美国有线新闻 CNN 龙飞船成功与空间站对接 计划7月搭载2名航天员进太空

 

CARL AZUZ : A little more than 24 hours after launching from Florida's Kennedy Space Center, a capsule made by Space X successfully docked with the International Space Station. Here's why this is significant. This was a test. The company Space X was working to prove that its new capsule, the Crew Dragon Capsule, was capable of ferrying astronauts safely from earth to the ISS. No one was actually aboard the Crew Dragon when it launched.

Only after it docked with the ISS did the people who were already aboard the space station go inside the Crew Dragon.

Since NASA retired¹ its space shuttle program in 2011, the U.S. has paid for astronauts to hitch² a ride on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft to get to the ISS.

Space X could get them there on American vehicles once again. Space X is considered a private company while NASA is an agency of the Federal government, though Space X has received billions of dollars in funding from NASA. Assuming the rest of its current mission goes well, Space X plans to use its Crew Dragon Capsule to ferry two astronauts to the ISS this July.

1 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。

2 hitch   

v.免费搭(车旅行)；系住；急提；n.故障；急拉

参考例句：

• They had an eighty-mile journey and decided to hitch hike.他们要走80英里的路程，最后决定搭便车。
• All the candidates are able to answer the questions without any hitch.所有报考者都能对答如流。