VOA慢速英语2020--美国宇航局宇航员为首次私人太空发射做最后准备

Two American space agency astronauts are making final preparations for the first crewed space flight to launch from American soil since 2011.

Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley - both former NASA shuttle pilots – arrived at Florida's Kennedy Space Center last week. They had been training at their home base in Houston, Texas.

The astronauts are set to launch from Kennedy on a test mission to the International Space Station, or ISS, on Wednesday, May 27.

They will fly on a Crew Dragon spacecraft, carried by a Falcon¹ 9 rocket. The American company SpaceX designed and built each. The flight will be the first by a private company to send astronauts into orbit.

The trip will also mark the first U.S.-based space launch since NASA ended its space shuttle program nine years ago. Since then, American astronauts have been flying to the ISS on Russian rockets launched from Kazakhstan.

Hurley was one of the four astronauts who took part in the final NASA shuttle flight in July 2011. Speaking to reporters in Florida, he said "it has been a long road" back. But he added that it was "humbling² to be here to start out the next launch from the United States."

Behnken called it "an awesome³ time to be an astronaut, with a new spacecraft."

Kennedy Space Center's director, former shuttle commander Robert Cabana, and NASA Administrator⁴ Jim Bridenstine, welcomed the astronauts on their arrival. The NASA chief told the two he saw them as "a bright light for all of America right now."

The crowd in attendance was greatly reduced because of the coronavirus crisis. The astronauts did not wear nose and mouth covers but stayed socially distant. Cabana and Bridenstine wore face coverings.

Bridenstine spoke⁵ to the group. During these difficult times, he said, "this is a moment when we can all look and be inspired as to what the future holds."

The two astronauts do not know how long they will remain at the ISS, but the stay is expected to last at least a month. NASA has said the length of stay will be decided⁶ after their arrival and will be "based on the readiness" of the next crew launch.

Only one American is currently on the ISS, astronaut Chris Cassidy. NASA says the three U.S. astronauts will team up to test the Crew Dragon's systems and carry out research and maintenance operations.

Some of the tests will aim to confirm that the spacecraft will be able to carry out future missions while connected to the station for up to 210 days, NASA said.

The mission is part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which partners with private American companies to develop U.S. spaceflight systems.

NASA selected SpaceX and Boeing in 2014 to transport crews from the United States to the ISS. The space agency is paying the two companies a combined $6.8 billion to build competing rocket and capsule systems.

Boeing is also preparing to launch astronauts aboard its Starliner spacecraft to the ISS. But the company suffered a setback⁷ in December during an unmanned test flight to reach the space station.

After lifting off for the test flight, the Starliner experienced software issues that sent the spacecraft to the wrong orbit, causing officials to cancel its trip to the ISS. Boeing says it has been working on the software issues and plans to carry out another unpiloted test flight later this year.

I'm Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

mission – n. an important task, usually involving travel somewhere

humbling – adj. not proud or arrogant⁸

inspire – v. to make someone feel that they want to do something and can do it

maintenance – n. work that is done to keep something in good condition

setback – n. a problem that makes something happen later or more slowly than it should

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 humbling   

adj.令人羞辱的v.使谦恭( humble的现在分词 )；轻松打败（尤指强大的对手）；低声下气

参考例句：

• A certain humbling from time to time is good. 不时受点儿屈辱是有好处的。 来自辞典例句
• It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-buildingexperience. 据说天文学是一种令人产生自卑、塑造人格的科学。 来自互联网

3 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

4 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。

5 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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 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。

7 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

8 arrogant   

adj.傲慢的，自大的

参考例句：

• You've got to get rid of your arrogant ways.你这骄傲劲儿得好好改改。
• People are waking up that he is arrogant.人们开始认识到他很傲慢。