SpaceX爆炸事件：为什么它很重要 - 每天聪明一点点 138：英语精读讲义

Hey, it's me Destin.

嘿，我是Destin。

Welcome back to Smarter Every Day.

欢迎回到Smarter Every Day。

Depending on where you get your media, 語法

取决于你获取媒体信息的渠道，

you're probably aware that we just failed for the third time in 8 months to get cargo vehicles up to the International Space Station,

你可能已经知道，我们刚刚在8个月内第三次未能将货运飞船送上国际空间站，

which means that cargo didn't make it up there.

这意味着货物没能成功送达那里。

Now, the media's really negative about this,

现在，媒体对此非常负面，

and I understand that.

我也理解这一点。

It's never good to blow up rockets. 短語動詞

火箭爆炸绝不是什么好事。

However, as a rocket tester,

然而，作为一名火箭测试员，

that's my day job, 短語搭配

这也是我的日常工作，

I think I'm a little bit more positive about this.

我觉得我对此的态度要稍微积极一些。

And the reason is because I've always learned more from rocket failures than from successes. 語法

原因在于，我从火箭失败中学到的东西总是比从成功中学的多。

Before I show the explosions,

在向大家展示爆炸画面之前，

let's talk about one thing.

我们先来谈谈一件事。

It's called staging. 用詞

叫做级间分离。

So,

那么，

imagine you've got this rocket and you got really big propellant tanks and you've got engines on it,

想象你有一枚火箭，上面有巨大的推进剂储罐和发动机，

right?

对吧？

At some point along the way, 短語搭配

在飞行过程中的某个时刻，

you're going to have really big empty tanks,

你会有非常大的空储罐，

and that's just a lot of extra weight.

而这些就成了多余的重量。

Rocket engineers figured out a long time ago that if they drop off all that extra weight 短語動詞

火箭工程师很久以前就发现，如果他们抛掉所有这些多余的重量，

and they switch over to another rocket engine and smaller tanks 短語動詞

并切换到另一台火箭发动机和更小的储罐，

that they can get to orbit more efficiently.

他们就能更高效地进入轨道。

This is a beautiful thing,

这是一件美妙的事情，

and it works because of something called the rocket equation. 短語搭配

它的原理是基于所谓的火箭方程。

Okay,

好了，

time to look at the failures.

是时候来看看这些失败案例了。

The first failure was an Orbital Sciences Antares vehicle carrying the Cygnus spacecraft.

第一次失败是轨道科学公司搭载天鹅座飞船的“安塔瑞斯”运载火箭。

Now,

那么，

this vehicle was interesting because it used Russian engines that were literally 40 years old. 用詞

这枚运载火箭很有趣，因为它使用的是字面意义上已经40年历史的俄罗斯发动机。

Now,

现在，

that sounds crazy at first,

这乍听起来很疯狂，

but rocket engines are super expensive,

但火箭发动机极其昂贵，

and these were actually really efficient engines.

而且这些发动机实际上非常高效。

Anyway,

不管怎样，

they were refurbished,

它们经过了翻新，

but still there was a catastrophic failure. 短語搭配

但还是发生了灾难性的失败。

Unfortunately,

不幸的是，

a lot of stuff didn't make it to the space station.

很多东西没能送达空间站。

The second failure was a Russian vehicle called Progress 59.

第二次失败是一艘名为“进步59号”的俄罗斯飞船。

It launched like normal from Baikonur,

它从拜科努尔像往常一样发射，

and it even made it to space,

甚至已经到达了太空，

but somewhere up there there was a failure on the third stage,

但在上面的某个地方，第三级发生了故障，

and everything went cattywampus. 用詞

一切都乱套了。

The engineers couldn't regain control, 短語搭配

工程师们无法重新取得控制权，

and the vehicle eventually burned up in the Earth's atmosphere. 短語動詞

飞船最终在地球大气层中烧毁。

Among other things, 表達脈絡

除此之外，

there were a lot of toilet repair parts on that Progress vehicle,

那艘“进步”号飞船上还有很多修理厕所的零件，

which is a pretty big deal.

这是件相当重要的事情。

You got to poop somewhere.

你总得找个地方上厕所吧。

The most recent failure was of a Falcon 9 rocket made by SpaceX.

最近一次失败是SpaceX制造的猎鹰9号火箭。

Again,

同样，

the launch seemed to be normal,

发射过程看起来很正常，

everything seemed to be going well,

一切似乎都很顺利，

and then it seemed to vent something out the side that looked like liquid oxygen,

接着它似乎从侧面喷出了像液氧一样的东西，

and then all of a sudden it exploded.

