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
38
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."
All of the following statements are the advantages of inflatables EXCEPT that______.
选项
A、they are much lighter than traditional modules
B、they are less expensive to launch
C、they can expand to larger room
D、they can fit current rockets
答案
D
解析
细节题。根据题干关键词inflatables定位到第二段。该段最后一句指出,可充气模块能够膨胀许多倍,远远大于现在火箭的容量,而非能够适合现在的火箭,所以[D]符合题目要求,故为正确答案。该段最后两句指出,可充气模块与传统的铝罐式模块相比有两个优点,即比传统模块更轻,发射成本更低,并且能够膨胀许多倍,故排除[A]、[B]和[C]。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/MqXK777K
0
专业英语四级
相关试题推荐
Thedoctoradvisedhertostayinbed,sayingshewasmuch______.
Whoreleasedtheinformationthatthevictimswereshot?
Onceuponatime,youbelievedinthetoothfairy.Youcountedonthestabilityofhousingpricesanddependedonbankerstobe,
Everyyeartelevisionstationsreceivehundredsofcomplaintsabouttheloudnessofadvertisements.However,federalrulesforbi
Whycouldn’tthemanputonmoreweight?
WhatdoesthedoctorgiveJessicaonthedayoftheirmeeting?
ThecarindustrysufferedanothersetbackyesterdaywhenLucasElectricalCompanyannouncedthatmanyofits12,000workersat1
Inrecentdecadeschildspecialistshavetriedmoreandmoretohelpparentswiththeirchildren’sschoolbehavior.Schoolsofe
Lastsummer,sometwenty-eightthousandhomelesspeoplewereofferedshelterbythecityofNewYork.Ofthisnumber,twelvetho
Youmightthinkthatborrowingamatchuponthestreetisasimplething.Butanymanwhohasevertrieditwillassureyouthat
随机试题
寻思起就里。
肾的被膜由外向内依次是()
下列荷载中,属于永久荷载的是()。
《“十三五”旅游业发展规划》要求,“十三五”时期要以()为旅游业发展主线。
设有一个直接映像方式的Cache,其容量为8KB,每块的大小为16B,主存的容量为512KB,试回答以下问题:主存中的第j块映像到Cache中哪一个块?
在一场魔术表演中,魔术师随意邀请一位观众志愿者,上台配合他的表演。根据魔术师的要求,志愿者从魔术师手中的一副扑克中随意抽出一张。志愿者看清楚了这张牌,但显然没有让魔术师看到这张牌。随后,志愿者把这张牌插回那副扑克中。魔术师把扑克洗了几遍,又切了一遍。最后魔
设函数f(x)在(一∞,+∞)内具有一阶连续导数,L是上半平面(y>0)内的有向分段光滑曲线,其起点为(a,b),终点为(c,d).记.当ab=cd时,求I的值.
Brandsarebasicallyapromise.Theytellconsumerswhatqualitytoexpectfroma【C1】______andshowoffitspersonality.Firmsi
如果表单及表单控件同时设置了INIT事件,运行表单时,后引发的是______中的INIT事件。
要确定“库存量”乘以“单价”的平均值是否大于等于¥500,且小于等于¥1000,可输入【】。
最新回复
(
0
)