VOA慢速英语2014 美国航天局联手波音及SpaceX两公司共建太空船

 

NASA Chooses Boeing, SpaceX to Fly Astronauts 美国航天局联手波音及SpaceX两公司共建太空船

Three years after the United States ended the space shuttle program, the American space agency today announced the return of “human space flight to U.S. soil.”

NASA has chosen two spaceships, the Boeing CST-100 and SpaceX Dragon version 2, to bring American astronauts to the International Space Station. The program will cost $6.8 billion.

NASA administrator¹ Charles Bolden said “this wasn’t an easy choice.” He said the decision will “end our reliance² on Russia” to transport American astronauts to the International Space Station.

The decision followed four years of work by Boeing, SpaceX and a smaller company called Sierra Nevada.

The Boeing CST-100 is designed to transport up to seven passengers or a mixed load to the International Space Station. Boeing has built spaceships for NASA for more than 40 years. It was one of the main builders of the space station.

NASA has used the SpaceX Dragon spaceship since 2012 to carry supplies to the space station. It is the first private company to do so. But it has always said its goal is to transport humans into space.

Boeing and SpaceX will own and operate the spaceship. In the space agency’s words, “once development is complete, NASA plans to buy a service -- simply put, like getting a taxi ride to low-Earth orbit.”

The final space shuttle mission ended July 21, 2011. Shuttles had been used to carry astronauts and others from the United States and other countries into space for 30 years. After NASA stopped using the shuttles in 2011, it was forced to pay Russia to carry American astronauts to and from the International Space Station. The flight costs about $70 million for each American astronaut. At least four American astronauts fly to the space station every year.

NASA plans to stop using the Russian Soyuz spaceship in 2017. The agency hopes the new Boeing and SpaceX vehicle will transport humans to space by the end of that year. 

NASA says it has been visiting low-Earth orbit since 1962 and it wants to give that work to private companies.  NASA says that will permit it to get “the most research and experience out of America’s investment in the International Space Station.” And, NASA notes, it will also be able to spend its time on “building spacecraft and rockets for deep space missions, including flights to Mars³ in the 2030s.” Those trips may also include landings on asteroids⁴. NASA is reportedly planning to send a deep-space exploration spaceship on a test flight in December.

1 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。

2 reliance   

n.信任，信赖，信心

参考例句：

• A child has reliance on his or her mother.孩子都依赖于母亲。
• Our policy should rest on the basis of self-reliance.我们的方针要放在自力更生的基点上。

3 Mars   

n.火星，战争

参考例句：

• As of now we don't know much about Mars.目前我们对火星还知之甚少。
• He contended that there must be life on Mars.他坚信火星上面一定有生物。

4 asteroids   

n.小行星( asteroid的名词复数 )；海盘车，海星

参考例句：

• Asteroids,also known as "minor planets",are numerous in the outer space. 小行星，亦称为“小型行星”，在外太空中不计其数。
• Most stars probably have their quota of planets, meteorids, comets, and asteroids. 多数恒星也许还拥有若干行星、流星、彗星和小行星。