STARSHINE SATELLITES

42 “星光号人造卫星”成功进入运行轨道

DATE=5-2-01
TITLE=EXPLORATIONS #1950 - STARSHINE SATELLITES
BYLINE=Paul Thompson

VOICE ONE:
This is Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Shirley Griffith with the VOA Special English program EXPLORATIONS.  Thousands of young school students helped to build a satellite that was successfully placed in orbit 1.  Two more satellites that students helped prepare will be (1) launched 3 this year.  Our report today tells about these special Starshine (2) satellites.
(((MUSIC BRIDGE-“GOOD MORNING, STAR SHINE”)))
VOICE ONE:
The Starshine satellites are the idea of one man. Gil Moore is a former teacher who taught space science at Utah State （3）University and the Air Force Academy 4 in Colorado.  Mister 5 Moore now is the director of the Starshine （4）project. 
For several years, Mister Moore thought it would be fun to have school children take part in the space program.  The question was how this could be done.  School children are too young to be （5）astronauts.  And working on most space （6）equipment calls for many long years of expert experience.  Gil Moore wanted to create a project that would permit school students to learn about space.  He wanted to help children to take an active part in helping 6 prepare a satellite for real space （7）flight. 
VOICE TWO:
Mister Moore created a very simple project that met all of his goals.  He decided 7 that students could help build satellites that they could clearly see from Earth without using special equipment.  Starshine is the name of that project. 
The Starshine project called for placing hundreds of very small round metal pieces on a satellite shaped like a ball.  The small pieces of metal would be made by machines.  But each would have to be （8）carefully （9）rubbed by hand until it was bright as a mirror.  This important polishing work would be done by school students.  The students could rub 8 special chemicals and other （10）materials on the metal pieces.  The sunlight would hit the (11) polished metal pieces and be seen on Earth.
Mister Moore's plan called for teachers to write to Project Starshine and ask to take part in the project.  Starshine officials would send the teachers the needed materials and the （12）instructions.  There would be no cost to the students or the teachers.  
Mister Moore asked NASA if it would provide space on the shuttle or on rockets to take the satellites into orbit.  NASA agreed.
VOICE ONE:
The first of the Starshine series of satellites left Earth on June Fifth, Nineteen Ninety-Nine.  The Space （13）Shuttle （14）Discovery carried it into space.  The crew launched it during the space shuttle's flight to the （15）International Space Station. 
Starshine-One was covered by almost one- thousand metal mirrors that students had polished.  More than twenty-five thousand students had some part in the project.  The students were from six- hundred- sixty schools in eighteen countries.  
Starshine One was placed in （16）orbit three- hundred- eighty- seven kilometers above the Earth.  The little satellite began to spin as it left the cargo 9 area of the space shuttle.  Light from the Sun hit hundreds of the little metal mirrors at the same time.  As it moved away from the Space Shuttle it looked like an （17）extremely bright, shining （18）jewel in the black night of space.  
VOICE TWO:
Students and teachers immediately began learning 10 how to find the satellite in the morning and evening sky.  They could see the Starshine satellite without the aid of special equipment.  However, the students had to learn how to find it using the science of （19）astronomy.  They did this by measuring Starshine's position from the known path of some stars.  The learned 11 to make records of these observations so they knew exactly when the satellite would appear over their part of the world.
The little satellite circled Earth every ninety minutes.  Starshine One was not expected to stay in orbit for very long.  Each time it circled the Earth; the （20）planet's （21）gravity pulled it a little closer to the atmosphere.  Soon, the atmosphere was causing the Starshine One to slow down.  
This caused it to fall even more.  The little satellite stayed in orbit more than eight months.  On February Eighteenth, Two-Thousand, it burned up as it fell further into Earth's atmosphere.  Yet even before Starshine-One fell to Earth, Mister Moore was making plans for the launch 2 of Starshine Two and Three.  
VOICE ONE:
The National Aeronautics 12 and Space Administration 13 have a new base from which to launch (22) rockets.  It is the Kodiak Launch Complex in the far northern state of Alaska.  August Thirty-First is the first planned launch dates from the Kodiak base.  NASA will use an Athena One rocket to place four satellites into space.  One of these satellites will be Starshine Three.  The launch of Starshine Two has been （23）postponed until November First.
Starshine Three will be the largest satellite in the series.  It is almost one meter around.  It weighs eighty-eight kilograms and will carry one- thousand- five- hundred mirrors polished by students. 
VOICE TWO:
Starshine Three will carry special devices 14 that can return laser 15 light sent from Earth to the satellite.  It will have thirty-one of these laser reflectors on its surface.  It will also have devices that can change the Sun's light into electric power.  It will carry equipment to send and receive some radio information.  NASA officials on the ground will be able to change the direction of Starshine Three's flight.  And the satellite will carry a special computer disk （24）containing the names of all of the students who worked on the project.
The Athena Rocket will place Starshine Three into orbit five- hundred kilometers above the Earth.  Officials hope to place it in an orbit that will permit most of the children of the world to see it.  Starshine officials say that it will be easy to see just after the sun goes down each day.  The Starshine Three Satellite is expected to be in orbit for several years.  
VOICE ONE:
In November, the Space Shuttle Endeavor 16 is to be launched.  It will link with the International Space Station.  The shuttle crew will launch the Starshine Two satellite just before the shuttle reaches the space station.
Students from twenty-six countries have polished eight- hundred- fifty- eight of the small metal mirrors that cover the surface of Starshine Two.  The students are from two schools in (25) Algeria, more than twenty schools in Australia, three in Brazil and seven in Chile.  Other students are from two schools in Russia, three in the Philippines, one in Spain and several hundred schools in the United States.
VOICE TWO:
Project Starshine may have been the idea of one man, but it has involved the work of many people and organizations. For example, engineers at the Naval 17 Research Laboratory 18 near Washington D-C put all the satellite pieces together into a finished product.  
Experts at the White Sands （26）Proving Ground in the western state of New Mexico designed the methods used by students to polish the small metal mirrors.  The Packager Company of Ogden, Utah produced the necessary chemicals and materials used in the polishing process.  These government agencies 19 and private companies provided 20 the time and materials to project Starshine at no cost.  Many other people and organizations also gave their time, effort and money to help place the Starshine satellites into space.
(((MUSIC BRIDGES TWO:  “Good Morning Star Shine”)))
VOICE ONE:
Students and adults who were not involved in polishing the metal pieces can also learn from the Starshine project.  They can improve their science knowledge by using computers to link with special areas of Internet's the World Wide Web.  For example, students link with W-W-W-DOT-heavens-above-DOT-com.  This web site teaches how to find a Starshine satellite in different parts of the World.  The beginning lessons are very simple, and then become difficult.  
VOICE TWO:
The Jet 21 Propulsion （27）Laboratory in Pasadena, California also is linked to Project Starshine.  J-P-L has a link on the World Wide Web that provides information called “The Basics of Space Flight.”  The information offered by J-P-L is very popular with high school and college students and teachers. 
You can find the interesting Web Site at www.jpl.nasa.gov/basics <E:四张盘\4.5voa 五月www.jpl.nasa.govbasics>.  If you would like to find out more information about Project Starshine, their Web Site address is www.azinet.com/starshine .  Or you can find it by typing the word Starshine and have your computer search for that word.  Enter s-t-a-r-s-h-I-n-e.
((MUSIC BRIDGE: GOOD MORNING STARSHINE))
VOICE ONE:
This Special English program was written and produced by Paul Thompson. Our studio engineer was Keith Holmes.  This is Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Shirley Griffith. Join us again next week for another EXPLORATIONS program on the Voice of America.

