英语新闻丨Nation's space shuttle set to improve efficiency, cut costs

The Aviation Industry Corp of China is a major hardware supplier to the People's Liberation Army Air Force, Navy and Ground Force. And now, it has earned a new client — the China Manned Space Agency.

中国航空工业集团有限公司是中国人民解放军空军、海军和陆军的主要硬件供应商。现在，它又赢得了一个新客户——中国载人航天工程。

A reusable cargo spaceplane, one of the company's latest products, has gained the AVIC a contract from the space agency, which runs China's crewed spaceflights.

中国航空工业集团的最新产品——可重复使用货运航天飞机，为中国航空工业集团赢得了中国载人航天工程的合同。

According to the State-owned defense conglomerate, the Haolong space shuttle, designed by its Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute in Sichuan province, aims to further reduce the cargo transportation costs involved in the operation of China's Tiangong space station.

中国航空工业集团称，“昊龙”货运航天飞机由其位于四川省的成都飞机设计研究所自主设计研制，旨在进一步降低中国天宫空间站货物运输成本。

Zhang Jichao, a deputy general manager of the AVIC, said at a news conference in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, on Monday that the space shuttle's conceptual plan has been finalized and researchers have started the design and production work for the first prototype's components.

11月11日，中国航空工业集团副总经理张继超在广东珠海举行的新闻发布会上表示，航天飞机已完成方案设计，研究人员正全面开展首架样机部件的设计和生产工作。

"Once put into service, Haolong will be launched by China's commercial carrier rockets to dock with the country's Tiangong space station. After completing its tasks, the shuttle will return to the Earth's atmosphere and make a horizontal landing on a runway like a plane," Zhang said.

“‘昊龙’货运航天飞机投入使用后，将采用中国商业运载火箭发射，能够与我国空间站交会对接。完成货物上下行之后，可无动力自主返回，并水平着陆于指定机场。”张继超说。

"The model features good reusability and can ferry materials back and forth between the space station and Earth," he added.

张继超补充：“该货运航天飞机具备突出的可重复使用能力，可以在空间站和地球之间来回运输材料。”

Zhang said the use of such a spaceplane will significantly cut the time that mission planners now have to wait for between two cargo flights, and reduce the cost of each flight.

张继超介绍，使用该货运航天飞机将大大缩短任务规划人员现在必须在两次货运飞行之间等待的时间，并降低单次任务成本。

Compared with traditional cargo vessels that cannot be reused, the shuttle will be able to bring goods back to Earth, which will greatly facilitate scientific experiments, according to the executive.

张继超表示，与不能重复使用的传统货运飞船相比，该货运航天飞机可以将货物运回地球，这将极大地减轻科学实验的困难。

Fang Yuanpeng, Haolong's chief designer, said the space shuttle will be about 10 meters long and eight meters wide. It will have two foldable curved wings, a vertical fin and will generate power via solar panels. During its docking with the space station, astronauts can move into it to take materials or store items, he noted.

“昊龙”货运航天飞机总设计师房元鹏称，该货运航天飞机长约10米，宽8米。它有两个可折叠的弧形机翼和一个垂直鳍，并可通过太阳能电池板发电。他指出，在与空间站舱体连通后，航天员可以自由进出“昊龙”货舱以进行货物取用或物资存储。

A model of the spacecraft will be displayed at the 15th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, which opens on Tuesday in Zhuhai and runs through Sunday.

“昊龙”货运航天飞机将在中国航展亮相。第十五届中国国际航空航天博览会于11月12日在珠海开幕，并将持续至17日。

Currently, China has only one model of cargo spaceship, Tianzhou, which is a product of the China Academy of Space Technology in Beijing. So far, seven Tianzhou vessels have been launched and six of them were used to transport supplies to the Tiangong space station.

目前，中国只有一种货运飞船——天舟系列货运飞船，它是中国空间技术研究院的产品。迄今为止，中国已经发射七艘天舟货运飞船，其中六艘用于向天宫空间站运送物资。

Orbiting Earth at a distance of about 400 kilometers, the Chinese space station has three permanent parts — a core module and two science capsules — and is regularly connected to several visiting crew and cargo spaceships.

天宫空间站在高度约400公里的轨道上绕地球飞行，由一个核心舱和两个实验舱组成，支持载人飞船、货运飞船的定期对接和停靠。

It has been manned by eight Chinese crews, including the incumbent Shenzhou XIX team. All of the crews' living and work necessities need to be transported by cargo vessels.

包括现任神舟十九号乘组在内的八名中国航天员曾在此驻留。所有乘员的生活和工作必需品都需要通过货运飞船运输。

horizontal landing

水平着陆

reusable

adj．可重复使用的

space shuttle

航天飞机

incumbent

adj. 现任的，在职的