Even as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is set to receive billions of dollars in additional funding for technology in the latest White House budget, the agency has yet to chart a detailed course for future manned space flight once the space shuttle is retired in 2011.
就在美國(guó)宇航局認(rèn)為白宮在最新預(yù)算中會(huì)再撥給它數(shù)十億美元科研經(jīng)費(fèi)之際,它卻尚未能拿出一份詳細(xì)的計(jì)劃,以說(shuō)明一旦航天飛機(jī)在2011年退役,美國(guó)未來(lái)將如何開(kāi)展載人航天飛行。
That could erode congressional and public support for NASA, according to some industry officials and lawmakers.
據(jù)一些業(yè)界高管和國(guó)會(huì)議員說(shuō),這有可能削弱國(guó)會(huì)和美國(guó)公眾對(duì)NASA的支持。
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden predicted that the proposed $19 billion fiscal-2011 budget, an increase of 2% from the previous year, would be "good for NASA." He added that a plan to rely on private companies to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station would be "great for the American work force."
NASA的負(fù)責(zé)人查爾斯·博爾登預(yù)測(cè)說(shuō),在該機(jī)構(gòu)2011年財(cái)政年度預(yù)算中,政府將向NASA撥款190億美元,比上一財(cái)年增加2%,這對(duì)NASA來(lái)說(shuō)是個(gè)好消息。他還說(shuō),擬依賴民間企業(yè)向國(guó)際空間站運(yùn)送宇航員的計(jì)劃,對(duì)美國(guó)就業(yè)市場(chǎng)“很有利”。
But the budget, which created an element of uncertainty about NASA's priorities, is likely to further stoke fierce congressional opposition.
但NASA的預(yù)算安排預(yù)計(jì)會(huì)在國(guó)會(huì)進(jìn)一步激起反對(duì)聲音。這一預(yù)算給NASA未來(lái)的優(yōu)先任務(wù)蒙上了一絲不確定性。
Drastic shifts envisioned in NASA's fiscal-2011 budget include killing Constellation, the current program intended to send astronauts back to the moon, and replacing it with initiatives to stimulate various commercial space projects and create a new generation of heavy-lift rockets able to penetrate deeper into space. The spending package also seeks greater international cooperation, even on the highest-priority manned projects, along with ambitious new efforts to develop in-orbit construction and refueling capabilities.
根據(jù)NASA 2011財(cái)年預(yù)算的構(gòu)想,該機(jī)構(gòu)工作重點(diǎn)的一個(gè)巨大轉(zhuǎn)變將是取消派宇航員重返月球的“星際計(jì)劃”,取代它的將是以促進(jìn)各種各樣商業(yè)太空項(xiàng)目以及開(kāi)發(fā)新一代大推力火箭為目的的一系列計(jì)劃。這些火箭將能把航天器送入更深的太空。NASA新的支出計(jì)劃還將尋求擴(kuò)大國(guó)際合作,具體領(lǐng)域甚至包括被視為NASA最優(yōu)先工作的載人航天項(xiàng)目,以及旨在開(kāi)發(fā)在軌建造和燃料補(bǔ)充能力的新項(xiàng)目。
Despite the request for an increase in funding, the budget package doesn't lay out detailed timetables or destinations for future manned exploration. Instead, it seeks to save money in the short term by turning over to private enterprise the job of transporting astronauts to the International Space Station.
盡管NASA在預(yù)算計(jì)劃中要求政府增加撥款,但它卻并未列出未來(lái)載人航天探索行動(dòng)的具體時(shí)間表或明確目的地。相反,為了在短期內(nèi)實(shí)現(xiàn)節(jié)省資金的目的,NASA打算將向國(guó)際空間站運(yùn)送宇航員的任務(wù)交給私人企業(yè)去完成。
When it comes to substantially longer, more complex missions envisioned for coming decades, the spending plan simply puts in place technology-development efforts NASA would nurture until those decisions are made.
至于那些未來(lái)幾十年才能完成的歷時(shí)更長(zhǎng)、更復(fù)雜的任務(wù),NASA在預(yù)算計(jì)劃中只是說(shuō),只有當(dāng)這些任務(wù)明確下來(lái)后,才能確定NASA需要為此開(kāi)發(fā)哪些技術(shù)。
Lori Garver, the agency's No. 2 official, told reporters Monday that the aim is to "unleash the economic potential of space" by letting private enterprise bid on contracts intended to "take us further and faster and more affordably" to landings on the moon, asteroids and eventually Mars. A joint NASA-White House statement released along with the budget blueprint suggests that unmanned missions will grow in prominence for at least the next decade, though it stopped short of detailing how.
NASA的第二號(hào)人物羅莉·賈維爾周一對(duì)記者們說(shuō),新預(yù)算計(jì)劃的目的是,通過(guò)讓私人企業(yè)競(jìng)標(biāo)那些可讓美國(guó)更遠(yuǎn)、更快、更經(jīng)濟(jì)地登陸月球、小行星甚至火星的合同,來(lái)釋放太空的經(jīng)濟(jì)潛力。NASA和白宮隨該機(jī)構(gòu)預(yù)算計(jì)劃一同發(fā)布的聲明稱,至少在未來(lái)十年中,無(wú)人太空項(xiàng)目將獲得重視,不過(guò)聲明沒(méi)有詳細(xì)予以論述。
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(來(lái)源:愛(ài)詞霸 編輯:Julie)