Everyday English – US manned space flight in doubt

• Source: Global Times
• [14:09 July 07 2009]
• Comments

US ambitions to send astronauts back to the moon as a prelude to missions to Mars have been put in doubt by budgetary constraints 40 years after man’s triumphant landing on Earth’s nearest neighbor.

Launched in 2004, the Constellation program aims to take Americans back to the moon by 2020, using the mission as a launch pad for manned voyages to Mars.

Without renouncing those objectives, President Barack Obama has named a commission of experts to review the US manned-space-flight program and make recommendations by the end of August.

Space shuttles, which have carried crews of astronauts into space since 1981, were conceived as reusable vehicles to transport heavy, bulky equipment into Earth’s orbit, primarily for the construction of the International Space Station.

But the shuttle has kept the US stuck in a low orbit for too long, at a time when other countries are emerging as rivals in space, argues Michael Griffin, the former NASA chief who championed the Constellation program.

During the unveiling of Constellation to Congress in 2004, Griffin said, “The single overarching goal of human space flight is the human settlement of the solar system, and eventually beyond.”

But NASA’s budget is not big enough to cover the cost of Constellation’s Orion capsule, a more advanced and spacious version of the Apollo lunar module, and the Ares 1 and Ares V launchers needed to put it in orbit.

Constellation is projected to cost about $150 billion, but estimates for the Ares 1 have skyrocketed from $26 billion in 2006 to $44 billion last year.

With the US space-exploration budget of $6 billion in 2009, Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, a former astronaut, deplored that between 2020 and 2015 the US will have no way of transporting its astronauts to the space station, except aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

Meanwhile, a group of current and retired NASA engineers, who are critical of the Constellation project, have been working in their spare time on a parallel project dubbed Jupiter Direct.

It envisions using the Orion capsule but replacing the Ares launchers with a family of launchers with common components.

Proposals presented to Obama’s commission estimate Jupiter’s cost at $14 billion, nearly half the original estimate for the Ares 1.

AFP

Notes:

Prelude – (noun) An introductory performance or action, or event preceeding and preparing for the main or more important matter.

As a prelude to the play, the playwright came on stage and gave a short introduction to explain why he wrote the play and hoped the audience would enjoy it.

Dark clouds gathered in the sky as a prelude to the thunder, lightning and then heavy rain that followed.

Renouncing – (verb) To give up, to refuse, or resign, usually by formal declaration.

The stern father was so angry his wayward teenage son was jailed for robbery that he renounced any responsibility for his child.

Overarching – (adjective) It literally means forming an arch over head, but here and in most cases, it means dominating or embracing overall.

While online instant messaging services like MSN and QQ make it fun for people to chat, the overarching goal is to help facilitate instant communication that is efficient and cost-effective.

Envisions – (verb) To picture oneself.

Peter likes to study plants and envisions himself when he grows up to become a great botanist one day.