然后突然之间它就爆炸了。

I'm not going to speculate on why it exploded because I'm not a system expert.

我不想去推测它为什么爆炸，因为我不是系统专家。

Those exist,

专家大有人在，

and I'm not one of them.

而我不是其中之一。

In terms of hardware loss, 表達脈絡

在硬件损失方面，

there was a lot of normal supplies and scientific gear,

有很多日常补给和科学仪器，

as well as an International Docking Adapter,

还有一个国际对接适配器、

a HoloLens, and a space suit.

一台HoloLens和一件宇航服。

Space suits don't really grow on trees. 習語

宇航服可不是从树上长出来的。

Okay,

好了，

let's talk about what this means for the space station because there's a lot of chow that didn't make it up there. 用詞

我们来谈谈这对空间站意味着什么，因为有很多食物都没能送上去。

There's a person in the front of the control room called the ISO, 文化背景

在控制室前面有一个人叫做ISO，

the Inventory and Stowage Officer.

即资产与后勤管理员。

Their job is to know exactly what is where on the International Space Station.

他们的工作是确切知道国际空间站上什么东西在什么位置。

For example,

例如，

food.

食物。

When it comes time to eat on the space station, 語法

当空间站到了就餐时间，

astronauts have large bags of food.

宇航员会拿大袋的食物。

They'll scan it with a scanner.

他们会用扫描仪扫一下。

Boop.

嘀。

That tells the ISO that that bag is now open.

这就告诉ISO那袋食物现在已经打开了。

They'll open the bag up,

他们会打开袋子，

and they'll start eating food out of that bag,

开始吃袋子里的食物，

and that bag will last them about a week. 用詞

那袋食物够他们吃上大约一个星期。

They try to plan at least 60 days ahead of the next cargo vehicle. 短語搭配

他们试图在下一艘货运飞船到来之前至少提前60天做好计划。

It's called a skip cycle.

这被称为一个跳跃周期。

So,

所以，

when Cygnus blew up,

当天鹅座飞船爆炸时，

they took that 60-day window,

他们把那60天的窗口期

and they compressed it down to about 45 days. 短語搭配

压缩到了大概45天。

This is an internal discussion that these guys have to manage their assets.

这是这些人为了管理资产必须要进行的一项内部讨论。

The good news is there's no longer three astronauts on the American side of the space station eating up all the food. 短語動詞

好消息是，空间站美国区不再有三名宇航员在消耗所有的食物了。

There's only one,

现在只有一名，

Scott Kelly.

斯科特·凯利。

And trust me,

相信我，

Scott Kelly can't eat three astronauts worth of food. 語法

斯科特·凯利吃不下三名宇航员份量的食物。

The fact that we've lost three vehicles pretty much in a row,

我们几乎连续损失了三艘飞船，

and we still have plenty of supplies on the space station,

而空间站上仍然有充足的补给，

speaks to how awesome these engineers and mission planners are. 短語搭配

这个事实说明了这些工程师和任务规划者有多么了不起。

ISOs are pretty awesome.

ISO们非常厉害。

Is it okay to keep blowing up rockets?

一直炸火箭真的没问题吗？

No.

当然有问题。

But,

但是，

I would submit to you that this might be the perfect time for it to happen if it has to. 語氣意圖

我想告诉你们，如果这事注定要发生，现在可能是发生它的最佳时机。

The cargo vehicle program has been incredibly reliable,

货运飞船项目一直极其可靠，

almost routine,

事实上，

in fact.

几乎成了例行公事。

I mean,

我的意思是，

look at these numbers.

看看这些数据。

These reliability rates are right on par for the non-human-rated rocket business. 短語搭配

这些可靠性指标与非载人火箭业务的平均水平完全一致。

You know why this is impressive to me?

你知道为什么这让我印象深刻吗？

There are billions of Wi-Fi connections all over the world,

全世界有数十亿个Wi-Fi连接，

and there are absolutely no moving parts.

并且完全没有任何活动部件。

Yet, we

然而，我们

still don't have it figured out. That's crazy. 短語動詞

仍然没有完全弄明白它。这太疯狂了。

Now,

现在，

think about rockets.

想想火箭。

If you had a million movable parts on this Wi-Fi connection, 語法

如果你在这个Wi-Fi连接上有一百万个活动部件，

would you expect it to work?

