1)NASA Pays Close Attention to Columbia 'Heat Tiles'

Broadcast: Feb 2, 2003

 

Officials of the U.S. space agency, NASA, probing the loss of the space shuttle Columbia are paying close attention to the orbiter's heat-resistant outer tiles, some of which may have been damaged when the shuttle was launched more than two weeks ago.

Columbia disintegrated² as it hurtled through Earth's upper atmosphere already at 18 times the speed of sound while subjected to furnace-like temperatures. NASA spokesman George Diller says the shuttle's protective tiles are more than capable of dissipating intense heat so long as they remain intact. But, he added, the tiles are not infallible. "They are ²⁾fragile in the context that, if they are broken, if something strikes them like a foreign object or debris³, they can be damaged," he said. "They do not lose a lot of that heat-dissipation quality if they have minor⁴ damage. If they have major damage, that's something else."

Attention has been focused on the tiles as a possible factor in the shuttle tragedy since, shortly after lift-off on January 16, a chunk⁵ of insulating foam⁶ was seen to peel off the orbiter's external fuel tank and strike the spacecraft's left wing. Video footage from the launch did not reveal the extent to which any tiles may have been damaged by the debris. But NASA officials say they cannot dismiss the possibility of a connection between the incident and Saturday's break-up of the shuttle over Texas.

Columbia was the oldest of the shuttles. But NASA spokesman George Diller says the spacecraft was by no means too aged¹ for service. "We think we know what the life span is: it's a hundred flights. Columbia was on its 28," he said. "So it still had a lot of life time left. Columbia was the first orbiter; it's the oldest spaceship (among shuttles). But in fact, it had just come out of an orbiter modification⁷ period when we had received the new glass ³⁾cockpit and a number of structural⁸ improvements. So, it was fresh back on the line after being upgraded."

Mr. Diller says no one should expect immediate⁹ answers to the Columbia mystery. He says the current investigation¹⁰ will likely prove more difficult than that of the space shuttle Challenger, which exploded shortly after lift-off in 1986. "In the Challenger accident, after looking at the launch video, we got a pretty good idea from one of the ⁴⁾optical cameras what had probably happened, though not why. In this case, we do not know what [went wrong] or why. There is no obvious smoking gun [telltale clue] " he said.

Mr. Diller says, while crews gather debris from the shuttle Columbia in Texas, officials at Cape¹¹ Canaveral will review all procedures prior to the ⁵⁾orbiter's launch. The NASA spokesman says they will look for clues as to what went wrong and how to correct any problems that may be uncovered. Until there are answers, he says, future shuttle launches are on hold.

Michael Bowman, VOA news, in Kennedy space center Cape Canaveral, Florida.

1)    NASA  国家航空与宇宙航行局

2)    fragile[5frAdVail]adj. 易碎的, 脆的

3)    cockpit[5kCkpit]n. 驾驶员座舱, 战场

4)    optical[5CptikEl]adj. 视力的, 光学的

5)     orbiter[`R:bItE(r)]n. 盘旋物, 人造卫星

 

1 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

2 disintegrated   

v.（使）破裂[分裂，粉碎]，（使）崩溃( disintegrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The plane disintegrated as it fell into the sea. 飞机坠入大海时解体了。
• The box was so old;it just disintegrated when I picked it up. 那箱子太破旧了，我刚一提就散了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

4 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

5 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

6 foam   

v./n.泡沫，起泡沫

参考例句：

• The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
• The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。

7 modification   

n.修改，改进，缓和，减轻

参考例句：

• The law,in its present form,is unjust;it needs modification.现行的法律是不公正的，它需要修改。
• The design requires considerable modification.这个设计需要作大的修改。

8 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

9 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

10 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

11 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。