U.S. Shuttle Discovery Takes Off
美国发现号太空梭升空
本新闻影音出处：新唐人电视台英语新闻
http://english.ntdtv.com/ntdtv_en/ns_na/2010-04-06/001657940124.html
【新闻关键字】
1. shatter: vt. 动摇，破坏
2. hauler: n. 搬运工
3. trio :n. 三个一组
4. outpost: n. 前哨阵地
5. spare: n. 储备的
6. gear: n. 装备、齿轮
The United States space shuttle Discovery is on the way to the international space station with seven astronauts aboard. It’s one of NASA’s final servicing missions.
美国发现号太空梭载着7名太空人，正在前往国际太空站途中。这是美国太空总署的太空梭最后几次的服务任务之一。
The shuttle took off at 6:21 Eastern Daylight Time, shattering the pre-dawn calm around the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
太空梭在美国东部白天时间的6:21起飞，震撼了黎明前宁静的佛州甘迺迪太空中心。
The shuttle is carrying an Italian-built cargo hauler filled with equipment, experiments, food and supplies, which are expected to last until September. It’s taken about 12 years to build the structure about 220 miles above the Earth.
太空梭携带一台意大利制的货物搬运机，其中装满了预期会用到九月的设备、实验器材、食物和补给品。这个国际太空站是花了12年，在地球上空约220哩处建造起的结构。
The U.S. plans to stop flying its trio of space shuttles after three more missions to stock the outpost with spare parts and gear that is too big or bulky to fit on other spaceships.
美国计划再进行三趟的补充太空前哨站过大而无法装载于其他太空船的备件与工具装备的任务后，停飞这一组三艘的太空梭。
The shuttles, which can carry about 50 tons to the station’s orbit, are being retired due to cost and safety concerns.
这些能载运大约50吨货物上太空站轨道的太空梭，因为成本和安全的因素考量，即将退休。
【新闻关键字】
1. debut :n. 首演
2. falcon : n. 猎鹰
3. demonstration :n. 展示
4. entrepreneur :n. 企业家
5. Capsule : n. 太空舱
6. Grant :v. 给予
NASA will then turn over cargo deliveries to two commercial firms that are privately held by both Space Exploration Technologies of California and Orbital Sciences Corporation of Virginia.
美国太空总署之后将转移货物递送业务给两家商业公司，这两家公司为加州的太空探测科技和维吉尼亚州的轨道科技公司所拥有。
Station partners Russia, Europe and Japan also have vessels that can haul cargo to the outpost.
太空站的合作伙伴俄罗斯、欧洲和日本，也有太空船可以运送货物到前哨国际太空站。
Crew transport is handled exclusively by Russia, which flies its three-person Soyuz capsules at a cost of US$51 million per seat.
船员的运输则全由俄罗斯安排，以三人座苏伊式太空艇载运，费用为每个座位美金5,100万。
The Obama administration is proposing to boost NASA’s budget by US$6 billion over five years to seed development of commercial space taxis in the U.S..
奥巴马政府计划调高美国太空总署预算至5年60亿美金，来培养美国境内商业太空计程车的发展。
Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, plans to debut its Falcon 9 rocket next month on a demonstration mission.
太空探测科技，或称为太空X，计划在下个月的展示任务中，首次亮相猎鹰九号火箭。
Founder and chief executive Elon Musk, a multimillionaire Internet entrepreneur, says it will take about three years to develop a launch escape system so SpaceX’s Dragon capsule can carry people.
创办人兼执行长艾隆‧马斯克，是一位网路企业亿万富翁，他说：这需要三年左右的时间来发展小艇逃生系统，以让太空X龙级太空艇可以载人。
Other firms, including Boeing and United Launch Alliance, are all working on space taxi development under NASA grants.
其他的公司，包含波音和联合发射联盟，都在美国太空总署的资助下发展太空计程车运输业务。
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