VOA慢速英语2012 EXPLORATIONS - Race to the Moon: The Days of Project Gemini

 

EXPLORATIONS - Race to the Moon: The Days of Project Gemini

EXPLORATIONS -- a program in Special English by the Voice of America.

(MUSIC)

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Today, Harry¹ Monroe and Tony Riggs report about America's second manned space program, Gemini. Two astronauts flew on each flight. Gemini's purpose was to bring the United States closer to its goal of landing² astronauts on the moon.

(MUSIC)

TONY RIGGS: The astronauts of America's first manned program, Project Mercury³, made six successful flights. They proved that people could survive the hostile⁴ environment of space.

In nineteen sixty-five America's space agency⁵, NASA, was ready to begin its second manned program. NASA called it Gemini. The program was named for the two stars Castor and Pollux in the star group Gemini. The Gemini program would send two astronauts at a time into space.

Gemini would test the men's ability to live and work in space. Gemini, it was hoped, would move America closer to its goal of landing astronauts on the moon.

HARRY MONROE: The first Gemini spacecraft would carry astronauts Virgil Grissom and John Young. Its Titan rocket could lift three times as much weight into space as the Atlas⁶ rocket used for the Mercury flights. The launch⁷ took place without a problem on March twenty-third, nineteen sixty-five.

Grissom and Young orbited⁹ the Earth only three times. But they did something that the Mercury astronauts had not been able to do. They changed their orbit⁸ while in space. The Gemini astronauts were developing the control that would be needed for a trip to the moon.

Less than two months later, James McDivitt and Ed White went into space on the second Gemini flight. Their flight included several experiments. But one seemed almost unbelievable -- a space walk.

Ed White would leave the protection of the spacecraft and move out into the unknown emptiness of space.

TONY RIGGS: When it was time for him to leave the spacecraft, this is what the world heard: "Roger, Flight, we're GO." Those were the words from the flight director on the ground.

Then a voice came down from space. "He is ready to leave right now," called McDivitt. The astronauts had removed all air pressure from the spacecraft. Only their special space clothing would provide the air pressure they needed to stay alive.

HARRY MONROE: Slowly, Ed White moved out the open door. He was tied to the spacecraft by a long rope. He floated out and away from the spacecraft. Millions of people listened as he said: "This is the greatest experience. I am looking down right now. And it looks like we are coming up on the coast of California."

At space agency headquarters¹⁰, doctors studied his medical condition as the information was being sent back to Earth. They said that being outside the spacecraft did not seem to affect him.

TONY RIGGS: It was time for Ed White to end his space walk. James McDivitt had to beg him to return. White was having a wonderful time. He wanted to stay out longer. Finally, he climbed back inside. He had floated around in the emptiness of space for twenty-one minutes.

Then a problem developed. The door of the spacecraft refused to shut tightly¹¹. The astronauts' clothing protected them during the flight. But what would happen during re-entry? James McDivitt had to try to repair the door.

(MUSIC)

HARRY MONROE: Scientists always knew it would not be easy for humans to work in the weightlessness of space. Each time an astronaut puts pressure in one direction, their body moves in the opposite direction. There is no gravity to hold them in place.

NASA scientists had tried to solve the problem by designing new tools for use in space. McDivitt tried one of the new tools. It worked. He was able to repair the broken door so it shut tightly.

TONY RIGGS: Solving this problem, however, created a new one. The astronauts had planned to re-open the door during their four-day flight. They had planned to throw away materials they no longer needed, including uneaten food. But now they decided¹² it would not be wise to re-open the door.

Soon, the inside of the spacecraft began to fill up with all kinds of junk. McDivitt and White had to learn to sleep and work as things floated around their heads.

HARRY MONROE: On the sixty-second orbit, the astronauts prepared to return to Earth. They fired the spacecraft's control rockets. The spacecraft slowed and began to re-enter the atmosphere. It landed safely in the Atlantic Ocean.

Rescue helicopters reached McDivitt and White within seven minutes of landing. The two American astronauts were in excellent condition. They had made the first space walk. And they had proved that people could both live and work in space.

(MUSIC)

TONY RIGGS: The next Gemini launch was planned for just two months later. Gordon Cooper and Charles Conrad were to spend a record eight days in space.

Soon after the launch, Cooper and Conrad noted¹³ a problem that almost ended their flight early. They discovered a drop in pressure in the fuel cells that supplied electricity. These fuel cells powered the communications and computer systems. And they were very important to the environmental control systems in the spacecraft.

HARRY MONROE: Gemini's flight director decided to reduce the use of power on the spacecraft, instead of ending the flight early. Cooper and Conrad turned off the radar¹⁴, radio, computer and even some environmental control systems. The spacecraft floated silently through space.

Suddenly the power began to increase. The astronauts turned the systems back on. By the third day in orbit, all was normal again.

Then another problem developed with the same fuel cells. The cells created electricity by mixing hydrogen¹⁵ with oxygen. The process also produced some water. But the fuel cells were producing too much water. Containers that held the water were filling up too fast.

NASA was worried that the extra water could destroy the power supply needed for the spacecraft's return to Earth. So, Cooper and Conrad again turned off most of the power in the spacecraft.

TONY RIGGS: Again, the spacecraft floated almost silently above the Earth. Communications were few. Cooper and Conrad could not do any of the planned experiments. But each day, they set another record for surviving in space.

Eight days after their launch, Cooper and Conrad fired the control rockets and re-entered the atmosphere. They had circled the Earth one hundred twenty times. They had seen one hundred twenty sunrises and sunsets. They had traveled more than five million kilometers. They had proved that people could live and work in space for the time it would take to get to the moon and back.

