科技英语作业
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2020年07月30日 16:53
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Part One: Reading Comprehension
Can a Small Start-up Build America’s Next Spaceship?
by Michael Belfiore
On August 3, a test, conducted by a company called Transformational Space Corporation, or t/Space, could signal a whole new direction for NASA, one with the potential to put the agency’s manned space program back on track more quickly and affordably than its primary plan can do alone. NASA grounded its space-shuttle fleet in July following Discovery’s near miss with foam insulation flying off its external fuel tank. Discovery’s launch this year was to be NASA’s triumphant return to flight after the Columbia disaster. Instead it seemed to highlight, yet again, the shuttle’s numerous design flaws and NASA’s chronic inability to fix them.
It is unclear when the shuttles will launch again, but ultimately NASA plans to replace the system with a multibillion-dollar craft called Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), which will travel to the moon as well as to the low-Earth-orbit domain of the shuttle. But what many think NASA needs is something it has never had: a no-frills, backup spaceship it could field quickly to keep U.S. astronauts flying to the International Space Station (ISS) or on other low-Earth-orbit mission if a primary system encountered trouble in development or operation.
Enter t/Space, which has been pushing exactly that strategy and which—in light of the trouble with Discovery’s mission this summer and a sudden shift in NASA’s previous all-eggs-in-one-basket approach to manned spaceflight—is now emerging as a dark horse near-term candidate to replace the shuttle.
In the spring of 2004, t/Space was little more than two guys with a vision of economical spaceflight. But founders David Gump and Gary Hudson proposed a radical idea to NASA: Use contracts that NASA was offering for mere paper studies on next-generation spaceships to instead build actual, working hardware. In Gump’s plan, incremental progress toward a fully functional vehicle would be rewarded with additional funding, allowing the project to move forward. “You’re crazy,” Hudson has told Gump when the latter first broached the idea.
Nevertheless, Gump had sensed that change was in the air at the beleaguered space agency. The traditional NASA system of awarding expensive “cost-plus” contracts to a few big aerospace firms for its development work—contracts that stick the space agency with the bill even when the technologies prove unsuccessful—was showing cracks, and Gump saw an opening for himself and Hudson.
Both men were veterans of space start-ups. They knew how to put together a good proposal, but Hudson still didn’t think much of their chances at NASA. In fact, he just sent in the proposal and assumed that would be the end of it.
He didn’t count on
Michael Lembeck, head of the Requirements Division of NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. The directorate was tasked with developing systems both for sustaining the ISS and returning to the moon, and Lembeck and his colleagues had been looking for ways to start working with entrepreneurs with fresh ideas as well as the usual big aerospace contractors. T/Space fit the bill perfectly. He and Exploration Systems chief engineer Garry Lyles sent Hudson and Gump’s proposal straight to Graig Steidle, head of the Directorate, and talked him into signing off on an initial $$3-million study, with an option for another $$3 million that was later also approved. “Within Exploration Systems, we have been pushing for new, innovative ideas,” Lembeck says, “and we cut t/Space loose to get out of the realm of theory and into the practical.”
Some of what t/Space built with its $$6 million in initial funding dominated an exhibit hall in Washington, D.C., at this past spring’s International Space Development Conference. A full-scale mock-up of the company’s proposed Crew Transfer Vehicle, or CXV, filled the room, crowding other exhibitors to the edges. Attendees climbed through a rear hatch（舱口） for tours guided by former NASA astronaut Jim Voss.
The CXV comprises three systems: the crew capsule; a two-stage booster rocket powered by propane and liquid oxygen; and a carrier plane the size of a Boeing 747, called, in typically understated t/Space fashion, the Very Large Aircraft (VLA), which will haul the capsule and the attached rocket to a launch altitude of up to 50,000 feet. The capsule’s structural components and the VLA are to be built by entrepreneur and designer Burt Rutan’s company Scaled Composites. The booster, QuickReach, will be a large version of those under development for the Department of Defense by Hudson’s AirLaunch. Neither of the rocket’s stages is reusable, but after parachuting to a nose-first landing in any convenient large body of water, the capsule will be refitted and flown again.
The CXV has controls for a single pilot and seating for up to three additional crew members. It has compartments for supplies and equipment, and zero-G commode. Innovative fabric seats, can take loads of up to eight Gs, are as comfortable as hammocks, and can be easily stowed to create more space after the craft reaches orbit. The seat have one other unique design feature: They swivel 180 degrees. That’s because the capsule will leave the atmosphere and reenter it nose-first, using a modernized ceramic/silicone-tile heat-shielding system. The swiveling seats will allow the crew to take the G-forces of both launch and reentry in the most comfortable way—through their chests.
Gump was also on hand at the conference to show off the technology and explain his unconventional development strategy. “What we’re proposing to NASA,” Gump said, “is a type of incremental side bet” to the big aerospace eff
ort to build America’s next spaceship—that is, a scaled-down backup and supplement to the CEV. T/Space will just quietly build a backup machine more quickly and at a fraction of the cost. “We are trying hard not to claim to be a space-shuttle replacement; we are a Soyuz replacement,” Gump said, “a simple craft to ferry people up and back rather than a self-propelled space station like the shuttle.”
