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 The test flight of the Dragon space capsule, which launched atop SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket at 3:44 am (0744 GMT), aims to show that industry can restore US access to the ISS after NASA retired its space shuttle fleet last year. |
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Opening a new era in private space flight, the US company SpaceX on Tuesday became the first commercial outfit to launch its own craft toward the International Space Station. The test flight of the Dragon space capsule, which launched atop SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket at 3:44 am (0744 GMT), aims to show that industry can restore US access to the ISS after NASA retired its space shuttle fleet last year. The mission is set to include a fly-by and berthing with the station in the next three days, before the capsule returns to Earth at the end of this month. Shortly after liftoff, the cargo-carrying spacecraft entered orbit and live video images showed mission control staff at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California jumping from their seats, hugging and clapping. SpaceX chief executive officer and Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk said watching the rocket rise from the launch pad was an "extremely intense moment." "Every bit of adrenaline in my body released at that point," he told reporters after the flawless launch, which followed an attempt on Saturday that was scrubbed at the last second when computers detected high pressure in the central engine of the Falcon 9. SpaceX engineers discovered the root cause was a faulty check valve and repaired it the same day. No humans are traveling aboard the Dragon, but six astronauts are already at the $100-billion space lab to help the capsule latch on, to unload supplies and then restock the capsule with cargo to take back to Earth. Also aboard were the ashes of hundreds of space enthusiasts including James Doohan who played "Scotty" on Star Trek, according to TrekNews.net, a go-to source for fans of the cult series. "Dad, may the stars rise to meet you," tweeted Doohan's son Chris. "May the solar wind always be at your back." SpaceX, owned by 40-year-old Musk, a billionaire who also co-founded PayPal, is the first of several US competitors to try sending spacecraft to the ISS with the goal of restoring US access to space for human travelers by 2015. "We are really at the dawn of a new era of space exploration, one where there is a much bigger role for commercial space companies," Musk said, likening the space effort to the expansion of the Internet in the mid 1990s. (Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
本周二，美國SpaceX公司成為首個向國際空間站發(fā)射自己的飛船的商業(yè)組織，開啟了私營太空飛行的新紀(jì)元。 進(jìn)行試飛的“龍”飛船于當(dāng)?shù)貢r間凌晨3點44分（格林尼治標(biāo)準(zhǔn)時間7點44分）搭乘SpaceX公司的獵鷹9號火箭起飛。此次試飛是為了顯示企業(yè)有能力恢復(fù)美國和國際空間站的聯(lián)系。美國宇航局的航天飛機已于去年退役。 這次飛行任務(wù)將包括飛近國際空間站并在空間站停泊三天，然后在本月底返回地球。 在飛船起飛后不久，這架載重飛船就進(jìn)入了軌道。據(jù)實時錄像顯示，加州霍桑市SpaceX總部的任務(wù)監(jiān)控人員從椅子上跳起來，相互擁抱、鼓掌。 SpaceX公司的首席執(zhí)行官、網(wǎng)絡(luò)企業(yè)家艾龍?馬斯克說，觀看火箭從發(fā)射臺升空是“萬分緊張的一刻”。 在發(fā)射完美結(jié)束后，他告訴記者說：“在那一刻我身體里的每一滴腎上腺素都釋放出來了。”上周六也進(jìn)行過一次嘗試，但在最后一刻計算機檢測出獵鷹9號火箭的中置發(fā)動機壓力過高，于是取消了發(fā)射計劃。 SpaceX公司的工程師們發(fā)現(xiàn)，問題根源是止回閥出了毛病，他們當(dāng)天便將其修好了。 沒有人乘坐“龍”飛船出行，但造價達(dá)1000億美元的太空實驗室中已經(jīng)有六名宇航員，他們會幫忙接收飛船、卸下供給物，并將要帶回地球的東西裝進(jìn)太空船。 據(jù)TrekNews.net網(wǎng)站稱，在太空船上的還有數(shù)百名太空迷的骨灰，包括在電影《星際迷航》中扮演Scotty的詹姆斯?杜漢。這個網(wǎng)站是《星級迷航》系列影迷們必去的網(wǎng)站。 杜漢的兒子克里斯在推特微博上寫道：“老爸，希望星星會升起來和你相遇；希望太陽風(fēng)總是在你身后。” SpaceX公司的所有者是現(xiàn)年40歲的億萬富翁馬斯克，他還是國際貿(mào)易支付工具PayPal的共同創(chuàng)始人。SpaceX公司是幾個競爭者中首個發(fā)送飛船到國際空間站的公司，目標(biāo)是恢復(fù)美國和太空的聯(lián)系，并力圖在2015年前實現(xiàn)載人飛行。 馬斯克將這一太空成就比作20世紀(jì)90年代中期的網(wǎng)絡(luò)擴張，他說：“我們真實見證了太空探索新紀(jì)元的開端，這是商業(yè)太空公司可以大有所為的時代。” 相關(guān)閱讀 （中國日報網(wǎng)英語點津 陳丹妮 編輯：Julie） |
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Vocabulary: ISS: International Space Station 國際空間站 scrub: 取消，中止 |
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