(MUSIC)

HARRY MONROE: Now, it was time for Gemini Six to make its mark in history. Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford were the astronauts. Schirra had been the pilot on an almost perfect Mercury flight three years before. Stafford was from the second group of American astronauts.

They were to make the first effort at a space chase¹⁶. The two men would chase another object orbiting¹⁷ Earth, a satellite. They would try to move their spacecraft as close as possible to the satellite. This move had to be successful before any moon landing could be attempted.

But things did not go as planned. The satellite that Schirra and Stafford were supposed to chase apparently¹⁸ exploded after it was launched¹⁹. NASA postponed²⁰ the flight of Gemini Six.

TONY RIGGS: Space agency officials had to find the reason for the failure of the target satellite. That would take valuable time. So, they decided to launch the next flight, Gemini Seven, instead of waiting.

The astronauts for that flight were Frank²¹ Borman and James Lovell. They planned to set another record -- fourteen days in space. It would be the longest, most difficult flight yet. 

Then NASA considered another plan.

There was nothing wrong with the Gemini Six spacecraft. So, NASA announced that Gemini Seven would lift off on December third, nineteen sixty-five. Then, if everything else was ready, Gemini Six would be launched a few days later. It would attempt to meet in space with the orbiting Gemini Seven.

HARRY MONROE: NASA quickly added a warning to its plan. There was less than a fifty percent chance of success. But Americans were hopeful. If the plan succeeded, it would be the greatest space act since manned flights began.

We will continue our story of America's Gemini space program next week.

(MUSIC)

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: This VOA Special English program, EXPLORATIONS, was written by Marilyn Rice Christiano. Your narrators were Tony Riggs and Harry Monroe. This is Shirley Griffith.

___

Editor's Note: Ed White was the United States' first spacewalker, on June 3, 1965. But the world's first spacewalker was Alexei Leonov of the Soviet²² Union, on March 18, 1965.

1 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

2 landing   

n.登陆；着陆；楼梯平台

参考例句：

• Owing to engine trouble,the plane had to make a forced landing.由于发动机出了毛病，飞机不得不进行迫降。
• When are we landing?我们什么时候着陆？

3 mercury   

n.汞，水银，水银柱

参考例句：

• The liquid we can see in thermometers is mercury.我们看到的温度计里的液体是水银。
• Mercury has a much greater density than water.水银的密度比水大得多。

4 hostile   

adj.不友好的，敌对的；敌方的，敌人的

参考例句：

• The local people are hostile to outsiders.当地人敌视外地人。
• Their hostile looks showed that he was unwelcome.他们怀敌意的表情说明他不受欢迎。

5 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

6 atlas   

n.地图册，图表集

参考例句：

• He reached down the atlas from the top shelf.他从书架顶层取下地图集。
• The atlas contains forty maps,including three of Great Britain.这本地图集有40幅地图，其中包括3幅英国地图。

7 launch   

vt.发动，推出；发射；n.发射，下水，投产

参考例句：

• The makers are about to launch out a new product.制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。
• Would it be wise to launch into this rough sea?在这样汹涌的大海中游泳明智吗？

8 orbit   

n.轨道；vt.使沿轨道运行；使进入轨道运行；vi.沿轨道运行，环行

参考例句：

• The space rocket was launched and went into orbit.宇宙火箭发射后进入轨道。
• We can draw the earth's orbit round the sun.我们可以画出地球绕太阳运行的轨迹。

9 orbited   

在…轨道上运行，环绕轨道运行( orbit的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A plane orbited over the landing field. 有一架飞机在机场上空盘旋。
• How many spacecraft have orbited the moon? 有多少艘太空船已经绕月球轨道运行过？

10 headquarters   

n.司令部，指挥部；总部，总店

参考例句：

• Several great guns from the headquarters are coming to see us today.总部的几个大人物今天要来看我们。
• The bank has its headquarters in Pairs.这家银行的总行在巴黎。

11 tightly   

adv.紧紧地，坚固地，牢固地

参考例句：

• My child holds onto my hand tightly while we cross the street.横穿马路时，孩子紧拉着我的手不放。
• The crowd pressed together so tightly that we could hardly breathe.人群挤在一起，我们几乎喘不过气来。

12 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

14 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

15 hydrogen   

n.氢元素，氢气

参考例句：

• Water is made up of atoms of hydrogen and oxygen.水由氢和氧的原子构成。
• A chemist can isolate the oxygen from the hydrogen in water.一个化学家能把水中的氧和氢分解。

16 chase   

vt.追逐，追赶，追求；n.追赶

参考例句：

• The police grabbed the robbers after a long chase.警察经过长距离追赶后逮住了抢劫犯。
• Would you chase me if I did?如果我逃开了，你会来追吗？

17 orbiting   

a.环绕的

参考例句：

• This orbiting telescope is the largest optical instrument in space. 这种轨道望远镜是宇宙中最大的光学仪器。 来自中级百科部分
• Let's pretend we' re on the spaceship orbiting round the earth ! 让我们假装是在沿轨道绕地球运转的宇宙飞船上！

18 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

19 launched   

v.发射( launch的过去式和过去分词 )；[计算机]开始（应用程序）；发动；开展（活动、计划等）

参考例句：

• He launched a bitter diatribe against the younger generation. 他对年轻一代发起了猛烈的抨击。
• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide. 这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。

20 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

21 frank   

adj.坦白的，直率的，真诚的

参考例句：

• A frank discussion can help to clear the air.坦率的谈论有助于消除隔阂。
• She is frank and outgoing.她很爽朗。

22 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。