2006年VOA标准英语-Space Station Spreads Its New Solar Wings

By David McAlary
Washington
14 September 2006

The International Space Station has spread a new pair of golden wings. They are solar panels that will double the amount of power available to the outpost. Unfurling them took longer than expected because of a computer software problem.

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In this image from NASA television, Space Shuttle Atlantis Commander Brent Jett, left, and pilot Chris Ferguson are shown in aft flight deck of shuttle,  Sept. 14, 2006

The successful deployment¹ of the solar arrays completes the main task of the current visit of the U.S. shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station. They are the first new hardware on the outpost since the shuttle Columbia accident in 2003 halted construction missions.

Space station manager Mike Suffredini says he is ecstatic after the solar panel rollout.

"This flight has gone better than my wildest dreams anyway. We're well on our way to returning to assembly," he said.

The solar energy panels came up on Atlantis attached to a 17-ton girder, which spacewalking astronauts spent two days this week attaching to the orbiting research outpost.

Before they were spread, the thin mylar plastic panels were collapsed² in accordion³ folds. The rollout was delayed three hours because flight controllers had difficulty with computer software that commands the solar arrays to swivel and follow the sun.

When they overcame that problem, the Atlantis crew started the machinery⁴ that slowly unfurled them to their full length of nearly 80 meters. According to the plan, the panels were first warmed in the sun, then expanded only half way to allow them to bask⁵ in the sun 30 minutes more before the final extension. Mission planners wanted the heat to prevent the mylar from sticking together and creating unnecessary tension on the thin material, as occurred with the first pair of solar panels in 2000. 

Mike Suffredini praised the shuttle flight and ground crews for their performance on this mission.

"These guys made it look really easy, and this was a very, very difficult flight. So I guess I've got to say I couldn't ask for a better restart to assembly," he said.

The solar panels are the second of four planned arrays that will support more research laboratories, living quarters, and other equipment to be added to the space station before the shuttle fleet is retired⁶ in 2010. U.S. mission control has confirmed that they are working.

Two Atlantis astronauts will conduct the third and final spacewalk of the mission Friday to continue preparing the arrays for operation. They will also perform other maintenance chores, such as changing a space station antenna⁷ that has deteriorated⁸ in the harsh space environment and installing a heat shield over another antenna.

The shuttle is scheduled to undock from the space station Sunday and land on Earth Wednesday.  In between, the next space station crew arrives on a Russian Soyuz rocket to begin their six-month tour of duty.  

1 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。

2 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

3 accordion   

n.手风琴；adj.可折叠的

参考例句：

• The accordion music in the film isn't very beautiful.这部影片中的手风琴音乐不是很好。
• The accordion music reminds me of my boyhood.这手风琴的乐声让我回忆起了我的少年时代。

4 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

5 bask   

vt.取暖，晒太阳，沐浴于

参考例句：

• Turtles like to bask in the sun.海龟喜欢曝于阳光中。
• In winter afternoons,he likes to bask in the sun in his courtyard.冬日的午后，他喜欢坐在院子晒太阳。

6 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。

7 antenna   

n.触角，触须；天线

参考例句：

• The workman fixed the antenna to the roof of the house.工人把天线固定在房顶上。
• In our village, there is an antenna on every roof for receiving TV signals.在我们村里，每家房顶上都有天线接收电视信号。

8 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。