1-13 国际太空站——人类的宇宙之家（在线收听）

Home in Space -- The International Space Station

In 1984 the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced a new program to establish a permanent space station, called Freedom. In 1994 the project was combined with the Russian Mir 2 project to produce the International Space Station (ISS).

The International Space Station is the largest and most complex international scientific project in history. And when it is complete just after the turn of the century, the station will represent a move of unprecedented scale off the home planet. Led by the United States, the International Space Station draws upon¹ the scientific and technological resources of 16 nations: Canada, Japan, Russia, 11 nations of the European Space Agency, Brazil, and the United States.

More than four times as large as the Russian Mir space station, the completed International Space Station will have a mass² of about 1,040,000 pounds. It will measure 356 feet across and 290 feet long, with almost an acre of solar panels³ to provide electrical power to six laboratories.

The station will be in an orbit with an altitude of 250 statute miles⁴ with an inclination of 51.6 degrees. This orbit allows the station to be reached by the launch vehicles⁵ of all the international partners to provide a robust capability for the delivery of crews and supplies. The orbit also provides excellent Earth observations with coverage of 85 percent of the globe and 95 percent of the population.

注释：

1.draw upon 利用；凭，靠

2.mass [mAs] n. [物]质量

3.solar panel 太阳电池板

4.statute mile 法定英里（=5280英尺，约合1.609公里）

5.launch vehicle （卫星等的）运载工具，运载火箭

国际太空站——人类的宇宙之家

　　1984年，美国国家航空和航天局宣布了一项新项目，即建立一个名为“自由”号的永久太空站。1994年，该项目与俄罗斯的“和平2”号项目合并，组建成国际太空站。

　　国际太空站是历史上规模最大、技术最复杂的一项国际科学项目。当它在21世纪初建成后，将象征人类从地球走向太空的一次空前的飞跃。国际太空站由美国领导，利用16个国家的科技资源，它们分别是加拿大、日本、俄罗斯、欧洲太空局的11个国家、巴西以及美国。

　　国际太空站比俄罗斯的“和平”号太空站大3倍多，建成后质量将达到104万磅，宽356英尺，长290英尺，有几乎一英亩大的太阳能电池板为6个实验室提供电能。

该太空站将定位在距地球250法定英里的规定轨道上，倾角为51.6度。这个轨道使太空站可以与所有国际合作伙伴的宇宙飞船进行对接，以增强运送宇航员和提供物资的能力。除此之外，这个轨道还使太空站能对地球上85％的地方、95％的人口进行清晰的观测。