發現號再次踏上回家之路英語美文
Discovery, seen here, roared safely back to Earth after a tense first shuttle flight since the 2003 Columbia disaster and its crew pleaded for support for future space travel (AFP)
Low clouds kept shuttle Discovery and its crew of seven from making their much-anticipated return to Earth, and NASA vowed to bring the spacecraft down Tuesday in Florida, California or possibly even New Mexico.
"We will attempt to land somewhere," flight director LeRoy Cain said after Monday morning"s two unsuccessful landing opportunities.
The delay disappointed the astronauts" families, who were waiting at Kennedy Space Center for their loved ones" return after nearly two stressful weeks in orbit.
Discovery"s astronauts woke up Monday evening to The Beatles "Good Day Sunshine" and were ready to get back home.
It is the first shuttle flight since Columbia"s catastrophic re-entry in 2003, and the mission experienced a series of problems that required emergency spacewalk repairs and constant engineering analysis.
More cloudy weather was expected at Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday with a chance of rain, but it remained NASA"s first choice for an early morning touchdown. Edwards Air Force Base in California"s Mojave Desert was the next choice, followed by the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the absolute last resort.
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin insisted "there"s no agony" associated with the one-day delay in getting Discovery home. Like other space agency officials, he was waiting for "wheels stop" on the runway before even thinking about celebrating.
Come Tuesday, "We"re going to land one way or another, one place or another, and all we"re talking about is where," Griffin said.
NASA prefers landing shuttles at the same place where it launches them, to avoid the several days and estimated $1 million in ferrying the spacecraft atop a modified jumbo jet back from the West Coast.
Discovery had enough power and supplies to stay in orbit until Wednesday, but NASA was holding out that option only if a technical problem arose that needed time to be resolved.
During the mission, the biggest setback was the loss of a 1-pound chunk of foam insulation from the fuel tank during the July 26 launch, the same problem that ended up destroying Columbia. NASA suspended future shuttle flights just one day after Discovery took off.
低沉的雲層阻礙了“發現”號太空梭和機上七名工作人員預期的返航，美國宇航局(NASA)誓言要在本週二讓這架太空梭重返地球，著陸地點可能在佛羅里達州、加利福尼亞州甚至是新墨西哥州。
“我們將嘗試找個地方著陸。”這次飛行任務的主管萊羅伊·凱恩在錯過了週一早上的兩次降落機會後說。
計劃的推遲讓宇航員的家屬們很失望，他們正在肯尼迪航天中心等待親人在近兩週艱苦的太空工作後能平安歸來。
週一晚上，“發現”號上的宇航員們被“披頭士”樂隊的《陽光日安》喚醒，他們已經做好了回家的準備。
這是自2003年“哥倫比亞”號返回地球時發生慘劇以來美國的首次航天飛行，此次任務遭遇了一連串的麻煩，不得不進行緊急太空行走以檢修故障，NASA一直在對故障原因展開工程學分析。
本週二，肯尼迪航天中心的雲層預計會加厚，還有可能下雨，但它仍是NASA首選的凌晨著陸場。位於加利福尼亞州莫哈韋沙漠的.愛德華茲空軍基地是次選，新墨西哥州的白沙導彈靶場則是最後一步棋。
美國宇航局局長麥克爾·格里芬堅持認為，發現號推遲一天回家“並不令人懊惱”。和其他宇航局官員一樣，他在等待“發現”號的輪子在跑道上“停止滑動”的那一刻的到來，至於慶祝活動他壓根還沒想。
“我們無論如何都要讓太空梭著陸，我們一直在討論的就是在哪裡降落，”格里芬週二說。
NASA傾向於讓太空梭在原來的發射場著陸，因為這樣可以不用花幾天時間把太空梭放在一架改裝過的巨型噴氣式飛機上從西海岸運回，免去了大約100萬美元的運輸費用。
“發現”號有足夠的能量和供給維持飛行到週三，但只有當需費時解決的技術問題出現時，NASA才會考慮這種選擇。
在本次飛行任務中，最大的挫折無疑是在7月26日的發射過程中，飛機油箱掉落了一塊一磅重的泡沫隔熱材料，而當年“哥倫比亞”號正是毀於同樣的問題。於是在“發現”號起飛的後一天，NASA推遲了之後的航天飛行。
Vocabulary:
stressful : 充滿壓力的
touchdown: 著地，降落
jumbo jet: 大型噴氣式客機