NASA Prepares for First Flight of Its New Supersonic Jet

NASA Prepares for First Flight of Its New Supersonic Jet

NASA准备首次试飞其新型超音速喷气机

【听力音频】

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　　By Bryan Lynn

　　21 January 2024

　　The American space agency NASA is preparing to test a new supersonic airplane that could help establish a new generation of superfast aircraft.

　　The new aircraft is called X-59, and it was built in partnership with American defense contractor Lockheed Martin. The experimental plane is part of a NASA project, or mission, called Quesst.

　　The mission aims to collect data in the United States on the level of noise produced by supersonic travel. Supersonic describes a vehicle that travels faster than the speed of sound: about 1,235 kilometers an hour.

　　The data Quesst gathers could lead U.S. officials to change rules that currently ban supersonic flights over land. NASA says the X-59 was developed to reduce the loudness of the sonic boom it produces when breaking the sound barrier to very low levels heard on the ground.

　　A few U.S. companies are exploring ways to restart supersonic passenger travel for the first time since 2003. That is the year the Concorde aircraft stopped flying. The Concorde was the world's first supersonic passenger jet. It was operated jointly by Britain and France.

　　The Concorde flew at speeds more than twice the speed of sound, British Airways explained. This meant it could travel from London to New York in about three-and-a-half hours. The same flight took about eight hours with normal passenger jets.

　　The new supersonic planes being developed make less noise and use less fuel than the Concorde. But manufacturers are under pressure from environmental groups and airports to meet the same noise and carbon emission limits as traditional planes.

　　NASA and Lockheed Martin recently showed off the X-59 plane during an event in Palmdale, California.

　　At the ceremony, NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy called the development of the supersonic aircraft a "major accomplishment." She noted that members of the NASA and Lockheed Martin teams had worked hard to take the X-59 from an idea to reality "in just a few years."

　　Melroy added her hope that the X-59 "will help change the way we travel, bringing us closer together in much less time."

　　The aircraft measures 30 meters long and nine meters wide. NASA said in a press release that the X-59 is expected to fly at 1.4 times the speed of sound, or about 1,500 kilometers per hour. The aircraft's design, shape and technologies will permit it to reach high speeds while producing "a quieter sonic thump," the agency explained.

　　The X-59 has not yet completed a test flight. But NASA officials have said they expect that to happen sometime this year. The team will be carrying out other tests in the coming months, including instrument experiments, fast engine runs and ground testing.

　　Once the aircraft has been cleared to fly, it will be deployed to several cities across the U.S. to collect data on the sounds the plane produces and how people on the ground react to the noise.

　　The data will be provided to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and international flight regulators. The information will help regulators decide whether to change existing laws restricting supersonic flight.

　　NASA said one of the biggest differences between the X-59 and other supersonic planes is that it has a thinner, smaller nose. The nose, which was reduced by about one-third, aims to break up shock waves that results in more intense sonic booms.

　　The Quesst team "also designed the aircraft with its engine mounted on top and gave it a smooth underside" in an effort to reduce shock waves near the back of the plane, NASA said.

　　Another American company developing supersonic aircraft is Boom Supersonic in Colorado. The company first showed off its experimental supersonic plane, the XB-1, in October 2020. Boom has been carrying out tests of the aircraft since then.

　　The company says on its website that its development and testing activities during the past few years have centered on ground tests, including a series of taxi runs. In 2024, Boom said it plans to begin its "high-speed taxi testing" early in the year, while preparing for an actual flight test that could happen later in the year.

　　I'm Bryan Lynn.

　　Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from NASA, Lockheed Martin and Boom Supersonic.

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　　作者：Bryan Lynn

　　日期：2024年1月21日

　　美国航天局NASA正在准备测试一种新型超音速飞机，这种飞机可能有助于开创新一代超高速飞机的时代。

　　这架新飞机被命名为X-59，是NASA与美国防务承包商洛克希德·马丁公司合作建造的。这架实验飞机是NASA一个名为Quesst的项目或任务的一部分。

　　该任务的目标是在美国收集关于超音速旅行产生的噪音水平的数据。超音速是指一种速度超过声速的交通工具，声速约为每小时1235公里。

　　Quesst收集的数据可能会促使美国官员改变目前禁止超音速飞机在陆地上飞行的规定。NASA表示，X-59飞机的开发目的是将其在突破音障时产生的音爆的噪音降低到地面上听到的非常低的水平。

　　自2003年以来，有几家美国公司正在探索重新启动超音速客运旅行的方式。那一年，协和飞机停止飞行。协和飞机是世界上第一架超音速客机，由英国和法国共同运营。

　　英国航空公司解释说，协和飞机的飞行速度是声速的两倍以上。这意味着它可以在大约三个半小时内从伦敦飞到纽约。而同样的航班使用普通的客机需要大约八个小时。

　　正在开发的新型超音速飞机比协和飞机噪音更小，燃油消耗更少。但是，制造商们正面临来自环保团体和机场的压力，要求他们达到与传统飞机相同的噪音和碳排放限制。

　　NASA和洛克希德·马丁公司最近在加利福尼亚州的帕尔姆代尔市的一次活动中展示了X-59飞机。

　　在仪式上，NASA副局长Pam Melroy称超音速飞机的开发是一个“重大成就”。她指出，NASA和洛克希德·马丁的团队成员们努力工作，仅用了几年时间就将X-59从一个想法变为现实。

　　Melroy还表示，她希望X-59“将帮助改变我们的出行方式，使我们在更短的时间内更加紧密地联系在一起”。

　　这架飞机长30米，宽9米。NASA在一份新闻稿中表示，预计X-59将以1.4倍的音速飞行，即每小时约1500公里。该机的设计、形状和技术将使其能够在产生“更安静的音爆”的同时达到高速度，该机构解释道。

　　X-59尚未完成试飞。但NASA官员表示，他们预计今年某个时候会进行试飞。团队将在未来几个月进行其他测试，包括仪器实验、快速发动机运行和地面测试。

　　一旦飞机获得飞行许可，它将被部署到美国的几个城市，收集飞机产生的声音数据，以及地面上的人们对噪音的反应。

　　这些数据将提供给美国联邦航空管理局和国际航班监管机构。这些信息将帮助监管机构决定是否改变现有的限制超音速飞行的法律。

　　NASA表示，X-59与其他超音速飞机的最大区别之一是它有一个更薄、更小的鼻子。鼻子的长度减小了大约三分之一，目的是打破产生更强烈音爆的冲击波。

　　NASA表示，Quesst团队“还设计了飞机的发动机安装在顶部，并赋予它平滑的底部”，以减少飞机后部附近的冲击波。

　　另一家正在开发超音速飞机的美国公司是科罗拉多州的Boom Supersonic。该公司首次在2020年10月展示了其实验性超音速飞机XB-1，并从那时起一直在进行飞机的测试。

　　该公司在其网站上表示，过去几年的开发和测试活动主要集中在地面测试上，包括一系列的滑行测试。Boom表示，它计划在2024年初开始进行“高速滑行测试”，同时准备进行可能在年底进行的实际飞行测试。

　　我是Bryan Lynn。

　　Bryan Lynn根据NASA、洛克希德·马丁和Boom Supersonic的报告，为VOA学英语写了这篇报道。

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　　本故事中的词汇

　　sonic boom – n. 当物体以超过声速的速度移动时，由飞机、子弹等产生的爆炸声

　　accomplishment – n.在做好某事上取得的成功

　　thump – n.由打击、跌落等产生的噪音

　　regulate – v. 使用规则控制活动或过程，这些规则通常由政府制定