美将建造价值87亿美元太空望远镜
文章来源:未知 文章作者:enread 发布时间:2011-08-25 07:19 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
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Nasa says it will now cost $8.7bn to launch the James Webb Space Telescope in 2018.

美国宇航局称将在2018年发射价值87亿美元的詹姆斯·韦伯号太空望远镜。

The telescope and its instruments will be shaded by a structure the size of a tennis court
The telescope and its instruments will be shaded by a structure the size of a tennis court
The assessment1 - some $2bn higher than previous estimates - has emerged from documents sent to the US Congress.

James Webb is regarded as the successor to Hubble and will carry technologies capable of detecting the light from the first stars to shine in the Universe.

But delays and cost overruns have dogged the project, and now some politicians want JWST cancelled.

The House Appropriations2 Committee put forward a draft 2012 budget for the US space agency last month that would terminate funding for the observatory3.

The equivalent Senate body has yet to have its say, however.

Nasa itself has fiercely defended the telescope, with senior officials describing JWST as one of their top priorities.

The observatory is supposed to be the next great undertaking4 in space astronomy(天文学) , incorporating the biggest mirror ever sent into orbit. Its near-infrared detectors5 promise a swathe of remarkable6 discoveries about the early cosmos7.

But getting the observatory ready for flight has proved to be a major technological8 challenge.

An independent assessment last year suggested the telescope's total cost had ballooned from $3.5bn to $5bn, and that continued delays would inflate9 the final bill well beyond $6bn.

In parallel with the price escalation10, the probable launch date has slipped deeper and deeper into the decade with some commentators11 wondering whether JWST might not even be ready to fly this side of 2020.

Nasa responded to the all criticism by making management changes and ordering a "bottoms-up review" of the project.

It is this review that has now established the $8.7bn figure as the new baseline price tag for JWST, a Nasa spokesman told BBC News. It is the full life-cycle cost - to build, launch and operate the observatory.

The agency would explain how to fund the revised baseline in the US President's 2013 budget request to Congress made at the beginning of next year, the spokesman added.

One complicating12 factor for US politicians as they move to decide the future of JWST is the international fall-out that would result from cancellation13.

JWST is being prepared in partnership14 with Europe and Canada. Europe, for example, is providing two of the telescope's four instruments and the rocket to put it in orbit. This commitment would guarantee its astronomers15 15% of the observing time on the observatory.



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1 assessment vO7yu     
n.评价;评估;对财产的估价,被估定的金额
参考例句:
  • This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
  • What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何?
2 appropriations dbe6fbc02763a03b4f9bd9c27ac65881     
n.挪用(appropriation的复数形式)
参考例句:
  • More commonly, funding controls are imposed in the annual appropriations process. 更普遍的作法是,拨款控制被规定在年度拨款手续中。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
  • Should the president veto the appropriations bill, it goes back to Congress. 假如总统否决了这项拨款提案,就把它退还给国会。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
3 observatory hRgzP     
n.天文台,气象台,瞭望台,观测台
参考例句:
  • Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
  • Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。
4 undertaking Mfkz7S     
n.保证,许诺,事业
参考例句:
  • He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。
  • He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小,不敢从事任何事业。
5 detectors bff80b364ed19e1821aa038fae38df83     
探测器( detector的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The report advocated that all buildings be fitted with smoke detectors. 报告主张所有的建筑物都应安装烟火探测器。
  • This is heady wine for experimenters using these neutrino detectors. 对于使用中微子探测器的实验工作者,这是令人兴奋的美酒。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技
6 remarkable 8Vbx6     
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的
参考例句:
  • She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
  • These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
7 cosmos pn2yT     
n.宇宙;秩序,和谐
参考例句:
  • Our world is but a small part of the cosmos.我们的世界仅仅是宇宙的一小部分而已。
  • Is there any other intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos?在宇宙的其他星球上还存在别的有智慧的生物吗?
8 technological gqiwY     
adj.技术的;工艺的
参考例句:
  • A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
  • Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今, 随着科技进步,生活节奏不断增快。
9 inflate zbGz8     
vt.使膨胀,使骄傲,抬高(物价)
参考例句:
  • The buyers bid against each other and often inflate the prices they pay.买主们竞相投标,往往人为地提高价钱。
  • Stuart jumped into the sea and inflated the liferaft.斯图尔特跳到海里给救生艇充气。
10 escalation doZxW     
n.扩大,增加
参考例句:
  • The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
  • Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句
11 commentators 14bfe5fe312768eb5df7698676f7837c     
n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 );时事评论员;注释者;实况广播员
参考例句:
  • Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语,真叫人腻烦。
  • Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话,令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 complicating 53d55ae4c858e224b98a8187fa34fb04     
使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热,暗示合并门静脉炎。
  • In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国,这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例,使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。
13 cancellation BxNzQO     
n.删除,取消
参考例句:
  • Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大,可能须要取消渡轮服务。
  • Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。
14 partnership NmfzPy     
n.合作关系,伙伴关系
参考例句:
  • The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
  • Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。
15 astronomers 569155f16962e086bd7de77deceefcbd     
n.天文学者,天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪,为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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