2022年12月13日 VOA慢速英語：NASA 對獵戶座試飛感到滿意，因為航天器返回地球

 

The American space agency NASA says its Orion spacecraft has performed beyond expectations during its test mission to fly around the moon.
美國宇航局表示，其獵戶座飛船在其繞月飛行測試任務中的表現(xiàn)超出預期。
 
Orion is set to return to Earth on December 11. NASA said the uncrewed spacecraft will re-enter Earth's atmosphere and deploy a parachute before splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California near San Diego.
獵戶座將于 12 月 11 日返回地球。美國宇航局表示，這艘無人駕駛的航天器將重新進入地球大氣層，并展開降落傘，然后降落在圣地亞哥附近加利福尼亞海岸附近的太平洋中。
 
The spacecraft, or capsule, made its second and final close pass by the moon on December 5. The move brought Orion to within 127 kilometers of the lunar surface. This was the closest any spacecraft built to carry humans has come to the moon since NASA's Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
12 月 5 日，航天器或太空艙進行了第二次也是最后一次近距離飛越月球。此舉將獵戶座帶到了距月球表面 127 公里以內(nèi)的位置。這是自 1972 年美國宇航局的阿波羅 17 號任務以來，為搭載人類而建造的最接近月球的航天器。
 
Orion's last pass by the moon happened during an operation NASA describes as a "powered flyby burn." The three-and-a-half minute operation is designed to change the vehicle's velocity and set it on a course back to Earth.
獵戶座最后一次飛越月球發(fā)生在美國宇航局稱之為“動力飛越燃燒”的行動中。三分半鐘的操作旨在改變車輛的速度并將其設置在返回地球的路線上。
 
One week earlier, Orion reached its farthest point in space – about 434,522 kilometers from Earth. That marked the midway point of the spacecraft's 25-day mission.
一周前，獵戶座到達了它在太空中的最遠點——距地球約 434,522 公里。這標志著航天器 25 天任務的中途點。
 
NASA administrator Bill Nelson looked forward to Orion's return to Earth in a statement. He said when the spacecraft re-enters Earth's atmosphere, "it will come back hotter and faster than ever before – the ultimate test before we put astronauts on board."
美國宇航局局長比爾尼爾森在一份聲明中期待獵戶座返回地球。他說，當航天器重新進入地球大氣層時，“它將比以往任何時候都更熱、更快地返回——這是我們將宇航員送上太空之前的最終測試。”
 
NASA has said Orion will be traveling at speeds up to 32,000 kilometers per hour while reentering Earth's atmosphere. This is much faster than spacecraft returning to Earth from the International Space Station.
美國宇航局表示，獵戶座將以每小時 32,000 公里的速度重新進入地球大氣層。這比航天器從國際空間站返回地球要快得多。
 
The purpose of the Orion mission was to test the capsule, as well as NASA's huge Space Launch System (SLS) rocket used to carry it to space. The mission is part of the space agency's Artemis program, which aims to land Americans on the moon by the mid-2020s.
獵戶座任務的目的是測試太空艙，以及用于將其送入太空的美國宇航局巨大的太空發(fā)射系統(tǒng) (SLS) 火箭。該任務是航天局 Artemis 計劃的一部分，該計劃旨在讓美國人在 2020 年代中期登上月球。
 
The latest mission was called Artemis I. Its goal is to prepare for Artemis II, which will include astronauts traveling inside Orion. If all goes well during that mission, NASA will launch Artemis III, with the goal of landing astronauts on the moon's surface.
最新的任務稱為 Artemis I。其目標是為 Artemis II 做準備，其中包括在獵戶座內(nèi)旅行的宇航員。如果在該任務期間一切順利，美國宇航局將發(fā)射 Artemis III，目標是讓宇航員登陸月球表面。
 
While Orion has no astronauts on board, NASA placed three model humans, known as mannequins, on the spacecraft. The models are connected to a series of sensors designed to measure radiation and movements throughout the mission.
雖然獵戶座號上沒有宇航員，但美國宇航局在飛船上放置了三個人體模型，即人體模型。這些模型連接到一系列傳感器，這些傳感器旨在測量整個任務中的輻射和運動。
 
During a recent news briefing, NASA officials said they had been very satisfied with how Orion and its systems had performed during the mission. No major problems have been reported.
在最近的新聞發(fā)布會上，美國宇航局官員表示，他們對獵戶座及其系統(tǒng)在任務期間的表現(xiàn)非常滿意。沒有報告重大問題。
 
Mike Sarafin is the Mission Manager for Artemis I. He told the briefing, the mission was "going very well." He said because of this, NASA had been able to complete several mission objectives and was able to add some unplanned ones as well.
Mike Sarafin 是 Artemis I 的任務經(jīng)理。他在簡報中說，任務“進展順利”。他說，正因為如此，美國宇航局已經(jīng)能夠完成多項任務目標，并且能夠增加一些計劃外的目標。
 
Sarafin said that by the time the mission ends, Orion will have traveled more than 2.2 million kilometers.
薩拉芬說，到任務結(jié)束時，獵戶座的飛行距離將超過 220 萬公里。
 
Debbie Korth is the deputy manager for the Orion program. She told reporters: "We couldn't be more pleased about how the spacecraft has been performing – really beyond all our expectations."
Debbie Korth 是獵戶座計劃的副經(jīng)理。她告訴記者：“我們對航天器的表現(xiàn)非常滿意——真的超出了我們的所有預期。”
 
The last major test of the spacecraft will be to see how its heatshield performs during reentry. The heatshield will have to survive temperatures of around 2,800 degrees Celsius. That temperature is about half that of the surface of the sun.
航天器的最后一項主要測試將是查看其隔熱罩的性能再入期間。隔熱罩必須能夠承受大約 2,800 攝氏度的高溫。這個溫度大約是太陽表面溫度的一半。
 
A recovery mission has been organized to pick up the capsule from the Pacific Ocean. NASA's Landing and Recovery Director is Melissa Jones. She said her team of engineers and recovery specialists has worked with U.S. Navy divers attached to the USS Portland transport ship. The divers will help NASA bring in Orion after the spacecraft's splashdown near San Diego.
已經(jīng)組織了一次回收任務，從太平洋取回太空艙。NASA 的著陸和恢復主管是 Melissa Jones。她說，她的工程師和恢復專家團隊曾與隸屬于美國波特蘭號運輸艦的美國海軍潛水員合作。 在航天器在圣地亞哥附近墜毀后，潛水員將幫助美國宇航局將獵戶座帶入。
 
Korth said Orion represents the beginning "of a series of increasingly complex missions" yet to come in the Artemis program. She added that with the mission progressing so well, "we are really using this spacecraft to push the envelope and see what we can get in terms of performance" to prepare for future missions.
Korth 說，獵戶座代表著“一系列日益復雜的任務”的開始，這些任務尚未出現(xiàn)在 Artemis 計劃中。她補充說，隨著任務進展如此順利，“我們真的在使用這艘航天器挑戰(zhàn)極限，看看我們能在性能方面取得什么成果”，為未來的任務做準備。