VOA科学技术2024--Boeing Delays First Crewed Launch of Starliner Spacecraft

The first crewed test of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft was postponed¹ Tuesday because of a problem with the rocket system.

Officials stopped the launch about two hours before the planned liftoff at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Two astronauts from the American space agency NASA had just taken their final positions in the Starliner capsule when officials halted the countdown. The astronauts chosen for the flight are 61-year-old Barry "Butch" Wilmore and 58-year-old Sunita "Suni" Williams.

The capsule will be carried to space by an Atlas² V rocket. United Launch Alliance (ULA) built the rocket. ULA is a joint³ operation between Boeing and the American company Lockheed Martin.

ULA chief Tory Bruno said the problem involved an oxygen pressure-release valve on the Atlas V's second stage launch system. ULA officials could hear the problematic valve opening and closing.

Bruno said the valve might need to be replaced. That would push a new launch date into next week. If investigations⁴ show the valve is still operable, a new launch could be set for as soon as Friday.

It was the latest delay for Boeing's first test flight involving astronauts aboard the Starliner capsule. Bruno noted⁵ that other Atlas rockets have had similar valve trouble.

During those launches, the problem was quickly resolved by turning the valves off and back on. But the company is now facing stronger flight rules for trips that carry astronauts. "And so we stayed with the rules and the procedures, and scrubbed as a result," Bruno told reporters.

Steve Stich is NASA's commercial crew program leader. He admitted the decision to delay was a difficult one to make. "We're taking it one step at a time, and we're going to launch when we're ready and fly when it's safe to do so," he said.

The spacecraft completed its first uncrewed flight test to the International Space Station (ISS) in May of 2022. Since then, Boeing has experienced a series of technical difficulties with Starliner and its rocket system.

NASA chose Boeing and a competitor, SpaceX, in 2024 to start transporting astronauts to and from the ISS after NASA's shuttle program ended. The private companies signed contracts with NASA worth billions of dollars.

Boeing has struggled to complete the testing process before it gets approval to start running official trips to the ISS. SpaceX, on the other hand, has been a dependable NASA partner since 2020, making regular trips to carry astronauts and supplies to the ISS.

The efforts are part of NASA's plan to build a new generation of privately⁶ built spacecraft to carry its astronauts and others to the ISS, and after that to the moon and possibly Mars.

Words in This Story

capsule - n. the part of a spacecraft that people live in

valve - n. a mechanical device that controls the flow of liquids

procedure - n. the official or usual way of doing something

scrub - v. to stop something

1 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

2 atlas   

n.地图册，图表集

参考例句：

• He reached down the atlas from the top shelf.他从书架顶层取下地图集。
• The atlas contains forty maps,including three of Great Britain.这本地图集有40幅地图，其中包括3幅英国地图。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。