VOA慢速英语: 火箭爆炸后美国国家航空航天局面临的问题

Questions for NASA after Rocket Explosion
火箭爆炸后，美国国家航空航天局面临的问题
An unmanned privately-owned rocket bringing supplies to the International Space Station exploded seconds after launch Tuesday night. The accident did not cause any injuries on the ground. However, it has raised questions about efforts by the US space agency NASA to use private companies to carry out near-Earth space exploration and supply missions.
周二晚上，一架为国际空间站提供补给的民营无人运载火箭在发射几秒钟后发生爆炸。爆炸并未引起地面上的伤亡。但是，就美国太空总署使用民营公司所造的火箭，来进行靠近地球的空间探测和向太空输送补给任务所做的努力，提出一些疑问。
The Antares rocket exploded as it took off from NASA’s launch center in Wallops Island, Virginia. Orbital Sciences Corporation built the rocket. It was carrying a Cygnus supply vehicle containing more than 2,200 kilograms of supplies and experiments to the International Space Station, or ISS.
“天鹅座”飞船从美国国家航空航天局发射中心——弗吉尼亚州瓦勒普斯岛起飞后发生爆炸。美国轨道科学公司设计了这一火箭。飞船上装载着2200多公斤的物资以及国际空间站的实验用品。
 However, during a press conference on Tuesday night, NASA’s William Gerstenmaier said none of the supplies were in his words, critical, to the space station crew. He said the ISS crew is in no danger.
但是，在周二晚上的新闻发布会上，美国太空总署的威廉姆·葛斯坦迈亚说飞船上所载物资对太空站的宇航员来说没什么重要的。他说太空站的宇航员还很安全。
NASA officials have blocked off the area on Wallops Island. They warn that some of the wreckage from the rocket may be dangerous.
美国太空总署的官员已经封锁了瓦勒普斯岛，他们警告说火箭的一些残骸也许很危险。
News reports centered on the Antares rocket’s engines soon after the explosion. They are Russian-built rocket engines updated in the U.S. They were first designed in the late 1960s to carry Soviet cosmonauts to the moon. The liquid-fueled engines were chosen for their power to lift heavy loads.
新闻报道说：爆炸后问题集中在“天鹅座”火箭的引擎问题。引擎是俄罗斯建造的，在美国升级换代了。20世纪60年代末，引擎首次用来搭载苏联宇航员去月球。选择液体燃料发动机来作为能量供给拉载重物。
Frank Culbertson is Executive Vice President and General Manager of Advanced Programs for Orbital Sciences. He says the engines were tested in the U.S. However, the website NASASpaceflight.com reported that the design exploded during a test at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi in May.
轨道科学公司的高级项目执行副总裁兼总经理弗兰克·卡博森说发动机在美国测试过。但是美国太空总署的网站报道说在五月密西西比的尼斯太空中心的一次测试中就发生过爆炸。
Mr. Culbertson said the company has a lot of information to study to learn about what happened. He noted:“We don’t know if it was the engine or not. That’s something we’ll try to determine as quickly as possible.”
卡博森说公司已经收集很多信息来研究到底是哪的问题。他指出：“我们不知道是否是发动机的问题，我们会尽快找出问题所在。”
He added that the history of the engine has been well-documented. He also noted that the rocket cost the company about $200 million. The launch was to be the Antares rocket’s third supply mission to the ISS. Orbital Sciences released a statement saying: “As soon as we understand the cause we will begin the necessary work to return to flight.”
他补充说：这个发动机的历史有详细的文件记载。还说火箭花费公司大约2亿美元，这次发射是“天鹅座”飞船第三次担任向太空站输送补给的任务。轨道科学公司发布了一份声明：“我们一掌握爆炸原因就会开始必要的工作，重新飞行。”
Elon Musk is the chief executive of SpaceX, a competitor to Orbital Sciences. In a 2012 interview with Wired magazine, Mr. Musk had strongly criticized the Russian-built engines used by Orbital Sciences.
伊龙·马斯克是美国太空探索技术公司总裁，是轨道科学公司的竞争者。在2012年一次联线杂志的访问中，他强列批判轨道科学公司使用俄罗斯制造的发动机。
The accident has drawn attention to NASA’s dependence on private companies in the U.S. to provide space flight vehicles and services. NASA is paying Orbital Sciences Corporations and the company SpaceX in California billions of dollars to bring supplies to the ISS. The US space agency also wants SpaceX and aerospace company Boeing to start launching astronauts to the orbiting laboratory by 2017.
这一爆炸事件引起人们关注美国宇航局在提供航天飞行器和服务方面，对民营公司的依赖。美国太空总署在加利福尼亚向轨道科学公司和美国太空探索技术公司支付数十亿美元，为了向国际空间站输送补给。2017年，美国航天局还想要让美国太空探索技术公司和波音航空航天公司向太空实验室运载宇航员。
Recently, NASA announced its choice of two spaceships, one built by Boeing and the other by SpaceX to bring American astronauts to the International Space Station. The program is to cost $6.8 billion.
近来，美国航空航天局宣布了选用的两个飞船，一个由波音公司制造，另一个由太空探索技术公司制造，来为国际空间站输送航天员，这个项目将花费68亿美元。
NASA officials say the International Space Station remains well supplied. On Wednesday, Russia successfully launched an unmanned Soyuz rocket and supply ship from its space center in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The Progress 57cargo ship is expected to reach the ISS Wednesday.
美国航空航天局的官员说，国际空间站的补给仍然很好。在周三，俄罗斯在哈萨克斯坦的拜科努尔发射中心成功地发射了无人的Soyuz火箭和补给飞船。57货物飞船预计在周三到达国际空间站。
I’m Mario Ritter.
我是马里奥·瑞特。
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Word in this Story
supplies- n. the amount of something that can be given or sold to others;needed equipment, food and other items
wreckage-n. what remains of something severely damaged or destroyed
liquid-fueled-adj. (relating to rockets) using a liquid fuel rather than a solid fuel
competitor-n. any person or group trying to gain or do better at something than another person or group (example, a business competitor)
aerospace-adj. describing the industry of manufacturing aircraft andspacecraft