Discovery faces repair challenge
Edited by Kovis



The space shuttle Discovery lifts off on July 26 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the first shuttle flight in almost two and a half years since the Columbia disaster.

Two errant strips of heavy insulating material dangling from Discovery's belly, each protruding by about an inch, have sparked a debate within NASA over whether they will cause hazardous overheating as the shuttle Discovery re-enters the atmosphere. If they decide the strips do constitute a hazard, the agency may order the astronauts to make a spacewalk to repair the underside of the shuttle, NASA said on Sunday, July 31st.

It is uncertain whether these strips of material, called gap filler, would cause unusual patterns of heating during re-entry. It is reported that if they are poking out at the front end of the shuttle, as both of these are, the heating could affect parts of the craft's belly behind them, with some areas becoming as much as 25 percent hotter and reaching maximum temperatures earlier than usual. That would potentially be a threat to the structure of the shuttle. However, the analysts at NASA could not agree about how serious the problem is.

According to N. Wayne Hale, the shuttle program's deputy manager, removing the protruding material is not as simple as grabbing the material between the thumb and forefinger and pulling it free.

While performing the repairs, the astronaut would have to stand on either the shuttle or station's 50-foot robotic arm in order to reach the two hanging strips of filler. Standing of the shuttle could cause further damage, however there are also drawbacks to using the arm, namely clearance and time constraints. There's also the possibility, however remote, that the spacewalker or the arm might still damage something.

If mission managers do order a spacewalk, it is most likely to take place on Wednesday. It is also possible, but less likely, that the repairs will take place during a spacewalk on the extra day that NASA has added to the mission.

Meanwhile, NASA was particularly concerned about a picture of the external fuel tank, on which it is possible to see where a piece of foam was ripped from the tank just after the rocket engines were jettisoned.

Discovery and its crew of seven may still be perfectly safe to fly back, despite the ongoing work of the ground team, NASA officials stressed.

Vocabulary
errant 错位的
strip 材料片
dangle 悬挂
protrude 伸出
hazardous 危险的
shuttle 航天飞机
astronaut 宇航员
orbiter 轨道飞行器
poke 伸出
jettison 投弃

 

 

World in Pictures
Photo source: ImagineChina

	Practicing yoga under a fountain 印度男子喷泉里忘情练瑜珈 An Indian man practices yoga under a fountain in New Delhi, July 28th. Yoga has been an integral part of Indian life for many centuries. The word "Yoga" is derived from the Sanskrit root "Yuj" meaning to bind and yoke.
	Guitar acrobatics 头顶吉他不误手上弹奏 Kerry Hodge plays a guitar while balancing another on his forehead as he entertains passers-by on a Sydney street, July 29th. Hodge uses his balancing stunt, which took him 5 months to perfect, in order to save his singing voice for paying engagements.
	Blood donation for 61 years 79岁老汉献血61个年头 Guinness World Record blood donor Maurice Creswick (L) donates his 350th pint of blood in Johannesburg, South Africa, July 26th, breaking his own world record for the 14th time. Creswick, 79, donated his first pint of blood in Johannesburg when he was 18 years old. He broke the Guinness record for the first time on July 9th, 2003, when he donated his 336th unit of blood.
	The bubble man 一生从事吹肥皂泡 July 26th, 2005; Santa Cruz, California, USA. Tom Noddy, the soap bubble expert, shows his mastery of an intangible substance while indulging his fancies. His magic bubbles have astonished people all around the world. Mathematicians and physicists alike are very seriously studying the scientific properties of his creations.
	Carrying a dead baby inside for 27 years 印尼妇女腹中藏死胎27年 Taslim (L) attends his wife Taminah after surgery at a hospital in Surabaya, Indonesia, July 27th. The surgeons delivered a 27-year-old baby from the middle-aged housewife who had carried the dead body inside her because she was too poor to have it removed, doctors said.

 

 

World in Words
Collected & translated by Beverly

"Sunscreen comes off, even when you're not swimming, particularly in places where you perspire. But with clothing, the protection doesn't wash off."
"即使你没游泳, 防晒霜的防晒效果也会消褪, 特别是流汗的时候. 而防晒衣服的防晒保护洗也洗不掉. "
Wearing sun-protective clothing, which is available online, can make more sense than slathering on sun-block lotion.
--穿着防紫外线的衣服比大量涂抹防晒霜来得更有效. 这种衣服可以在网上购得.

"Because the English market is crazy."
"因为英国(球员转会)市场就是疯狂的! "
Jose Mourinho, manager of the English League Champions Chelsea, when he was asked why the 23-year-old Wright-Phillips was worth 21 million pounds ($37 million).
--就为何愿意花2100万英镑(合3700万美元)购买23岁球员赖特·菲利普斯这一问题, 英超冠军(切尔西队)主教练穆里尼奥作了如上回答.

"We've got to stop attributing any efficacy to Echinacea."
"我们不应再认为紫锥菊有任何功效了. "
Echinacea, the herbal supplement used by millions of Americans, neither prevented colds nor eased cold symptoms in a study.
--研究表明深受美国人喜爱的草药紫锥菊并不能预防感冒, 也不能缓解感冒症状.

"A lot of people in their mid and late 20's do not think of themselves as adults, even if they make a lot of money."
"许多二十几甚至快三十岁的人还不认为自己是成年人, 尽管他们能挣很多钱. "
Dan P. McAdams, a professor of psychology at Northwestern University, said that adult children were putting off adulthood.
--西北大学心理学教授迈克亚当斯认为很多成年人正在推迟他们的成人期.