7-12 美国航空航天局成功试飞超高音速喷气机

NASA Successfully Tests Hypersonic¹ Jet

 

Three years after its first test flight ended in an explosion, NASA on March 27 successfully launched an experimental jet that the agency believes reached a record-setting speed of about 5,000 mph.

 

The unpiloted X-43A made an 11-second rocket boosted flight, then went through some twists and turns during a six-minute glide¹ before plunging² into the Pacific Ocean about 400 miles off the California coast.

 

Flight engineer Lawrence Huebner said preliminary data indicated the needle-nosed jet reached a maximum speed of slightly over seven times the speed of sound, or about 5,000 mph, after a rocket boosted it to about 3,500 mph. Huebner said it was the first time an “ air-breathing” jet had ever traveled so fast. The rocket powered X-15 reached Mach² 6.7 in 1967.

 

NASA built the X-43A under a ＄ 250 million program to develop and test an exotic type of engine called a supersonic-combustion³³ ramjet⁴, or scramjet. In theory, the air-breathing engine could propel an airplane to speeds of Mach 7 or faster, enabling around-the-world flights that would take several hours. The Department of Defense⁴ also is working on the technology, which is eyeing for use in bombers⁵ that quickly could reach targets anywhere on the globe.

 

A third X-43A could fly as early as the fall.

 

注释：

1. hypersonic [7haipE(:)5sCnik] a.  超高音速的(指超过音速5倍以上的)

2. Mach [mB:k] (number) n.  马赫(数)，表示物体在介质(如空气)中的移动速度与音速之比，因此Mach6.7相当于音速的6.7倍

3. combustion [kEm5bQstFEn] n.  燃烧

4. ramjet [5rAmdVet] (engine) [空] 冲压式喷气发动机

 

 

美国航空航天局成功试飞超高音速喷气机

 

3月27日，美国航空航天局成功发射了一架试验喷气机，该机构认为该机的时速达到了创纪录的5000英里左右。这是美国航空航天局在3年前首次试飞以爆炸结束后的再度尝试。

这一型号为X43A的无人驾驶飞机在11秒的火箭助推飞行之后，进行了6分钟的滑翔，并伴随着一些曲线前进和转弯动作，最后在距加利福尼亚海岸约400英里的太平洋海域溅落。

飞行工程师劳伦斯·许布纳说，初步数据显示，在火箭将其时速推进到大约3500英里之后，这一鼻端呈针状的喷气机的极速稍稍超过了7倍音速，或者说达到了5000英里/小时左右。许布纳说，这是采用“喷气”技术的喷气机首次达到如此高的速度。1967年，以火箭为推进动力的X15曾达到6.7马赫。

美国航空航天局为建造X43A耗资2.5亿美元，用于开发和测试一种新型的引擎，叫做超音速燃烧冲压式喷气引擎(简称scramjet)。从理论上讲，这种喷气引擎可以将飞机速度推进到7马赫甚至更快，使飞机能在数小时内完成环球飞行。目前，美国国防部也在研究这一技术，目的是研制出能迅速抵达全球任何地点的轰炸机。

第三架X43A最早可望在今年秋季试飞。

 

1 glide   

n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝

参考例句：

• We stood in silence watching the snake glide effortlessly.我们噤若寒蝉地站着，眼看那条蛇逍遥自在地游来游去。
• So graceful was the ballerina that she just seemed to glide.那芭蕾舞女演员翩跹起舞，宛如滑翔。

2 plunging   

adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发，生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 combustion   

n.燃烧；氧化；骚动

参考例句：

• We might be tempted to think of combustion.我们也许会联想到氧化。
• The smoke formed by their combustion is negligible.由它燃烧所生成的烟是可忽略的。

4 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。

5 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》