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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，美国SpaceX公司成为首个向国际空间站发射自己的飞船的商业组织，开启了私营太空飞行的新纪元。 进行试飞的“龙”飞船于当地时间凌晨3点44分（格林尼治标准时间7点44分）搭乘SpaceX公司的猎鹰9号火箭起飞。此次试飞是为了显示企业有能力恢复美国和国际空间站的联系。美国宇航局的航天飞机已于去年退役。 这次飞行任务将包括飞近国际空间站并在空间站停泊三天，然后在本月底返回地球。 在飞船起飞后不久，这架载重飞船就进入了轨道。据实时录像显示，加州霍桑市SpaceX总部的任务监控人员从椅子上跳起来，相互拥抱、鼓掌。 SpaceX公司的首席执行官、网络企业家艾龙•马斯克说，观看火箭从发射台升空是“万分紧张的一刻”。 在发射完美结束后，他告诉记者说：“在那一刻我身体里的每一滴肾上腺素都释放出来了。”上周六也进行过一次尝试，但在最后一刻计算机检测出猎鹰9号火箭的中置发动机压力过高，于是取消了发射计划。 SpaceX公司的工程师们发现，问题根源是止回阀出了毛病，他们当天便将其修好了。 没有人乘坐“龙”飞船出行，但造价达1000亿美元的太空实验室中已经有六名宇航员，他们会帮忙接收飞船、卸下供给物，并将要带回地球的东西装进太空船。 据TrekNews.net网站称，在太空船上的还有数百名太空迷的骨灰，包括在电影《星际迷航》中扮演Scotty的詹姆斯•杜汉。这个网站是《星级迷航》系列影迷们必去的网站。 杜汉的儿子克里斯在推特微博上写道：“老爸，希望星星会升起来和你相遇；希望太阳风总是在你身后。” SpaceX公司的所有者是现年40岁的亿万富翁马斯克，他还是国际贸易支付工具PayPal的共同创始人。SpaceX公司是几个竞争者中首个发送飞船到国际空间站的公司，目标是恢复美国和太空的联系，并力图在2015年前实现载人飞行。 马斯克将这一太空成就比作20世纪90年代中期的网络扩张，他说：“我们真实见证了太空探索新纪元的开端，这是商业太空公司可以大有所为的时代。” 相关阅读 （中国日报网英语点津 陈丹妮 编辑：Julie） |
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Vocabulary: ISS: International Space Station 国际空间站 scrub: 取消，中止 |
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