2022年12月13日 VOA慢速英语：NASA 对猎户座试飞感到满意，因为航天器返回地球

 

The American space agency NASA says its Orion spacecraft has performed beyond expectations during its test mission to fly around the moon.
美国宇航局表示，其猎户座飞船在其绕月飞行测试任务中的表现超出预期。
 
Orion is set to return to Earth on December 11. NASA said the uncrewed spacecraft will re-enter Earth's atmosphere and deploy a parachute before splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California near San Diego.
猎户座将于 12 月 11 日返回地球。美国宇航局表示，这艘无人驾驶的航天器将重新进入地球大气层，并展开降落伞，然后降落在圣地亚哥附近加利福尼亚海岸附近的太平洋中。
 
The spacecraft, or capsule, made its second and final close pass by the moon on December 5. The move brought Orion to within 127 kilometers of the lunar surface. This was the closest any spacecraft built to carry humans has come to the moon since NASA's Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
12 月 5 日，航天器或太空舱进行了第二次也是最后一次近距离飞越月球。此举将猎户座带到了距月球表面 127 公里以内的位置。这是自 1972 年美国宇航局的阿波罗 17 号任务以来，为搭载人类而建造的最接近月球的航天器。
 
Orion's last pass by the moon happened during an operation NASA describes as a "powered flyby burn." The three-and-a-half minute operation is designed to change the vehicle's velocity and set it on a course back to Earth.
猎户座最后一次飞越月球发生在美国宇航局称之为“动力飞越燃烧”的行动中。三分半钟的操作旨在改变车辆的速度并将其设置在返回地球的路线上。
 
One week earlier, Orion reached its farthest point in space – about 434,522 kilometers from Earth. That marked the midway point of the spacecraft's 25-day mission.
一周前，猎户座到达了它在太空中的最远点——距地球约 434,522 公里。这标志着航天器 25 天任务的中途点。
 
NASA administrator Bill Nelson looked forward to Orion's return to Earth in a statement. He said when the spacecraft re-enters Earth's atmosphere, "it will come back hotter and faster than ever before – the ultimate test before we put astronauts on board."
美国宇航局局长比尔尼尔森在一份声明中期待猎户座返回地球。他说，当航天器重新进入地球大气层时，“它将比以往任何时候都更热、更快地返回——这是我们将宇航员送上太空之前的最终测试。”
 
NASA has said Orion will be traveling at speeds up to 32,000 kilometers per hour while reentering Earth's atmosphere. This is much faster than spacecraft returning to Earth from the International Space Station.
美国宇航局表示，猎户座将以每小时 32,000 公里的速度重新进入地球大气层。这比航天器从国际空间站返回地球要快得多。
 
The purpose of the Orion mission was to test the capsule, as well as NASA's huge Space Launch System (SLS) rocket used to carry it to space. The mission is part of the space agency's Artemis program, which aims to land Americans on the moon by the mid-2020s.
猎户座任务的目的是测试太空舱，以及用于将其送入太空的美国宇航局巨大的太空发射系统 (SLS) 火箭。该任务是航天局 Artemis 计划的一部分，该计划旨在让美国人在 2020 年代中期登上月球。
 
The latest mission was called Artemis I. Its goal is to prepare for Artemis II, which will include astronauts traveling inside Orion. If all goes well during that mission, NASA will launch Artemis III, with the goal of landing astronauts on the moon's surface.
最新的任务称为 Artemis I。其目标是为 Artemis II 做准备，其中包括在猎户座内旅行的宇航员。如果在该任务期间一切顺利，美国宇航局将发射 Artemis III，目标是让宇航员登陆月球表面。
 
While Orion has no astronauts on board, NASA placed three model humans, known as mannequins, on the spacecraft. The models are connected to a series of sensors designed to measure radiation and movements throughout the mission.
虽然猎户座号上没有宇航员，但美国宇航局在飞船上放置了三个人体模型，即人体模型。这些模型连接到一系列传感器，这些传感器旨在测量整个任务中的辐射和运动。
 
During a recent news briefing, NASA officials said they had been very satisfied with how Orion and its systems had performed during the mission. No major problems have been reported.
在最近的新闻发布会上，美国宇航局官员表示，他们对猎户座及其系统在任务期间的表现非常满意。没有报告重大问题。
 
Mike Sarafin is the Mission Manager for Artemis I. He told the briefing, the mission was "going very well." He said because of this, NASA had been able to complete several mission objectives and was able to add some unplanned ones as well.
Mike Sarafin 是 Artemis I 的任务经理。他在简报中说，任务“进展顺利”。他说，正因为如此，美国宇航局已经能够完成多项任务目标，并且能够增加一些计划外的目标。
 
Sarafin said that by the time the mission ends, Orion will have traveled more than 2.2 million kilometers.
萨拉芬说，到任务结束时，猎户座的飞行距离将超过 220 万公里。
 
Debbie Korth is the deputy manager for the Orion program. She told reporters: "We couldn't be more pleased about how the spacecraft has been performing – really beyond all our expectations."
Debbie Korth 是猎户座计划的副经理。她告诉记者：“我们对航天器的表现非常满意——真的超出了我们的所有预期。”
 
The last major test of the spacecraft will be to see how its heatshield performs during reentry. The heatshield will have to survive temperatures of around 2,800 degrees Celsius. That temperature is about half that of the surface of the sun.
航天器的最后一项主要测试将是查看其隔热罩的性能再入期间。隔热罩必须能够承受大约 2,800 摄氏度的高温。这个温度大约是太阳表面温度的一半。
 
A recovery mission has been organized to pick up the capsule from the Pacific Ocean. NASA's Landing and Recovery Director is Melissa Jones. She said her team of engineers and recovery specialists has worked with U.S. Navy divers attached to the USS Portland transport ship. The divers will help NASA bring in Orion after the spacecraft's splashdown near San Diego.
已经组织了一次回收任务，从太平洋取回太空舱。NASA 的着陆和恢复主管是 Melissa Jones。她说，她的工程师和恢复专家团队曾与隶属于美国波特兰号运输舰的美国海军潜水员合作。 在航天器在圣地亚哥附近坠毁后，潜水员将帮助美国宇航局将猎户座带入。
 
Korth said Orion represents the beginning "of a series of increasingly complex missions" yet to come in the Artemis program. She added that with the mission progressing so well, "we are really using this spacecraft to push the envelope and see what we can get in terms of performance" to prepare for future missions.
Korth 说，猎户座代表着“一系列日益复杂的任务”的开始，这些任务尚未出现在 Artemis 计划中。她补充说，随着任务进展如此顺利，“我们真的在使用这艘航天器挑战极限，看看我们能在性能方面取得什么成果”，为未来的任务做准备。