，计划在2024年年初开始“高速滑行测试”，同时准备在今年晚些时候进行实际飞行测试。
美国宇航局正准备测试一种新的超音速飞机，这可能有助于建立新一代超高速飞机。
The new aircraft is called X-59, and it was built in partnership with American defense contractor Lockheed Martin. The experimental plane is part of a NASA project, or mission, called Quesst.
这架新飞机被称为X-59，它是与美国国防承包商洛克希德马丁公司合作建造的。这架实验飞机是美国宇航局名为“探索”的项目或任务的一部分。
The mission aims to collect data in the United States on the level of noise produced by supersonic travel. Supersonic describes a vehicle that travels faster than the speed of sound: about 1,235 kilometers an hour.
该任务的目的是在美国收集超音速飞行产生的噪音水平的数据。超音速描述的是一种比声速更快的交通工具:大约每小时1235公里。
The data Quesst gathers could lead U.S. officials to change rules that currently ban supersonic flights over land. NASA says the X-59 was developed to reduce the loudness of the sonic boom it produces when breaking the sound barrier to very low levels heard on the ground.
“探索号”收集的数据可能会促使美国官员改变目前禁止超音速飞机飞越陆地的规定。美国国家航空航天局表示，开发X-59是为了降低它在突破音障时产生的音爆的响度，使地面上听到的声音非常低。
A few U.S. companies are exploring ways to restart supersonic passenger travel for the first time since 2003. That is the year the Concorde aircraft stopped flying. The Concorde was the world's first supersonic passenger jet. It was operated jointly by Britain and France.
一些美国公司正在探索自2003年以来首次重启超音速客运的方法。这一年协和式飞机停止飞行。协和式飞机是世界上第一架超音速客机。它是由英国和法国联合运营的。
The Concorde flew at speeds more than twice the speed of sound, British Airways explained. This meant it could travel from London to New York in about three-and-a-half hours. The same flight took about eight hours with normal passenger jets.
英国航空公司解释说，协和式飞机的飞行速度是音速的两倍多。这意味着它可以在大约三个半小时内从伦敦飞往纽约。这架普通客机的飞行时间约为8小时。
The new supersonic planes being developed make less noise and use less fuel than the Concorde. But manufacturers are under pressure from environmental groups and airports to meet the same noise and carbon emission limits as traditional planes.
正在开发的新型超音速飞机比协和式飞机噪音更小，燃料消耗更少。但制造商受到环保组织和机场的压力，要求它们满足与传统飞机相同的噪音和碳排放限制。
NASA and Lockheed Martin recently showed off the X-59 plane during an event in Palmdale, California.
美国国家航空航天局和洛克希德·马丁公司最近在加利福尼亚州帕姆代尔的一次活动中展示了X-59飞机。
At the ceremony, NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy called the development of the supersonic aircraft a "major accomplishment." She noted that members of the NASA and Lockheed Martin teams had worked hard to take the X-59 from an idea to reality "in just a few years."
在仪式上，美国宇航局副局长帕姆·梅尔罗伊称超音速飞机的发展是一项“重大成就”。她指出，美国国家航空航天局和洛克希德·马丁公司的团队成员在“短短几年内”努力将X-59从一个想法变为现实。
Melroy added her hope that the X-59 "will help change the way we travel, bringing us closer together in much less time."
在仪式上，美国宇航局副局长帕姆·梅尔罗伊称超音速飞机的发展是一项“重大成就”。她指出，美国国家航空航天局和洛克希德·马丁公司的团队成员在“短短几年内”努力将X-59从一个想法变为现实。
The aircraft measures 30 meters long and nine meters wide. NASA said in a press release that the X-59 is expected to fly at 1.4 times the speed of sound, or about 1,500 kilometers per hour. The aircraft's design, shape and technologies will permit it to reach high speeds while producing "a quieter sonic thump," the agency explained.
这架飞机长30米，宽9米。美国宇航局在一份新闻稿中表示，X-59预计将以1.4倍音速飞行，即每小时约1500公里。该机构解释说，这架飞机的设计、形状和技术将允许它在达到高速的同时产生“更安静的撞击声”。
The X-59 has not yet completed a test flight. But NASA officials have said they expect that to happen sometime this year. The team will be carrying out other tests in the coming months, including instrument experiments, fast engine runs and ground testing.
X-59尚未完成试飞。但美国宇航局官员表示，他们预计这将在今年某个时候发生。该团队将在未来几个月进行其他测试，包括仪器实验、快速发动机运行和地面测试。
Once the aircraft has been cleared to fly, it will be deployed to several cities across the U.S. to collect data on the sounds the plane produces and how people on the ground react to the noise.
一旦飞机被允许飞行，它将被部署到美国的几个城市，收集飞机发出的声音以及地面上的人们对噪音的反应。
The data will be provided to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and international flight regulators. The information will help regulators decide whether to change existing laws restricting supersonic flight.
这些数据将提供给美国联邦航空管理局和国际飞行监管机构。这些信息将有助于监管机构决定是否修改限制超音速飞行的现行法律。
NASA said one of the biggest differences between the X-59 and other supersonic planes is that it has a thinner, smaller nose. The nose, which was reduced by about one-third, aims to break up shock waves that results in more intense sonic booms.
美国宇航局表示，X-59与其他超音速飞机最大的区别之一是它的机头更薄、更小。机头缩小了约三分之一，目的是打破冲击波，从而产生更强烈的音爆。
The Quesst team "also designed the aircraft with its engine mounted on top and gave it a smooth underside" in an effort to reduce shock waves near the back of the plane, NASA said.
NASA表示，quest团队“还将发动机安装在飞机顶部，并在飞机底部设计了一个光滑的底部”，以减少飞机后部附近的冲击波。
Another American company developing supersonic aircraft is Boom Supersonic in Colorado. The company first showed off its experimental supersonic plane, the XB-1, in October 2020. Boom has been carrying out tests of the aircraft since then.
另一家开发超音速飞机的美国公司是科罗拉多州的Boom supersonic公司。该公司于2020年10月首次展示了其实验性超音速飞机XB-1。从那以后，Boom一直在对飞机进行测试。
The company says on its website that its development and testing activities during the past few years have centered on ground tests, including a series of taxi runs. In 2024, Boom said it plans to begin its "high-speed taxi testing" early in the year, while preparing for an actual flight test that could happen later in the year.
该公司在其网站上表示，过去几年的开发和测试活动主要集中在地面测试，包括一系列的出租车运行。Boom公司表示，计划在2024年年初开始“高速滑行测试”，同时准备在今年晚些时候进行实际飞行测试。
