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Technology Report - The Historic Flight of the Dragon
This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.
A rocket designed and built by a privately1 owned company has made history by bringing a supply capsule to the International Space Station. It was the first private spacecraft to carry out such a mission.
The company SpaceX launched its Dragon space capsule last week on the company's Falcon2 9 rocket. It launched from Cape3 Canaveral, Florida.
NASA LAUNCH COMMENTATOR4: "Three, two, one, zero and the launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, as NASA turns to the private sector5 to resupply the International Space Station."
SpaceX mission controllers celebrated6 when the rocket had reached orbit and its solar panels had deployed7. Three days earlier, a launch attempt was cancelled at the last second when a computer found a problem with the engine.
Charlie Bolden is the head of the American space agency, NASA. He spoke8 to reporters at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida after the rocket was launched.
CHARLIE BOLDEN: "The significance of this day cannot be overstated. A private company has launched a spacecraft to the International Space Station that will attempt to dock there for the first time. And, while there is a lot of work ahead to successfully complete this mission, we are certainly off to a good start."
The head of SpaceX watched the launch from company headquarters. Elon Musk9 told reporters:
ELON MUSK: "There is so much hope riding on that rocket, so when it worked, and Dragon worked and the solar arrays deployed, and people saw their handiwork in space and operating as it should -- I mean it was tremendous elation10. I mean, it is like, I guess, for us, it is like winning the Super Bowl."
The rocket successfully linked with the International Space Station on Friday. Astronauts on board the Space Station used its robotic arm to secure the capsule.
SPACE STATION: "Capture is confirmed."
MISSION CONTROL: "Station, Houston, congratulations on a wonderful capture. You've made a lot of folk happy down here and over in Hawthorne and right here in Houston. Great job, guys."
NASA has invested about four hundred million dollars in SpaceX to help it develop space flight technology. And the agency also has a contract with SpaceX for twelve flights to resupply the space station.
NASA wants private companies to carry out operations in low-Earth orbit. The agency wants to center its attention on developing the next generation of spacecraft that can travel to asteroids11 or Mars.
The Falcon 9 rocket brought more than five hundred kilograms of supplies to the space station. But it also carried the remains12, or ashes, of three hundred people. Among the remains were those of astronaut Gordon Cooper and actor James Doohan. Doohan played Chief Engineer Scotty in the popular television and movie series "Star Trek13. "
The remains will orbit the Earth for about a year until burning up in the atmosphere.
And that's the VOA Special English Technology Report. Transcripts14, MP3s and podcasts of our reports are at www.voanews.cn. I'm Steve Ember.
1 privately | |
adv.以私人的身份,悄悄地,私下地 | |
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2 falcon | |
n.隼,猎鹰 | |
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3 cape | |
n.海角,岬;披肩,短披风 | |
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4 commentator | |
n.注释者,解说者;实况广播评论员 | |
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5 sector | |
n.部门,部分;防御地段,防区;扇形 | |
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6 celebrated | |
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的 | |
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7 deployed | |
(尤指军事行动)使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 ); 施展; 部署; 有效地利用 | |
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8 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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9 musk | |
n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物,香猫 | |
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10 elation | |
n.兴高采烈,洋洋得意 | |
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11 asteroids | |
n.小行星( asteroid的名词复数 );海盘车,海星 | |
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12 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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13 trek | |
vi.作长途艰辛的旅行;n.长途艰苦的旅行 | |
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14 transcripts | |
n.抄本( transcript的名词复数 );转写本;文字本;副本 | |
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