国际空间站宇航员将执行太空中的维修工作

Space Station Crew Conducts Maintenance Spacewalk

国际空间站宇航员将执行太空中的维修工作

 

The two International Space Station crewmen floated outside the complex Monday to perform some maintenance chores and help prepare it for the resumption of assembly when the space shuttle returns to flight. The spacewalk lasted five and a half hours.

 

It was the first spacewalk for Russian flight engineer Valery Tokarev, but the third for U.S. station commander Bill McArthur, whose enthusiasm for the view from orbit apparently¹ has not waned³ with experience.

 

Bill McArthur: Oh, that's beautiful. Aw, that's gorgeous!

 

Mr. McArthur made the comment as he opened the hatch door to the U.S. module⁴, an event that occurred one hour later than planned because of difficulties reducing the pressure in the airlock.

 

Despite the time setback⁵, the two crewmen worked quickly to install a camera and lights that will be used to guide future station construction when shuttles return to flight, planned for next year. U.S. mission control in Houston advised them that their speed put them back on schedule.

 

“Nice work up there, guys! You move right along.”

 

“We’ll try, we’ll try.”

 

“You do more than try, you do a great job.”

 

“I don’t know, I’m just happy to be here!”

 

Other tasks the spacewalking pair finished included the removal of an experiment that measured the electrical environment around the outside of the station and removal of a failed electronics box that controlled a motor rotating a heat-dissipating radiator⁶.

 

Under normal circumstances, there is a third crewmember inside to help the spacewalkers in and out of their bulky spacesuits and oversee⁷ their outside activities. But the station has been without a third person aboard since the moratorium⁸ on shuttle flights after the Columbia disaster in 2003. This is because Russian cargo⁹ craft are not large enough to carry enough supplies for a trio.

 

So U.S. flight controllers in Houston, Texas ran the station during the spacewalk, or, as mission directors call it, an EVA for extra-vehicular activity. The lead flight controller is Sally Davis.

 

Sally Davis: This is not the first EVA that we've been a part of without anyone inside. We've actually done several of them out of the Russian segment. It is the first time we've done a U.S. EVA without anyone inside.

 

It was also the first outing in two-and-a-half years overseen¹⁰ by U.S. mission control and conducted in American space suits from the U.S. module. Recent spacewalkers wore Russian apparel and departed from the Russian module guided by flight directors near Moscow because the U.S. airlock's cooling system had corroded¹², causing debris¹³ to contaminate the portal and the suits. An earlier station crew repaired the cooling system and new U.S. outfits¹⁴ arrived with the August shuttle mission.

 

David McAlary, VOA news, Washington.

 

注释：

resumption [ri5zQmpFEn] n. 恢复，再开始，（中断后）再继续

wane² [wein] vi. 衰落，消逝

gorgeous [5^C:dVEs] adj. 华丽的，灿烂的

hatch [hAtF] n. 舱口

module [5mCdju:l] n. 登月舱

airlock [ZElCk] n.气闸

bulky [5bQlki] adj. 大的，体积大的

apparel [E5pArEl] n. 衣服，装饰

corrode¹¹ [kE5rEud] v. 使腐蚀，侵蚀

1 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

2 wane   

n.衰微，亏缺，变弱；v.变小，亏缺，呈下弦

参考例句：

• The moon is on the wane.月亮渐亏。
• Her enthusiasm for him was beginning to wane.她对他的热情在开始减退。

3 waned   

v.衰落( wane的过去式和过去分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• However,my enthusiasm waned.The time I spent at exercises gradually diminished. 然而，我的热情减退了。我在做操上花的时间逐渐减少了。 来自《用法词典》
• The bicycle craze has waned. 自行车热已冷下去了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 module   

n.组件，模块，模件；(航天器的)舱

参考例句：

• The centre module displays traffic guidance information.中央模块显示交通引导信息。
• Two large tanks in the service module held liquid oxygen.服务舱的两个大气瓶中装有液态氧。

5 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。

6 radiator   

n.暖气片，散热器

参考例句：

• The two ends of the pipeline are connected with the radiator.管道的两端与暖气片相连接。
• Top up the radiator before making a long journey.在长途旅行前加满散热器。

7 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

8 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。

9 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

10 overseen   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was overseen stealing the letters. 他被人撞见在偷信件。 来自辞典例句
• It will be overseen by ThomasLi, director of IBM China Research Laboratory. 该实验室由IBM中国研究院院长李实恭(ThomasLi)引导。 来自互联网

11 corrode   

v.使腐蚀，侵蚀，破害；v.腐蚀，被侵蚀

参考例句：

• The tools will corrode with rust if never used.这些工具如长期不用会长铁锈而损坏。
• It will pollute people's aesthetic taste and corrode social spirit.它污染人们的审美趣味，腐蚀社会精神。

12 corroded   

已被腐蚀的

参考例句：

• Rust has corroded the steel rails. 锈侵蚀了钢轨。
• Jealousy corroded his character. 嫉妒损伤了他的人格。

13 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。

14 outfits   

n.全套装备( outfit的名词复数 )；一套服装；集体；组织v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He jobbed out the contract to a number of small outfits. 他把承包工程分包给许多小单位。 来自辞典例句
• Some cyclists carry repair outfits because they may have a puncture. 有些骑自行车的人带修理工具，因为他们车胎可能小孔。 来自辞典例句