您现在的位置: Language Tips> Audio & Video> Special Speed News  
   
 





 
In race to space, the winner was a Russian
[ 2009-06-17 13:04 ]

Download

In 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American in space -- a month after Yuri Gagarin claimed the honor for the Soviet Union. Second of an eight-part history of the American space program.

In race to space, the winner was a Russian

VOICE ONE:

This is Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Shirley Griffith with the VOA Special English program EXPLORATIONS. Today we finish the story of the first American program to send a person into space. It was called Project Mercury.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The American space agency opened for business October first, 1958. NASA's most important job was to send an American into space and return him safely to Earth. Project Mercury was the plan for doing this. It would use one of several dependable military rockets to launch a small, one-man spacecraft. The space vehicle would return to Earth and land in the ocean.

Astronauts would be chosen for the program from the best military test pilots who had education in science or engineering.

The idea was simple. But making it happen was not a simple job. Thousands of scientists, engineers, technicians and other workers were needed. And money was needed -- thousands of millions of dollars.

VOICE TWO:

In race to space, the winner was a Russian

Congress approved the money. NASA organized the program. The McDonnell Company designed and built the spacecraft. The Army and Air Force built the Redstone, Jupiter and Atlas rockets. NASA announced the seven astronauts it had chosen on April 9th, 1959. They immediately began training for space flight.

No time was wasted. The first test flights began later that year. Those test flights did not carry astronauts. Men would fly the Mercury spacecraft only after it was proved safe.

The final test flight was made at the end of January, 1961. A Mercury spacecraft carried a chimpanzee named Ham on a 700 kilometer flight over the Atlantic Ocean. There were some problems. But the animal survived the launch and the landing in the ocean.

VOICE ONE:

But before NASA could send an astronaut into space, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin of the Soviet Union became the first person to travel in space. On April 12th, 1961, he orbited the Earth one time in the Vostok One spacecraft. His space flight lasted one hour and 48 minutes.

A month later, on the morning of May fifth, American Navy pilot Alan Shepard crawled into his little Mercury spacecraft. There was almost no room to move inside it. One description said it was like sitting in the driver's seat of a small car, while wearing two heavy raincoats. Alan Shepard waited in the spacecraft for 4 hours. The weather caused part of the delay. Clouds would prevent filming of the launch. And some last-minute repairs were made to his radio system. Tired of waiting, he told the ground crew: "Why don't you fellows solve your little problems and light this candle. "

VOICE TWO:

Finally, they did start the rocket. With a roar, it began to rise slowly from the launch pad. Its speed increased. Soon, it was out of sight.

Shepard's flight lasted only a few seconds longer than 15 minutes. But he flew 187 kilometers high, and 480 kilometers from the launch pad. He re-entered the atmosphere and slowed the Mercury spacecraft. The first flight ended with a soft splash into the ocean, as planned.

Shepard reported: "Everything is A-okay." Within minutes, a helicopter lifted him from the spacecraft and carried him to a waiting ship. The first manned flight of project Mercury was a complete success.

In race to space, the winner was a Russian

VOICE ONE:

Radio, television and newspaper reporters made it possible for millions of people to share the excitement of the flight. The United States had decided at the very beginning of its space program that all launches would be open to news reporters. Successes and failures would all be reported to the world. Television and news film showed flight preparations and launch. People could hear -- on radio and television -- the talk between the astronaut and the flight controllers.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

10 weeks later, there was another Mercury launch. Astronaut Gus Grissom repeated Shepard's successful short flight. But there was a serious problem after the landing. Grissom almost drowned when the door of the spacecraft opened too soon.

The spacecraft filled with water and sank. Grissom escaped. He had to swim for a few minutes before helicopters rescued him.

VOICE ONE:

The results of the two short flights made space officials believe the Mercury program was ready for its first orbital flight. Again, an animal would fly first.

A chimpanzee named Enos was launched on a 3-orbit flight. The flight tested the worldwide communications system that linked the spacecraft to flight controllers at Cape Canaveral. It also tested the effect of weightlessness on living creatures.

A problem developed during the second orbit. One of the small thruster rockets that turned the spacecraft stopped working. Flight controllers decided to bring it down at the end of the second orbit. The landing was perfect. Enos suffered no bad effects.