注释：
（1） launch[ lC:ntF, lB:ntF ]n.下水, 汽艇
（2） satellite[ 5sAtElait ]n.人造卫星
（3） university[ 7ju:ni5vE:siti ]n.(综合)大学
（4） project[ 5prCdVekt ]n.计划, 方案 v.设计, 计划
（5） astronaut[5AstrEnC:t]n.太空人, 宇航员
（6） equipment[ i5kwipmEnt ]n.装备, 设备
（7） flight[ flait ]n.飞行, 逃走
（8） carefully[5keEfJlI]adv.小心地, 谨慎地
（9） rub[ rQb ]v.擦, 摩擦
（10） material[mE5tIErIEl]n.材料, 原料adj.物质的, 肉体的
（11） polished[ `pClIFt ]adj.擦亮的, 磨光的
（12） instruction[ in5strQkFEn ]n.指示,教育, 指导
（13） shuttle[ 5FQtl ]n.往返汽车v.穿梭往返
（14） discovery[ dis5kQvEri ]n.发现, 发明的东西
（15） international[ 7intE(:)5nAFEnEl ]adj.国际的, 世界的n.国际性组织, 国际比赛
（16） orbit[ 5C:bit ]n.轨道, 势力范围v.绕...轨道而行
（17） extremely[ iks5tri:mli ]adv.极端地, 非常地
（18） jewel[ 5dVu:El ]n.宝石
（19） astronomy[E5strRnEmI]n.天文学
（20） planet[5plAnIt]n.[天]行星
（21） gravity[ 5^rAviti ]n.地心引力, 重力
（22） rocket[ 5rCkit ]n.火箭v.飞速上升
（23） postpone[ pEust5pEun ]v.推迟, 使延期
（24） contain[ kEn5tein ]v.包含, 容纳, 容忍
（25） Algeria[ Al5dViEriE ]n.阿尔及利亚(北非国家)
（26） proving[ 5pru:viN ]v.校对
（27） laboratory[ lE5bCrEtEri, 5lAbErEtEri ]n.实验室