India’s celebrated space programme suffered a severe embarrassment over the Christmas weekend when a communications satellite veered off course after lift off and exploded.
圣诞节周末，印度通信卫星升空后偏离轨道继而爆炸，该国备受瞩目的太空计划因此事受到严重羞辱。
Television footage showed the rocket engulfed in plumes of black and brown smoke about a minute after leaving its launch pad at a location near India’s southern city of Chennai.
电视画面显示，火箭在脱离发射台一分钟后就被黑棕色的浓烟吞噬。这枚火箭是在印度南部城市钦奈(Chennai)附近的一个发射场发射的。
The Christmas Day mishap was the second failure of a satellite launch in a year at a time when India is trying to commercialise its satellite launch capabilities. In April, a similar rocket carrying a satellite had similarly veered off course.
圣诞节发生的这起事故是印度一年内的第二次卫星发射失败。今年4月，一枚携带卫星的类似火箭也以相似的方式偏离轨道。印度正努力实现该国火箭发射能力的商业化。
India has in past weeks signed agreements with major powers, including Russia and France, to boost its space programme, the Bangalore-based Indian Space Research Organisation. The space programme is a source of great national pride – exploring space was a dream of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister.
过去几周，印度已与包括俄罗斯和法国在内的主要大国签署多份协议，以促进由位于班加罗尔的印度空间研究组织（Indian Space Research Organisation，简称：ISRO）主持的印度太空计划。太空计划是印度民族自豪感的来源之一，印度首任总理贾瓦哈拉尔•尼赫鲁(Jawaharlal Nehru)就曾梦想探索太空。
The international attention received by ISRO has raised expectations that India’s space programme may work more closely with Russia, the US and the European Union.
ISRO受到了国际社会的关注，促使外界预期印度的太空计划可能会与俄罗斯、美国和欧盟展开更紧密的合作。
Indian scientists on Sunday said they were studying the explosion to discover why the rocket, propelled by Russian-designed engines, had malfunctioned. The Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) was carrying the GSAT-5P communication satellite, intended for telecom, television and weather transmissions, when it exploded.
印度科学家周日表示正在对爆炸进行调查，试图找出这枚由俄罗斯设计的引擎推进的火箭因何出现故障。地球同步卫星运载火箭(GSLV)爆炸时，火箭上携带了用于电信、电视和天气信息传输的GSAT-5P通信卫星。
Its original launch date had been postponed from 20 December.
火箭原定12月20日发射，后被推迟。
India has an ambitious satellite programme and is marketing its low-cost launches to other international partners in the region, including Singapore. New Delhi also has plans to send manned missions to space in coming years.
印度的火箭发射计划雄心勃勃，并向该地区其它国际合作伙伴（包括新加坡）推销其低成本发射业务。新德里方面还计划在未来几年发射载人航天器。
But the latest failure reflects a string of difficulties India has encountered sending heavy payloads into space.
但最近的这次失败却反映出印度在向太空发射运载火箭方面遇到的一系列困难。
An Asian space race has developed 30 years after Russia and the US vied for space supremacy. China and Japan over the past three years have also launched lunar missions.
美苏两国太空争霸之后，亚洲国家的太空竞赛已经发展了30年。中国和日本过去三年中也启动了探月项目。
China is to assist neighbouring Pakistan with its space programme and satellite launches, after the visit to Islamabad by Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, earlier this month.
在中国总理温家宝本月早些时候访问伊斯兰堡后，中国将向邻国巴基斯坦的太空计划和卫星发射提供帮助。
Although a launch date has not been announced, China is expected to launch the Pakistani satellite in August, most probably mid-month on the day when Pakistan celebrates its day of independence in 1947.
预计中国将在明年8月发射巴基斯坦卫星。具体发射日期尚未宣布，不过最可能的日期是明年8月中旬巴基斯坦庆祝1947年独立之时。
No comments:
Post a Comment