美国亚特兰蒂斯号航天飞机将进行最后的告别之旅

第一篇：美国亚特兰蒂斯号航天飞机将进行最后的告别之旅

Atlantis Crew 'Honored' to Be On Final Shuttle Mission

美国“亚特兰蒂斯”号航天飞机将进行最后的告别之旅

6月20日,准备搭乘美国“亚特兰蒂斯”号航天飞机的宇航员抵达佛罗里达州卡纳维拉尔角肯尼迪航天中心,为即将执行的最后一次飞行任务做最后准备.“亚特兰蒂斯”号计划于7月8日发射,成为执行最后一次太空飞行的美国航天飞机.The crew, led by mission commander Christopher Ferguson, met journalists at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Ferguson, a retired U.S.Navy Captain said he and his crewmates feel a special obligation to do well.“I think, and we have not talked about this, each of us feel extra burdened to make sure we put on the best possible face forward for the last go around of this, and the crew is very prepared.We are going to go out and do a very fantastic job.” Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley and mission specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim will deliver spare parts and supplies to the International Space Station during their flight.Atlantis will also test whether it is possible to robotically refuel orbiting satellites during its 12-day mission.The shuttle will return with a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and to improve pump designs for future systems.Atlantis is scheduled to lift off on July 8.Ferguson says he expects the final landing to be a poignant moment for everyone involved with the shuttle program.“Like I said, it is all over at the very end I think that is when the enormity of it is going to hit us.You know that last wheel stop call is going to be a little tough.” The mission is the last of the U.S.Space Shuttle program.During its 30-year-history the shuttle fleethas logged more than 825 million kilometers of space travel.The first shuttle, Enterprise, never flew in space.Two of the shuttlesand their crews were lost.Challenger exploded during launch in January 1986.Columbia disintegrated just minutes before landing in February 2003.NASA expects to start testing the shuttle's replacement, the Orion spacecraft, with astronauts on board sometime in 2013.