SpaceX首次涉足军事 为国防部发射侦察卫星

 　　SpaceX, the aerospace¹ company founded by Elon Musk², launched a top-secret spy satellite for the US Department of Defense³ early last Monday morning.

　　上周一清晨，埃隆·马斯克创立的航天公司SpaceX为美国国防部发射了一颗高度机密的侦察卫星。

　　The two-stage Falcon⁴ 9 rocket, carrying the NROL-76 satellite, lifted off at 7:15 am from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

　　当地时间7时15分，二级火箭猎鹰9号搭载卫星NROL-76，从佛罗里达州肯尼迪航天中心的39A发射复合体发射升空。

　　About 10 minutes later, the rocket's first stage landed at SpaceX's Landing Zone 1.

　　大约10分钟之后，该火箭的第一级在SpaceX公司的着陆一区安全着陆。

　　SpaceX首次涉足军事 为国防部发射侦察卫星

　　This launch has great symbolic⁵ significance for SpaceX, since it's the company's first mission for the Pentagon.

　　由于这是SpaceX为五角大楼执行的首个任务，此次发射对该公司具有重要的象征意义。

　　For years, the market for launching US military payloads was dominated by the United Launch Alliance, a joint⁶ venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing.

　　多年来，发射美国军方卫星的市场一直由洛克希德马丁和波音的合资公司美国联合发射联盟主导。

　　But SpaceX broke the monopoly in 2015, when the US Air Force certified⁷ its Falcon 9 rocket to launch national security space missions.

　　不过2015年，美国空军批准猎鹰9号火箭执行国家安全太空发射任务时，SpaceX打破了这一垄断。

　　Since then, the California-based company has also won two contracts to launch Global Positioning System satellites for the US Air Force.

　　自那之后，这家位于加利福尼亚的公司已经拿下了两笔为美国空军发射全球定位系统卫星的合同。

1 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

2 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。

5 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

6 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。

7 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。