A series of three test flights put key elements of the CXV launch process through their paces. Scaled Composites pilot Chuck Coleman took a Rutan-designed research jet called Proteus up to altitude with a 23-percent-scale mock-up of the capsule and booster hooked to its belly. When released, the mock-up deployed a drogue parachute and tipped its tail toward the ground as it dropped. The drogue slowed the mock-up’s rotation to the vertical and stabilized it until it fell, tail-first, perfectly straight. The actual CXV would have fired its first-stage motor at this point, powering through the upper atmosphere behind the carrier craft and into space. The mock-up simply plummeted, as planned, until it slammed into the desert floor with a puff of dust. But it proved the viability of a new method for air-launching spacecraft that was developed under the direction of t/Space engineer Marti Sarigul-Klijin, a former Navy test pilot.
In a conventional air launch, the rocket separates from the mother ship and fires while still horizontal, pitching up under full power. But the launch loads are more severe, requiring heavier structures, and the wings add weight. Sarigul Klijin’s Trapeze-Lanyard（悬吊发射法）to the Air Drop, or t/LAD, rotates the ship to the vertical by keeping its nose attached to the carrier plane with a tether and a trapeze-like mechanism for a second after the drop.
Raymond Sedwich, a consultant to NASA on spacecraft design, think t/Space has the right stuff because their capsule approach is based on heritage and simplicity. Sedwick also likes t/Space’s air launch scenario because it allows NASA to move the launch point above or around bad weather or to pursue a more ideal launch trajectory, and it gives astronauts a fighting chance to survive a rocket misfire or other launch emergency—they’ll just separate the capsule from the booster and land with their parachutes as they would for reentry.
Getting things to pan out may be less dependent on overcoming the technical challenges, which t/Space seems to have well in hand, than on a far more capricious endeavor: winning continued support from NASA. But the company’s prospects brightened considerably this summer, when, without fanfare or formal announcement, NASA created a set of programs within Exploration Systems called Innovative Procurements. Program executive Brant Sponberg explains that the direction has come directly from NASA chief Michael Griffin to “try to bring new actors into what we do,” to open NASA’s manned space program to entrep
reneurs, who will be paid fixed fees for building working hardware. Whereas companies like t/Space were once pursuing contracts to design and build NASA-owned-and-operated vehicles, they now have the option of being the owners and operators themselves. “The idea,” Sponberg says, “is we can enter into a contract where we pay for milestones, so someone has to do such-and-such demonstration or such-and-such test. They have to do it on their own nickel, but if they’re successful, then we’ll pay for the milestone. Ultimately, the last milestone is getting to orbit or doing the final demonstration.”
Gump estimates that t/Space needs $$500 million to complete its CXV by 2009 in a cost-conscious program. That’s about what a single space-shuttle launch costs, and it’s a bargain. The company has already accomplished a lot on just its first $$6 million.
To take the next step, t/Space will have to win more money from NASA—a good bet, given the space agency’s new direction—and also attract it from private investors. One investor in particular has a pressing need for a commercial orbital spaceship: Robert Bigelow. Bigelow says he’s prepared to buy an orbital spaceship and that he’s started talks with several companies, although he won’t yet say whether he favors t/Space.
Gump says t/Space will always be “commercial to our core” and that it will pursue private space-tourism flights as aggressively as it does governmental work. But as NASA struggles under a mandate from President Bush to keep the space shuttles on life support until 2010, complete the half-built International Space Station, and somehow send people back to the moon and then on to Mars at the same time—all without significant additional funding from Congress—it faces a hard road. T/Space just might provide a solution to some of its problems.
I. Multiple Choice (2*10=20)
Directions: Choose the best answer for each item.
1. NASA stopped its space-shuttle fleet in July because ________.
A. NASA has not yet recovered from the Columbia disaster
B. NASA gave its staff annual leave after Discovery’s launch
C. NASA realized the shuttle’s design flaws
D. NASA has been doing the research on the foam insulation problem
2. Many think that at present what NASA needs is _______.
A. A multibillion-dollar craft called the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV)
B. a basic but not expensive spaceship carrying out urgent mission in space
C. the cooperation with all companies conducting the research on the CEV
D. to hire the crack mechanics to make necessary repairs on used space shuttles
3. NASA will make progress payments but withhold a portion of the funding until _____.
A. the crew vehicle successfully reaches orbit
B. the mock-up of the crew vehicle is built
C. an innovation crew solution is obtained
D. the communications satellite is working in orbit
4. In the sentence “The tradition NASA system of awarding expensive ‘cost
-plus’ contracts to a few big aerospace firms for its development work—contracts that stick the space agency with the bill even when the technologies prove unsuccessful—was showing cracks, and Gump saw an opening for himself and Hudson”, the underlined word “cracks” means_________.
