X-37B军用航天飞机发射升空

时间：2010-04-23 06:02:40

（单词翻译:单击）

A prototype spaceplane developed for the US military has been launched into orbit from Florida.

一架美国军用航天飞机在佛罗里达州发射升空。

The project could lead to the military
The project could lead to the military's first operational spaceplane

The X-37B, which has been likened to a scaled-down space shuttle, blasted off from Cape1 Canaveral Air Force Station at 0052 BST (1952 EDT).

The military vehicle is unpiloted（无人驾驶的） and will carry out the first autonomous2（自治的，自主的） re-entry and landing in the history of the US space programme.

The spacecraft can return experiments to Earth for inspection3 and analysis.

At 9m (29ft) -long, 4.5m (15ft), the reusable spaceplane is about one quarter the size of the shuttle, with a large engine mounted at the rear of the ship for orbit changing.

And while the space shuttle uses a fuel cell power system; the military vehicle is powered by a solar array and lithium-ion batteries.

The precise objectives and cost of the programme are secret. But the first few flights will allow officials to evaluate（鉴定，评估） the vehicle's performance and ensure components4 and systems work the way they are supposed to.

"The top priority technology demonstration5 on this first flight is the vehicle itself," Gary Payton, the US Air Force's deputy under secretary for space programs, told journalists on a teleconference（电话会议） this week.

"Getting it into orbit, getting the payload（有效负荷） bay doors open, the solar array（太阳电池板） deployed6, learning about on-orbit attitude control（姿态控制） and bringing it all back."

The X-37B was launched vertically7（垂直地） atop an Atlas8 V rocket. The Air Force (USAF) says the vehicle will be used to test advanced guidance, navigation and control, thermal9 protection systems, avionics（航空电子学） and high temperature structures and seals.

The Pentagon has not specified10 a duration for this mission, but the X-37B is designed to operate on orbit for up to 270 days: "In all honesty, we don't know when it's coming back for sure. It depends on the progress that we make with the on-orbit experiments, the on-orbit demonstrations," said Mr Payton.

Once the mission is complete, a command will be sent from the ground prompting the 5,000kg (11,000lb) spaceplane to fire its engine to re-enter the atmosphere.

It will then autonomously11 navigate12 its way to the 4.5km (15,000ft) -long primary runway at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The X-37B started life in 1999 as a US space agency programme, but Nasa handed the project over to the Pentagon in September 2004. As such, the Air Force is in a position to talk openly about the craft's design, but its purpose remains13 classified.

Dr Joan Johnson-Freese, chair of national security and decision making at the US Naval14 War College in Newport, Rhode Island, said the military would be waiting to see if this project yielded（产生） new capabilities15: "It might be at this point in time that [the US Air Force is] going to roll the dice16（掷骰子） and see if something good happens.

"If it does, they'll continue with it. Otherwise, this will be another one of those [experimental] projects that goes into a bin17 somewhere."


分享到：


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 cape ITEy6     
n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风
参考例句：
  • I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
  • She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。
2 autonomous DPyyv     
adj.自治的；独立的
参考例句：
  • They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
  • This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。
3 inspection y6TxG     
n.检查，审查，检阅
参考例句：
  • On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
  • The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。
4 components 4725dcf446a342f1473a8228e42dfa48     
（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分
参考例句：
  • the components of a machine 机器部件
  • Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。
5 demonstration 9waxo     
n.表明，示范，论证，示威
参考例句：
  • His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
  • He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。
6 deployed 4ceaf19fb3d0a70e329fcd3777bb05ea     
（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用
参考例句：
  • Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
  • The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。
7 vertically SfmzYG     
adv.垂直地
参考例句：
  • Line the pages for the graph both horizontally and vertically.在这几页上同时画上横线和竖线，以便制作图表。
  • The human brain is divided vertically down the middle into two hemispheres.人脑从中央垂直地分为两半球。
8 atlas vOCy5     
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。
9 thermal 8Guyc     
adj.热的，由热造成的；保暖的
参考例句：
  • They will build another thermal power station.他们要另外建一座热能发电站。
  • Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。
10 specified ZhezwZ     
adj.特定的
参考例句：
  • The architect specified oak for the wood trim. 那位建筑师指定用橡木做木饰条。
  • It is generated by some specified means. 这是由某些未加说明的方法产生的。
11 autonomously 7d7df118f987129bac059bd8fe8107ed     
adv. 自律地，自治地
参考例句：
  • To learn autonomously in the network environment is totally new to students. 基于网络环境下的自主学习对学生来说，是一种全新的学习方式。
  • The QC-RS can operate autonomously or by remote control. QC-RS能实现自动操作或通过遥控来操作。
12 navigate 4Gyxu     
v.航行，飞行；导航，领航
参考例句：
  • He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
  • Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。
13 remains 1kMzTy     
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 naval h1lyU     
adj.海军的，军舰的，船的
参考例句：
  • He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
  • The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。
15 capabilities f7b11037f2050959293aafb493b7653c     
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
16 dice iuyzh8     
n.骰子；vt.把（食物）切成小方块，冒险
参考例句：
  • They were playing dice.他们在玩掷骰子游戏。
  • A dice is a cube.骰子是立方体。
17 bin yR2yz     
n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件
参考例句：
  • He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
  • He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

©2005-2010英文阅读网