美国国家公共电台 NPR--NASA plans to launch a huge moon rocket but the price tag may impede its future

NASA plans to launch a huge moon rocket but the price tag may impede¹ its future

Transcript²

NASA plans to test launch its newest rocket next week — one it hopes will eventually take astronauts back to the moon. But the rocket's big price tag has some critics skeptical³ about its future.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Astronauts on the moon - that's what NASA wants to see in just a few years. On Monday, the agency plans to launch a huge moon rocket on its first test flight with no crew aboard. But as NPR's Nell Greenfieldboyce reports, the rocket's big price tag has critics skeptical about its future.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Two, one, zero - we have liftoff.

NELL GREENFIELDBOYCE, BYLINE⁴: The last time NASA launched a space vehicle designed to take astronauts to the moon, it was 1972.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: And it's lighting⁵ up the area. It's just like daylight here at Kennedy Space Center. The Saturn⁶ V is moving off the pad.

GREENFIELDBOYCE: Now a different rocket is on a launch pad there. It's 32 stories tall and more powerful than the Saturn V. But just like in the Apollo days, it's got a bell-shaped crew capsule perched on top.

BILL NELSON: When you look at the rocket, it almost looks retro.

GREENFIELDBOYCE: Bill Nelson is NASA's administrator⁷. There won't be any astronauts on this trip, but he says the capsule called Orion will travel over a million miles.

NELSON: To the moon and back and all kinds of orbits around the moon, testing this spacecraft.

GREENFIELDBOYCE: At its closest approach to the moon, Orion will be about 60 miles from the surface. NASA wants to put the first woman and the first person of color on the moon by 2025. Nelson says the moon is a steppingstone to Mars.

NELSON: And we're going back to the moon in order to learn to live, to walk, to survive.

GREENFIELDBOYCE: This rocket's been in the works for over a decade since NASA retired⁸ its aging space shuttles. The end of that program was a blow to the aerospace⁹ industry. Congress didn't want to see jobs lost. So lawmakers told NASA, build a massive new rocket and use parts from the shuttle. Charlie Bolden was the head of NASA back then. He expected this new rocket to start flying years ago.

CHARLIE BOLDEN JR: It's just taking much, much, much longer than I ever anticipated for a system that is somewhat complex, but it's not like we're building something totally new.

GREENFIELDBOYCE: Building this rocket has also proved to be unexpectedly costly¹⁰. NASA's inspector¹¹ general, Paul Martin, recently told lawmakers that the first three flights will cost more than $4 billion each.

PAUL MARTIN: A price tag that strikes us as unsustainable.

GREENFIELDBOYCE: Martin says NASA has to figure out how to rein¹² costs in.

MARTIN: Otherwise, relying on such an expensive single-use rocket system will, in our judgment¹³, inhibit¹⁴, if not derail, NASA's ability to sustain its long-term human exploration goals to the moon and Mars.

GREENFIELDBOYCE: Critics of the rocket point to another problem. In part because it's so expensive, this rocket won't fly very often. Lori Garver served as deputy administrator of NASA. She says even if this test flight goes perfectly¹⁵...

LORI GARVER: They will still have to defend the rocket's cost. And more difficult, I think, is that there won't be another one for two years.

GREENFIELDBOYCE: Meanwhile, there's this other rocket being rapidly developed by the private sector¹⁶. The company SpaceX, which currently carries NASA's astronauts to the space station, decided¹⁷ to also build its own massive rocket - a stainless¹⁸ steel beast called Starship. Starship is designed to be both inexpensive and fully¹⁹ reusable. Garver says if it flies, that could spell the end for NASA's rocket and the Orion capsule.

GARVER: If Starship works, they will become redundant²⁰.

GREENFIELDBOYCE: But for now, they're waiting on the launch pad about to blast off towards the moon. Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR News.

1 impede   

v.妨碍，阻碍，阻止

参考例句：

• One shouldn't impede other's progress.一个人不应该妨碍他人进步。
• The muddy roads impede our journey.我们的旅游被泥泞的道路阻挠了。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

6 Saturn   

n.农神，土星

参考例句：

• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings.天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。
• These comparisons suggested that Saturn is made of lighter materials.这些比较告诉我们，土星由较轻的物质构成。

7 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

8 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

9 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

10 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

11 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

12 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

13 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

14 inhibit   

vt.阻止，妨碍，抑制

参考例句：

• Don't let ego and greed inhibit clear thinking and hard work.不要让自我和贪婪妨碍清晰的思维和刻苦的工作。
• They passed a law to inhibit people from parking in the street.他们通过一项法令以阻止人们在街上停车。

15 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

16 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

17 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

18 stainless   

adj.无瑕疵的，不锈的

参考例句：

• I have a set of stainless knives and forks.我有一套不锈钢刀叉。
• Before the recent political scandal,her reputation had been stainless.在最近的政治丑闻之前，她的名声是无懈可击的。

19 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

20 redundant   

adj.多余的，过剩的；(食物)丰富的；被解雇的

参考例句：

• There are too many redundant words in this book.这本书里多余的词太多。
• Nearly all the redundant worker have been absorbed into other departments.几乎所有冗员，都已调往其他部门任职。