The Space Shuttle
航天飞机 I-02 / 002

Space shuttles go back and forth between Earth and space. The first one flew on April 12, 1981. A space shuttle has four main parts. They are the orbiter, the fuel tank, and two rocket boosters.

The orbiter looks like an airplane. It carries the crew. A huge tank is attached to the orbiter. It holds fuel for the orbiter's engines. A rocket booster is on each side of the tank. These fire on lift-off. In two minutes, the rockets run out of fuel and fall off. Parachutes slow their drop to the sea. Then boats tow them to shore. Rockets can be used as many as 20 times. The big tank runs out of fuel in eight minutes. It falls and breaks apart over the sea. Now the orbiter enters its orbit.

There may be up to seven crew members on board the orbiter. They do tests. They might launch satellites. In 1999, a shuttle went up to fix the Hubble telescope. The Hubble is as big as a bus. The shuttle caught it. The telescope was held in the cargo bay. That's an open place like the back of a pickup truck. The crew worked out in space to make repairs. They wore space suits. They were attached to the shuttle by a long line. A robot arm put the Hubble back in orbit.

When it's time to come home, the orbiter's engines fire. This slows the shuttle, and it drops from orbit. Tiles protect the shuttle from heat caused by entering Earth's atmosphere. The shuttle then acts like an airplane. It glides to a landing on a runway.

Words and Phrases

space shuttle 航天飞机

orbiter [ˈɔ:bɪtə(r)] 名 轨道飞行器

fuel tank 燃料箱

rocket booster 火箭助推器

run out of 用完，耗尽

parachute [ˈpærəʃu:t] 名 降落伞

tow [təʊ] 动 拖，拉

orbit [ˈɔ:bɪt] 名 轨道

launch [lɔ:ntʃ] 动 发射

satellite [ˈsætəlaɪt] 名 卫星；人造卫星

Hubble telescope 哈勃望远镜

cargo bay 货舱

pickup truck 小型货车

robot arm 机械手臂

atmosphere [ˈætməsfɪə] 名 大气，大气层

glide [ɡlaɪd] 动（使）滑行，滑翔

runway [ˈrʌnweɪ] 名（机场的）跑道

Practice

1. When do the rocket boosters fire?

A. while the orbiter is circling Earth

B. right before landing

C. on lift-off

2. When does the orbiter enter its orbit?

A. after the big fuel tank falls to the sea

B. when the parachutes open

C. after a satellite is launched

3. When was the Hubble telescope held in the cargo bay?

A. before 1999

B. after the shuttle caught it

C. after a robot arm put it in orbit

4. When do the orbiter's engines fire?

A. when it's time to return to Earth

B. before it reaches orbit

C. when the crew works out in space

译文

航天飞机

航天飞机穿梭于地球和太空之间。航天飞机第一次发射是在1981年4月12日。一艘航天飞机主要由四部分组成：轨道飞行器、燃料箱和两个火箭助推器。

轨道飞行器看上去像一架飞机，它载着工作人员。巨大的燃料箱与轨道飞行器相连，里面装着轨道飞行器发动机所需要的燃料。火箭助推器在燃料箱的两侧，它们在起飞时点燃。火箭助推器在两分钟内将燃料用尽，并脱落。降落伞装置会让它们缓慢坠入大海，再由船只拖回海岸。火箭能够使用二十次。巨大的燃料箱在八分钟后也会将燃料用尽。它坠落并在海上分解。此时轨道飞行器则进入它的轨道。

轨道飞行器最多能承载七名做测试的工作人员。他们或许会发射人造卫星。1999年，一架航天飞机被派往太空去修复哈勃天文望远镜。哈勃望远镜大小如同一辆公交车。航天飞机扣住哈勃望远镜，把它固定在货舱里。货舱是开放空间，就像小型货车的后部。工作人员要在航天飞机外的太空修复它，他们身穿太空服，并用一条长长的绳索与航天飞机相连。机械手臂把哈勃望远镜放回轨道上。

当飞行器从太空返航时，要点燃轨道飞行器的发动机。这会减缓航天飞机的速度，使其脱离轨道。航天飞机进入地球的大气层时，会产生大量热量，其外部的特制陶瓷片能保护航天飞机免受高温的伤害。这时航天飞机就会像飞机一样，滑翔并降落在跑道上。

练习

1．火箭助推器什么时候点燃？

A．当轨道飞行器围绕地球旋转时

B．恰好在着陆前

C．在起飞时

2．轨道飞行器什么时候进入轨道？

A．在巨大的燃料箱坠入大海后

B．当降落伞打开时

C．在卫星发射后

3．什么时候哈勃望远镜被固定在货舱里？

A．在1999年之前

B．当航天飞机扣住它后

C．在机械手臂把它放回轨道后

4．什么时候点燃飞行器的发动机？

A．当轨道飞行器返回地球时

B．在它到达轨道之前

C．当工作人员在航天飞机外的太空工作时