2006年VOA标准英语-Astronauts Perform Construction Work on Space S

By David McAlary
Washington
12 September 2006
 
The International Space Station has received a new pair of giant solar energy panels that will double the amount of power to the outpost.  Spacewalking astronauts have begun the task of connecting them to the outpost.

-------

The 17-ton girder holding the folded solar arrays arrived on the U.S. shuttle Atlantis Monday. On Tuesday, Canadian astronaut Steve MacLean used the station's robot arm to lower it into position so automated¹ bolts could lock it into place.

Soon after, astronauts Joe Tanner and Heidemarie Stephanyshyn-Piper left Atlantis' hatch on a spacewalk to hook up cables and lines to supply power, cooling and data to the unit. They also removed bolts, thermal² covers, and other items installed to protect it during the rigors³ of launch and travel to the station.

Mission Specialist Heidemarie Stefanysyn-Piper deploys⁴ solar array on truss segment that's being installed on International Space Station, Sept. 12, 2006  
  
Their work produced another piece of space trash when a bolt Tanner was working on sprang loose and flew away before he could grab it. He expressed concern that it might get into the mechanism⁵, but space station flight director John McCullough says it apparently⁶ floated into space safely away from the outpost.

"We're very confident it's not in the structure and it did go out," he said. "It doesn't have a large separation rate, it's not a big threat to anybody, and it's going in a direction that we don't have to worry about right now."

The work to make the solar wings operational continues with a second spacewalk on Wednesday (set to begin at 5:15 a.m. EDT). In an interview before Atlantis' launch Saturday, astronaut MacLean said that he and Dan Burbank will leave the orbiter to finish removing launch braces⁷ from a rotating joint⁸ that will automatically turn the solar panels toward the sun as the station orbits.

"What Dan and I will do will basically be to spend a lot of time around that solar array rotary⁹ joint making sure that it is ready so that that joint can move late on during the mission," he said.

The giant solar energy arrays are the first new equipment on the half-built space station since before the shuttle Columbia accident in 2003 halted construction missions. The arrays will power additional research laboratories and living quarters still to come.

When they are unfolded from their packing crates¹⁰ and fully¹¹ unfurled Thursday, they will stretch nearly 80 meters.

Joe Tanner, left, and Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper shown wearing oxygen masks in Quest air lock of International Space Station, Sept. 11, 2006, in preparation for Tuesday's space walk   
  
Mission officials have taken steps to help prevent the solar blankets, which are made of thin mylar plastic, from sticking together during deployment¹² the way another set did during installation six years ago. This is a particular worry, since they have been stuffed in their boxes since before the shuttle Columbia accident.

To overcome sticking, station flight controllers will aim the blankets at the sun to warm and relax them, unfurl them half way and warm them for 30 minutes more before the final extension. The unfolding mechanism will also use more force to separate the folds.

1 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

2 thermal   

adj.热的，由热造成的；保暖的

参考例句：

• They will build another thermal power station.他们要另外建一座热能发电站。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

3 rigors   

严格( rigor的名词复数 )； 严酷； 严密； （由惊吓或中毒等导致的身体）僵直

参考例句：

• The rigors of that lonely land need no further description. 生活在那个穷乡僻壤的困苦是无庸赘言的。
• You aren't ready for the rigors of industry. 你不适合干工业的艰苦工作了。

4 deploys   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的第三人称单数 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• It then deploys "decoy" programs designed to attract the virus. 然后，它释放“诱饵”去吸引病毒。
• But when that doesn't work, he deploys his secret defense mechanism. 但没有效果，它要施展绝密自卫武器了。

5 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

6 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。

7 braces   

n.吊带，背带；托架( brace的名词复数 )；箍子；括弧；（儿童）牙箍v.支住( brace的第三人称单数 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• The table is shaky because the braces are loose. 这张桌子摇摇晃晃，因为支架全松了。
• You don't need braces if you're wearing a belt! 要系腰带，就用不着吊带了。

8 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。

9 rotary   

adj.(运动等)旋转的；轮转的；转动的

参考例句：

• The central unit is a rotary drum.核心设备是一个旋转的滚筒。
• A rotary table helps to optimize the beam incidence angle.一张旋转的桌子有助于将光线影响之方式角最佳化。

10 crates   

n. 板条箱, 篓子, 旧汽车 vt. 装进纸条箱

参考例句：

• We were using crates as seats. 我们用大木箱作为座位。
• Thousands of crates compacted in a warehouse. 数以千计的板条箱堆放在仓库里。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

12 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。