2006年VOA标准英语-Space Shuttle Atlantis Returns to Launch Pad

By David McAlary
Washington
29 August 2006

The Mobile Launcher Platform sits on the crawlerway near the Space Shuttle Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape¹ Canaveral, Florida   
  
A drop in storm intensity² has caused the U.S. space agency NASA to return the shuttle Atlantis back to the launch pad after it was being pulled toward its hangar for shelter. The reversal means the planned mission to resume International Space Station construction can meet a September launch deadline.

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NASA's original decision Tuesday to remove Atlantis from the launch pad was the result of a weather forecast that predicted Tropical Storm Ernesto's winds would almost reach the limit for an exposed shuttle to withstand. "It does not make any sense to fool with Mother Nature," said shuttle program director Wayne Hale.

"You want to do what is safe. When the forecast persisted in bringing the storm to the Kennedy Space Center area, we decided³ that it would be most prudent⁴ to go back to the barn and wait it out there," he said.

But five hours later, when Atlantis had gotten half way back to its hangar, the storm's winds subsided⁵ a little, so NASA rolled it back in the other direction. "That was the data that allowed us to feel comfortable to take the vehicle back out to the pad," said shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach. "Atlantis is back out at the pad and we'll get on with pad processing after the storm passes us," he said.

Leinbach says Atlantis could be on its way with cargo⁶ to resume expansion of the International Space Station by September 6 or 7. This would be a relief for NASA, which had set September 7 as the deadline for the mission.

The date is dictated⁷ by the need to avoid a later launch that would conflict with a Russian Soyuz liftoff September 14 of a new Russian-American space station crew. It is also dependent on NASA's desire for a daylight takeoff so it can observe how much debris⁸ flies off the shuttle's external fuel tank. It wants to make sure that its tank modifications⁹ have ended the threat of a large piece of hard insulating foam¹⁰ falling off and threatening the shuttle's fragile heat shield, like the piece that punctured¹¹ and doomed¹² the shuttle Columbia in 2003.

NASA is eager to finish the half-built space station in the four years left before the shuttle fleet is retired¹³ in 2010. Construction stopped after the Columbia disaster forced a moratorium¹⁴ on shuttle flights. The only two flights since then have been tests of safety improvements to the fuel tank, but carried no major parts for the research outpost.

Now, Atlantis is packed with a 17-ton girder holding a second set solar arrays that will power future station laboratories, living quarters, and other equipment.

1 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。

2 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

3 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。

4 prudent   

adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的

参考例句：

• A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。
• You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。

5 subsided   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• After the heavy rains part of the road subsided. 大雨过后，部分公路塌陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• By evening the storm had subsided and all was quiet again. 傍晚， 暴风雨已经过去，四周开始沉寂下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 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。

7 dictated   

v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布

参考例句：

• He dictated a letter to his secretary. 他向秘书口授信稿。
• No person of a strong character likes to be dictated to. 没有一个个性强的人愿受人使唤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。

9 modifications   

n.缓和( modification的名词复数 )；限制；更改；改变

参考例句：

• The engine was pulled apart for modifications and then reassembled. 发动机被拆开改型，然后再组装起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The original plan had undergone fairly extensive modifications. 原计划已经作了相当大的修改。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 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。

11 punctured   

v.在（某物）上穿孔( puncture的过去式和过去分词 )；刺穿（某物）；削弱（某人的傲气、信心等）；泄某人的气

参考例句：

• Some glass on the road punctured my new tyre. 路上的玻璃刺破了我的新轮胎。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A nail on the road punctured the tyre. 路上的钉子把车胎戳穿了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

13 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

14 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。