美國國家航空航天局終于完成了下一枚將我們帶到月球的火箭

美國國家航空航天局終于完成了下一枚將我們帶到月球的火箭，它是輝煌的

NASA has completed the giant rocket that will take US astronauts back to the Moon, the space agency's head announced Monday, pledging the mission would take place in 2024 despite being beset by delays.

美國國家航空和宇宙航行局(NASA)局長周一宣布，該機構已完成將把美國宇航員送回月球的巨型火箭，并承諾將在2024年完成這一任務，盡管該任務受到拖延的困擾。

Towering 212 feet (65 meters), the equivalent of a 20-story building,

高達212英尺(65米)，相當于20層樓高，

The Space Launch System (SLS) is the tallest rocket ever built at a towering 212 feet (65 meters), the equivalent of a 20-story building.

太空發(fā)射系統(tǒng)(SLS)是有史以來最高的火箭，高達212英尺(65米)，相當于20層樓高。

It is also the most powerful, designed to reach a record-breaking speed of Mach 23 before separating from its upper stage, the Orion crew capsule.

它也是最強大的，設計速度達到破紀錄的23馬赫，然后從上層分離，獵戶座乘員艙。

But its development has been hit by delays and cost overruns - its first flight was set to take place in November 2018, and its price tag has risen from US$6.2 billion to US$8 billion, or 29 percent, according to a June audit report.

但是它的發(fā)展受到了延誤和成本超支的打擊——它的首飛計劃在2018年11月進行，根據(jù)6月份的審計報告，它的價格已經從62億美元上升到80億美元，即29%。

Standing before the orange behemoth at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine called it a "very important day" for the space agency "when we get to announce core stage complete for in fact the SLS rocket.

站在位于新奧爾良的米克豪德組裝工廠前，美國宇航局局長吉姆·布里登斯汀稱這是航天局“非常重要的一天”，“當我們宣布SLS火箭的核心階段實際上已經完成。”

We are making significant progress towards achieving that Artemis 3 mission and getting our first woman, and next man to the south pole of the Moon in 2024.

“我們在實現(xiàn)阿爾特彌斯3號任務方面取得了重大進展，并在2024年讓我們的第一位女性宇航員和下一位男性宇航員登上月球南極。”

The Artemis 1 mission will likely take off by June 2020, according to the audit report. The first test will be uncrewed.

根據(jù)審計報告，Artemis 1號任務可能在2020年6月前起飛。第一次測試將無人參與。

NASA plans to land on the Moon's south pole in order to exploit its water ice, discovered in 2009, both for life support purposes and to split into hydrogen and oxygen for use as rocket propellant.

美國國家航空航天局計劃在月球南極著陸，以利用2009年發(fā)現(xiàn)的水冰。水冰既可以維持生命，也可以分解成氫和氧，作為火箭燃料。

The agency views its return to the Moon as a proving ground for an onward mission to Mars in the 2030s.

該機構將其重返月球視為21世紀30年代火星任務的試驗場。

It's not just the cost of the rocket that has spiralled: NASA will have spent roughly US$34 billion on the SLS, Orion, and Exploration Ground Systems Program programs through 2019, a sum projected to increase to over US$50 billion by 2024.

不僅僅是火箭的成本急劇上升:NASA到2019年將在SLS、Orion和探索地面系統(tǒng)項目上花費大約340億美元，預計到2024年將增加到500億美元以上。

The future of the mission rests on continued political support, both from the White House and Congress, which is ultimately responsible for budget allocations.

特派團的未來取決于來自白宮和國會的持續(xù)政治支持，白宮和國會最終負責預算撥款。