NASA Announces Next Generation Spacecraft

     NASA has unveiled plans for its next-generation, post-Shuttle spacecraft to carry humans into earth orbit and beyond.  The state-of-the-art, four-astronaut capsule, called the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle or MPCV, builds on earlier designs for the Orion crew capsule. And the versatile¹ new craft features an enhanced emphasis on crew safety.

    NASA Associate Administrator² Douglas Cooke says it made sense to stick with Orion, a survivor³ of the recently-cancelled Constellation⁴ program that had aimed to return astronauts to the moon.

    “We’ve made a lot of progress on Orion. We have a ground test article that is a full structure with a lot of the systems actually installed into it for testing.  So, it’s well down the road.  It answers the requirements and represents a significant investment in that path at this point," he said.

    Lockheed MartinThe Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle being assembled and tested at Lockheed Martin's Vertical⁵ Testing Facility in Colorado.

    The Obama Administration cancelled the Constellation program in 2010 because it was behind schedule and over budget. Tariq Malik is managing editor of Space.com, an online newsletter.  He says that while it could be used as a replacement⁶ for the retiring Space Shuttle fleet, that is not NASA’s intent.  Rather, Malik says, the redesigned capsule is the space agency’s all-purpose vehicle for a variety of missions beyond earth’s orbit.

    “Visiting satellites if it’s needed.  It’s going to have a spacewalk capability⁷, which the original Orion capsule as it was prior to this announcement, would not have. And then they would be able to use it as the core vehicle, the transfer vehicle for deep space missions.  You know you would attach a module⁸ or some other kind of addition on to it if they are going to be up in space for extended excursions, and then they use it as their truck," he said.

    The craft is designed for missions of 21 days. NASA’s Douglas Cooke says it will also be able to rendezvous⁹ with another, larger spaceship to continue its voyage to the Moon, Mars or beyond. “This vehicle would be just maintained in a more dormant¹⁰ mode, while the crew would be in another [spacecraft] which would have the longer term consumables and capabilities¹¹ to support them," he said.

    The capsule would then be on-call to take astronauts back to earth.

    The craft is also many times safer than the space shuttle.  Tarik Malik says the launch-abort system - rockets that would propel the capsule away from a malfunctioning¹² launcher -- proved successful in tests last year in the Mojave Desert.  “It was flawless. And so they know that it works and they can build that into their system for whatever they need in terms of the rocket as well," he said.

    While a lot of work remains¹³ to build an integrated system, including a rocket to launch the crew vehicle, Malik is encouraged that NASA and its aerospace¹⁴ industry partners are on the right course, with the goal of keeping America’s manned space program moving forward. “And they can use everything that they learned in the last five years in the previous program and re-purpose what they need to make that goal," he said.

    NASA hopes to launch the new craft into Earth orbit within the next five years.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 versatile   

adj.通用的，万用的；多才多艺的，多方面的

参考例句：

• A versatile person is often good at a number of different things.多才多艺的人通常擅长许多种不同的事情。
• He had been one of the game's most versatile athletes.他是这项运动中技术最全面的运动员之一。

2 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

3 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

4 constellation   

n.星座n.灿烂的一群

参考例句：

• A constellation is a pattern of stars as seen from the earth. 一个星座只是从地球上看到的某些恒星的一种样子。
• The Big Dipper is not by itself a constellation. 北斗七星本身不是一个星座。

5 vertical   

adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The northern side of the mountain is almost vertical.这座山的北坡几乎是垂直的。
• Vertical air motions are not measured by this system.垂直气流的运动不用这种系统来测量。

6 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

7 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

8 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。

9 rendezvous   

n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇

参考例句：

• She made the rendezvous with only minutes to spare.她还差几分钟时才来赴约。
• I have a rendezvous with Peter at a restaurant on the harbour.我和彼得在海港的一个餐馆有个约会。

10 dormant   

adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的

参考例句：

• Many animals are in a dormant state during winter.在冬天许多动物都处于睡眠状态。
• This dormant volcano suddenly fired up.这座休眠火山突然爆发了。

11 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

12 malfunctioning   

出故障

参考例句：

• But something was malfunctioning in the equipment due to human error. 但由于人为的错误，设备发生故障了。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• Choke coils are useful for prevention of malfunctioning electronic equipment. 扼流圈对于防止电器设备的故障很有帮助。 来自互联网

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 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。