NBC晚间新闻 马斯克发射火箭升空

Less than 24 hours now until American astronauts once again liftoff from US soil on an American rocket headed for the space station. On board the SpaceX Falcon¹ 9 rocket Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, wearing new state-of-the-art spacesuits in a newly designed flat-screen riche spaceship. I expect us to have a little bit of excitement going into the mission, but also tempered with a kind of an extreme focus on being able to execute the things that are in front of us. This is a big moment in time, it's been nine years since we've had this opportunity. Since the space shuttle was retired² in 2011 the US has paid Russia to carry astronauts to the station. SpaceX now the first private company to take over the job as NASA refocuses on returning to the moon within four years.

My son is eight years old and so he's never seen Americans launched from the United States ever. SpaceX founder³ Elon Musk⁴ tweeting this time-lapse of the rocket sitting on pad 39A that also launched Apollo and space shuttle missions. At first former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino did not think NASA should hand over such a challenging job to private companies. Now he's a believer. I was but I'm not any longer and I wish them the best of luck and we need him to be successful. While NASA has veto authority, this is a SpaceX mission run out of SpaceX mission control. Right now the only potential threat: severe weather here in Florida.

不到24小时，美国宇航员将再次从美国本土搭乘美国火箭前往空间站。此次搭乘SpaceX猎鹰9号火箭的是道格·赫尔利和鲍勃·班肯，他们将穿着最新的最先进的宇航服，乘坐一艘新设计的平板里奇飞船。我希望我们在完成这个任务时能有一些激动，同时在执行我们面临的任务时能够极度专注。这是个重大的时刻，我们已经九年没有这样的机会了。自从航天飞机在2011年退隐后，美国向俄罗斯支付费用，让其运送宇航员到空间站。随着美国宇航局重新专注于在四年内返回月球，太空探索技术公司成为首家接管这个任务的私企。我儿子八岁了，他从没见过从美国飞天的美国人。SpaceX公司创始人埃隆·马斯克在推特上发布了这枚火箭的延时照片，该火箭位于39A发射台，也曾发射过阿波罗号和航天飞机。一开始，前美国宇航局宇航员迈克·马西米诺认为，美国宇航局不应该把如此具有挑战性的工作交给私企。现在他相信了。我曾经怀疑，但是现在相信了。我祝他们好运，我们需要他取得成功。虽然NASA有否决权，但这是SpaceX公司的任务，他们负责任务控制。现在唯一的潜在威胁就是：弗罗里达的极端天气。

1 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。

2 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。

3 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

4 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。