A. weakness B. hits C. gaps D. breaks
5. The CXV designed by t/Space will carry a crew to _________.
A. ISS and SpaceShipOne
B. low-Earth-orbit missions only
C. Mars and the moon
D. ISS and other orbital destinations
6. In the sentence “Sedwick also likes t/Space’s air launch scenario because it allows NASA to move the launch point above or around bad weather or to pursue a more ideal launch trajectory, and it gives astronauts a fighting chance to survive a rocket misfire or other launch emergency”, the underlined word “scenario” means________.
A. code B. scheme C. mode D. situation
7. The QuickRearch is also a two-stage booster rocket using______.
A. complex turbopump machinery
B. high-pressure gas bottles
C. high-pressure gas generators
D. propane and liquid oxygen
8. The innovative crew seat in the CXV _________.
A. can withstand more than 10 Gs
B. weighs 10% more than the Space Shuttle crew seat
C. rotates 180 degrees for both launch and reentry
D. is designed by the former astronauts
9. T/Space’s ______ was validated after a series of test flights were conducted.
A. parachute landing system
B. self-propelled space station
C. Very Large Aircraft (VLA)
D. full-scale mock-up of CXV
10. Besides working for NASA, t/Space attaches great importance to _______.
A. private space tourism
B. cooperating with Bigelow Aerospace
C. hiring more experienced astronomers
D. conducting more test flights
II. Blank Filling (2*10=20)
Directions: Filling in the blanks with words or phrases given below.
A. vapor pressurization B. carrier aircraft C. vertical D. trajectory
E. vectoring control F. innovation G. booster H. parachute
I. ascent dynamic pressure J. Trapeze-Lanyard Air Drop
T/Space has discovered a unique air-drop trajectory for a booster that crosses behind the carrier aircraft. Typically, a launch vehicle drops below the 11 and then re-crosses in front of it. Vehicles such as the X-15, the Pegasus rocket, and SpaceShipOne have used this forward crossing 12 . The t/Space aft-crossing trajectory is implemented via a new launch method, called 13 (t/LAD). This 14 was primarily developed by Dr. Marti Sarigul-Klijin, program manager for the t/Space air launch test program.
The t/LAD mechanism holds on to the nose of the CXV briefly after the 15 is released, starting it rotating into a 16 position. The 17 is used to slow the rate of rotation. A t/Space launch eliminates the need for wings or fins on the rocket, greatly reduces 18 and rocket e
ngine thrust 19 , and allows the use of a simple and very safe 20 (VAPAK) engine cycle for the launch vehicle.
III. Cloze (1*20=20)
Direction: Choose the best answer for each blank of the following passage.
The t/Space CXV has the same shape as the Corona film-return capsules used in the last century by the intelligence community. The blunt shape 21 the thermal extremes caused by the shape edges of 22 vehicles.
The CXV 23 will be covered with two layers of low-cost ablative SIRCA 24 (Silicone Impregnated Refractory Ceramic Ablator). 25 by the NASA Ames Research Center, SIRCA 26 of a fibrous silica substrate impregnated with silicone. Each SIRCA layer will 27 from 0.75 inch thick on the forward dome to 0.375 inch 28 on the cone. The 29 of each layer will be offset to prevent burn 30 .
The 31 layer will be 32 robust to protect the capsule through several 33 . __34 , the outer layer can be 35 with fresh tiles.
Mars Pathfinder successfully 36 on Mars on July 4, 1997, using a SIRCA-covered back interface plate heat 37 . The recent Mars Exploration Rovers also 38 SIRCA on their backshell interface plates.
__39 , SIRCA was selected for use on the X-34, and was certified for 25 flights __40__ arc-jet testing.
21. A. reduces B. increases C. equals D. rejects
22. A. winging B. winged C. winger D. wing
23. A. interior B. exterior C. inferior D. superior
24. A. debris B. glass C. block D. tile
25. A. Developing B. Developed C. Applying D. Applied
26. A. consists B. composes C. constitutes D. comprises
27. A. include B. exclude C. limit D. range
28. A. thick B. thin C. high D. low
29. A. seams B. gaps C. cracks D. lines
30. A. through B. away C. down D. up
31. A. inner B. outer C. innate D. explicit
32. A. proficiently B. effectively C. sufficiently D. efficiently
33. A. entries B. entrances C. reentries D. exists
34. A. Periodically B. Incidentally C. Consequently D. Accidentally
35. A. regarded B. repeated C. reset D. replaced
36. A. launched B. landed C. touched D. dropped
37. A. shield B. cover C. tile D. layer
38. A. deployed B. employed C. exploited D. explored
39. A. In a word B. In short C. In addition D. In line with
40. A. on B. for C. by D. via
Part Two: Translation
IV. Word Translation (1*10=10)
41. foam insulation 42. heat-shielding system
43. drogue parachute 44. advanced cancer
45. instant photography 46. contrast agent