VOICE TWO:

In race to space, the winner was a Russian

Now, everything was ready for an astronaut to make an orbital flight. NASA announced that the astronaut would be John Glenn. He would circle the Earth three times during a 5-hour Mercury flight.

The launch was planned for January 27th, 1962. But it was postponed for almost a month because of weather and mechanical problems. Finally, on February 20th, John Glenn climbed into his tiny spacecraft on top of the huge Atlas rocket.

After several short delays, the final seconds were counted off.

(SOUND)

In race to space, the winner was a Russian

VOICE ONE:

5 minutes later, the spacecraft separated from the Atlas rocket. John Glenn was in orbit – one hundred sixty kilometers above the Earth. His speed was 28,000 kilometers an hour. Glenn reported that all systems were "go." Everything was "A-OK" for an orbital flight.

Glenn's flight plan called for him to spend most of the first orbit getting used to the feeling of being weightless. After about an hour of being beyond the pull of Earth's gravity, Glenn reported he felt fine. He said being weightless was not a problem.

Glenn explained later that at times it helped to be free of gravity. He said he was busy taking pictures when he suddenly had to do something else. So he left the camera floating in the air. It stayed there, as if he had laid it on a table!

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Near the end of the first orbit, Glenn reported a problem. One of the small rockets of his automatic control system stopped working. This caused the spacecraft to turn to one side. Glenn solved the problem by turning off the automatic system. He took control of the system to correct the movement.

All of the systems on the Mercury spacecraft sent radio signals to flight controllers. The signals, or telemetry, reported on the condition of the systems.

During the second orbit, one of these signals warned that the heat shield might not be locked firmly to the bottom of the spacecraft. This could be a serious problem. The shield protected the spacecraft from burning up from the extreme heat of re-entering the Earth's atmosphere.

Engineers believed the warning signal was wrong and the shield was locked. But they told Glenn not to release rockets connected to the heat shield. The rockets, normally released before returning to Earth, could help keep a loose heat shield in place.

VOICE ONE:

In race to space, the winner was a Russian

Near the end of his third orbit, Glenn fired other rockets to slow his speed. The spacecraft began to return to Earth. As it re-entered the atmosphere, radio communications stopped. Flight controllers could no longer hear Glenn. Everyone was worried about the heat shield. The radio silence, caused by the heat of re-entry, lasted for seven minutes. Then the controllers heard the astronaut again.

Glenn reported that he was okay. The heat shield had been locked.

Parachutes lowered the Mercury spacecraft to the ocean surface. Glenn remained inside. A navy ship reached it in seventeen minutes, and lifted it aboard. Glenn opened the door and stepped out.

John Glenn got a hero's welcome when he returned to Cape Canaveral. President John Kennedy flew to Florida and presented a special award to the astronaut. Glenn became famous. He later was elected to the United States Senate from the state of Ohio. And in 1998, at age 77, he returned to space in an historic flight.

VOICE TWO:

Three more flights were made in Mercury spacecraft. The last one, by astronaut Gordon Cooper, circled the Earth 21 times. It lasted 34 hours.

Cooper spent much of the time doing medical checks and taking pictures. His work cleared the way for Project Gemini.

Gemini was the next step toward President Kennedy's goal of landing a man on the moon by the end of the nineteen sixties. Project Mercury astronauts made the goal seem possible.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This Special English program was written by Marilyn Christiano and Frank Beardsley. This is Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Shirley Griffith. Listen again next week for another EXPLORATIONS on the Voice of America.

last-minute:最后一刻

Related stories:

宇航员试饮尿液循环水 称“味道好极了”

Project mercury: The US space program begins

US shuttle returns to earth after Hubble repair job

Edwin Hubble changed our ideas about the universe

(Source: VOA 英语点津编辑)

英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883631联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。
相关文章 Related Story
 
 
 
本频道最新推荐
 
英情色杂志拒用女作家 称女性不擅谈性
防卫过当 excessive denfense
哈利·波特作者被控抄袭 公司坚决否认
Waitress assault trial slated to begin
Entertainment / Theatre 娱乐/ 戏剧
翻吧推荐
 
论坛热贴
 
许巍《难忘的一天》- 英译
人格分裂如何翻译
工龄的英文怎么说?
看Marley & Me 学英语
漂亮女孩最爱说的10句口语