首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
The international space station is getting a new, inflatable room that resembles a giant spare tire, NASA announced on Wednesday
The international space station is getting a new, inflatable room that resembles a giant spare tire, NASA announced on Wednesday
admin
2015-09-26
57
问题
The international space station is getting a new, inflatable room that resembles a giant spare tire, NASA announced on Wednesday Slated to launch in mid-2015, the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, will fly to space deflated before being puffed into a 13-by-10-foot cylinder. Rather than providing new living space for astronauts, the module will test whether inflatable habitats have a future as orbiting laboratories, lunar outposts or living quarters for deep-space missions. And it’s arriving at a bargain price for space hardware. NASA is paying Bigelow Aerospace of Nevada $17.8 million for the module.
"This is a great way for NASA to utilize private-sector investment, and for pennies on the dollar to expand our understanding of this technology," said Lori Garver, the agency’s deputy administrator. Station astronauts will periodically enter the BEAM to check whether its thick yet flexible walls, which include layers of Kevlar(凯芙拉,一种芳纶纤维), adequately block the twin hazards of space travel: radiation and micrometeoroids(微流星体)traveling faster than bullets. "The plan is to have the hatch closed most of the time, with the crew going in and out a few times a year to collect data," Garver said. The module will stay attached to the station for two years. "We have ambitions to go to the moon someday, have a base there," said Robert Bigelow, the real estate and hotel magnate who founded Bigelow Aerospace. Inflatables offer two advantages over traditional aluminum-can-like modules. They weigh less per cubic foot of living space, making them cheaper to launch, and they can balloon to diameters far too wide to fit on current rockets.
Bigelow licensed the concept from NASA in 1999 after the agency abandoned plans to use inflatable living quarters for a mission to Mars. NASA is Bigelow’s first customer. On Wednesday, Bigelow said he and his wife have invested $250 million into developing inflatable space habitats. They hope to attract wealthy tourists, pharmaceutical companies and governments that want affordable space programs to an orbital outpost that Bigelow says will be ready to fly in 2016.
Called Alpha, the private space station will offer living space for 12, twice the occupancy of the international space station. Renting one-sixth of Alpha for two months will cost $25 million, Bigelow said, transportation not included. It’s unclear if a market exists for a private space station, said Scott Pace, director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University. Still, Bigelow has already tasted success. In 2006 and 2007, the company launched two small inflatable satellites atop Russian ballistic missiles. Both operated as planned.
Wednesday’s announcement marks a deepening of NASA’s partnerships with commercial companies. The agency is also funding three companies developing craft to transport astronauts to and from orbit—vehicles also needed to bring customers to Bigelow’s outposts. One of those companies, Space Exploration Technologies, or Space X, will fly the BEAM module to the space station in the "trunk" of one of its uncrewed Dragon capsules. "It sounds like a good deal for both NASA and Bigelow," said Pace. "Nothing can replace flight-test experience. "
The project may also stymie criticism that the 16-nation international space station, which took 13 years to construct, has been underutilized by NASA, said former station commander—Michael Lopez-Alegria, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. "It’s a real step in the right direction."
According to the passage, BEAM is used as______.
选项
A、a new living space for astronauts
B、an orbiting laboratory
C、an outpost on the moon
D、a test for inflatable habitats
答案
D
解析
推理题。根据题干关键词BEAM定位到第一段。该段第三句指出,该模块并非为宇航员提供新的居住空间,而是为了测试可充气环境是否能作为太空实验室、月球观望站或者远太空任务的居住舱,由此可知,BEAM的作用是用来测试可充气环境的,所以[D]为正确答案,同时排除[A]。第三句后半句指出,可充气环境可否作为太空实验室以及月球观望站仍需经过BEAM的测试,故排除[B]和[C]。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/0qXK777K
0
专业英语四级
相关试题推荐
Wherecanpeopletakeadulteducationcourses?
Whoreleasedtheinformationthatthevictimswereshot?
WhatisthesituationnowinKidalaccordingtothenews?
Onceuponatime,youbelievedinthetoothfairy.Youcountedonthestabilityofhousingpricesanddependedonbankerstobe,
Inatelephonesurveyofmorethan2,000adults,21%saidtheybelievedthesunrevolvedaroundtheearth.An【C1】______7%did
Inatelephonesurveyofmorethan2,000adults,21%saidtheybelievedthesunrevolvedaroundtheearth.An【C1】______7%did
Untilthen,hisfamily______fromhimforsixmonths.
"We’llgivethedispensersomethingtodo.Ifwegoonprescribingthese,he’lllosehiscunning."Thestudentslaughed,a
HowdidthemanspendhislastdayinLondon?
Inrecentdecadeschildspecialistshavetriedmoreandmoretohelpparentswiththeirchildren’sschoolbehavior.Schoolsofe
随机试题
某新建民航机场计划投资8000万元,其初步设计已经完成,建设用地和筹资也已落实。分别由五家施工单位通过竞标取得了承包任务。运输机场工程的建设实施应遵循哪些规定?
在使用计算机进行文字排版时,()排在字符下方。
长尾理论的基本原理是
男性,32岁,因慢性肾炎肾功能衰竭于3月前行同种异体肾移植,术后维持抗排异治疗。近2周来发热,38.5℃一39℃,轻咳,伴气急。X线胸片检查显示:两肺弥漫性细小结节状阴影,部分有融合拟诊血行播散型肺结核。(假设信息)假定经检查不能确定血行播散型肺结核,
对蛋白多肽的口服制剂促进吸收、提高生物利用度的常用方法有哪些?
脉压增大的先天性心脏病是
23.2003年7月,年过七旬的王某过世,之前立下一份“打油诗”遗嘱:“本人已年过七旬,一旦病危莫抢救;人老病死本常事,古今无人寿长久;老伴子女莫悲愁,安乐停药助我休;不搞哀悼不奏乐,免得干扰邻和友;遗体器官若能用,解剖赠送我原求;病体器官无处要,育树肥花
伪造检验数据或者伪造检验结论的,责令更正,可以处以所收检验费1倍以上3倍以下的罚款。()
主要股东应以书面形式作出资本补充和流动性支持的长期承诺,并作为商业银行资本规划和流动性应急计划的一部分。()
企业法人营业执照、营业执照分为正本和副本,正本的法律效力大于副本。()
最新回复
(
0
)