Instead it s funding American firms to come up with concept designs, as part of a programme called the Space Launch Initiative (SLI ).The SLI encompasses not just the vehicle itself , but everything else required to send it into space, including ways to transfer the shuttle to the launch-pad, ground-based operations centers and computer software .
NASA aims to have all of this ready by 2012, the year the shuttle is due for retirement .
The SLI began in earnest in June, 2001 when NASA contracted work to a total of 22 companies and Universities.In the engineering equivalent of Pop Idol,in March, 2002 hundreds of concepts were finally whittled down to just 15 designs.These will be further narrowed down to just two or three in November this year , with the winner finally being chosen in 2006.The total amount that U .S.will spend on the project from start to finish is expected to be around ￡20 .5 billion .
Safety firstAll of the remaining concepts belong to three teams of contractors:
Boeing, Lockheed Martin and a third that includes Northrop Grumman and Orbital Sciences, each of which have received about ￡1 billion for the programme s current phase.Contracting will ensure that the launch system is tailor-made for industrial exploitation of space.It also means that NASA can concentrate on its main goal of science and exploration and save money to boot .
NASA may not be designing the shuttle s replacement itself, but that doesn t stop it being ambitious with its minimum requirements, not least of which is a quantum leap in safety.It wants to reduce the risk of a fatal accident to 1 in 10 000, partly by including more escape routes for the crew.In the new vehicle, astronauts will be able to escape at anytime during the mission , not just on the ground or on the return flight .
Fuel without fire Another safety improvement will involve the engines.The shuttle s main engine burns liquid hydrogen, which is highly flammable, but some of the concept designs use kerosene instead.Lockheed Martin s SLI director says that kerosene is far safer.As well as being safer, the new engines should be simpler,cheaper and crucially far more dependable, having a lifespan of around 50 launches.Today s shuttle engines last for only about five .
Made of metal Other details of the new designs are hard to come by, because the contractors are keeping their cards close to their chests .
They are being particularly secretive about the material that will be used to build the vehicles .
Like any aircraft, there s a balance to be struck between weight and strength ,although metal is the most likely winner according to Bob Ford .
Ⅰ.Background Information
1.The International Space Station ( 国 际 空 间 站): The International Space Station is the largest and most complex international scientific project in history.And when it is completed just after the turn of the century, the station will represent a move of unprecedented scale off the home planet .
Led by the United States, the International Space Station draws upon thescientific and technological resources of 16 nations: Canada , Japan , Russia ,11 nations of the European Space Agency and Brazil .
2.NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration 美国国家航天航空局。
3.Russian roulette: 俄罗斯轮盘赌。
4.The Space Launch Initiative: 太空发射计划。
5.Pop Idol: 流行偶像选拔赛(英国一家电视台搞的一种新星选秀大赛)。
Ⅱ.Words & Expressions
ferry v.运送。
come up with 提出,提供。
encompass v.to include or be concerned with 包括。
launchpad n.发射台。
whittle down cut down 削减。
narrow down 缩减,压缩。
boot [ old use or humor ] ( often of something unpleasant )besides, in addition 并且,加之。
come by 取得,获得。
Ⅲ.About the Text
1.It briefly and quickly introduces the space shuttle to us: the necessity, the aim and how to develop this project .
2.It tries its best to use simple and short words to transmit scientific information to readers .
Ⅳ.Notes to the Text
1.This article shares the grammatical features of the English of Science and Technology: more use of longer and statement-type sentences; preference for impersonal sentence patterns; wide use of the simple present tense .
2.The first sentence tells readers of the necessity and difficulty of exploring the space shuttle .
3.This paragraph closely follows paragraph 1: because the production of space shuttle is expensive, NASA is planning a cheaper, safer, second-generation launch system .
4.The aim of the space shuttle is to ferry people to and from the International Space Station and launch scientific, commercial and military satellites more regularly and reliably (attention to the structure of the long sentence“The result will be.. .”in this paragraph ) .
5.NASA itself isn t developing the new shuttle but it provides funds for American companies to do it (attention to the transitional conjunction “instead”that follows) .
6.The SLI does not refer to the vehicle itself, but everything else required to send it into space (attention to the sentence structure“.. .not just.. ., but.. ., including.. .”in this paragraph ) .
7.The meaning of“the new shuttle”in the first sentence of this paragraph is different from that of“the shuttle”. From the context ,“the shuttle”here refers to the shuttle that works now .
8.Developing concepts of the new shuttle will be competitive: hundreds of concepts were finally whittled down to just 15 designs which will be further narrowed down to just two or three, with the winner finally being chosen in 2006 (attention to the phrase“ the engineering equivalent of Pop Idol”
which means a contest held in engineering field) .
9.The new shuttle are characterized by three elements: safety, fuel and metal material .
10.The remaining concept is carried out by contracting (attention to two words -“contractor”here and“contracting”in the second sentence of this paragraph ) .
11.This paragraph emphasizes the safety requirements made by NASA (attention to the phrase“not least”which means“especially” ) .
12.The material of the new designs is secretive ( attention to the phrase “keeping their cards close to their chests”which means“keeping secret” ) .
Ⅴ.Text-Related Practice
Questions for discussion:
1.Why is NASA planning to replace the shuttle with a cheaper, safer, second-generation launch system ?
2.What s the result of the second-generation launch system ?
3.What s SLI ?
4.What are the three features of the new shuttle ?
5.What s the meaning of“keeping their cards close to their chests”in the text ?