你会指望它能用吗？

I wouldn't.

我是不会的。

But,

但是，

somehow, rockets work.

不知何故，火箭却能正常工作。

That's amazing.

这真是太神奇了。

Space is hard,

太空探索很艰难，

but we're doing it.

但我们正在做这件事。

Think about staging again.

再想一想级间分离。

You compute your guidance and control algorithm based on a huge rocket to hit the right course.

你基于一枚巨大的火箭来计算制导和控制算法以对准正确的航向。

When you get to altitude,

当你到达一定高度时，

you've got to stop one set of rocket engines,

你必须停止一组火箭发动机的工作，

break the rocket in half,

将火箭一分为二，

safely separate the two parts,

安全地分离这两部分，

recalibrate your entire guidance and control scheme,

重新校准你整个制导和控制方案，

start another rocket engine,

启动另一台火箭发动机，

and make sure that one's on the same track.

并确保它还在相同的轨道上。

Oh,

哦，

by the way, 表達脈絡

顺便问一下，

did your center of gravity just move halfway down your vehicle?

你的重心是不是刚刚向下移动了半个箭身？

You're doing this while you're on a collision course with the ground, 短語搭配

而你做这些事情的时候，你正处在可能坠毁于地面的航线上，

and you're going several times the speed of sound using materials that were the lightest you had available,

并且正以几倍音速飞行，使用的是你能找到的最轻的材料，

and you shaved every single gram you could so you could get more payload to orbit. 用詞

而且你为了能将更多有效载荷送入轨道，把重量减轻到了极致。

That's really hard.

那真的是非常困难。

So,

所以，

what do these failures mean for human space flight?

这些失败对载人航天意味着什么呢？

Well,

嗯，

for one thing, 表達脈絡

首先，

cargo vehicles are not human-rated vehicles. 用詞

货运飞船不是载人级别的飞船。

Once you put a human on top of that rocket, 語法

一旦你把人放在那枚火箭上，

the rules change.

规则就变了。

For example,

例如，

a cargo vehicle might have two guidance computers,

货运飞船可能有两台制导计算机，

but a human-rated vehicle might have six.

但载人级别的飞船可能有六台。

Human-rated vehicles might have extra valves so you can isolate a problem with propellant. 短語搭配

载人级别的飞船可能有额外的阀门，以便在推进剂出现问题时进行隔离。

Another thing,

另一件事，

the very top of a human-rated system is often a launch abort system. 文化背景

载人系统最顶端通常是发射中止系统。

If something goes squirrely with the big rocket, 用詞

如果大火箭出了什么差错，

you can just punch the launch abort system, 用詞

你只需启动发射中止系统，

and it'll pull the capsule away,

它就会把太空舱拉走，

saving the humans.

从而救下人类。

Okay,

好了，

my words might not be right, 語氣意圖

我的说法可能不完全准确，

but I'm a little excited that these failures happened exactly when they did.

但这些失败刚好发生在这个时间点，这让我有点兴奋。

And this is why.

原因如下。

If you think about it,

仔细想一想，

we are stressing the system in a way we did not anticipate. 用詞

我们正在以一种我们未能预料到的方式给系统施压。

Three cargo vessels did not make it.

三艘货运飞船未能送达。

That's a big deal,

这是件大事，

but everything's still working.

但一切仍在正常运转。

So,

所以，

we have great mission planning.

我们有很棒的任务规划。

We stressed the system in a way we didn't expect,

我们以一种意想不到的方式给系统施压，

and it's working flawlessly.

而它却在完美运作。

Number two,

第二，

we're going to uncover something,

我们将去发现一些问题，

right?

对吧？

We did something wrong.

我们做错了某些事情。

I don't know what it is,

我不知道是什么，

but there might have been a weld that was wrong.

但可能是某处焊接有问题。

We might have done something wrong procedurally.

可能是我们在程序上做错了什么。

Something is wrong,

肯定是哪里出了问题，

and we're going to take a really stinking hard look at it right now, 短語搭配

而我们现在就要非常严苛地去审视它，

just before we transition to human flight,

就在我们过渡到载人飞行之前，

and we're probably going to be safer because of it because if these rockets had kept working every single time, 語法

我们也可能会因此变得更安全，因为如果这些火箭每次都能正常工作，

that flaw in the system or in that part would still be there,

系统中或那个部件上的缺陷就仍然存在，

but it would remain uncovered.

只不过它会一直没被发现。

So,

所以，

it's a really good thing that it happened right now

在这个时候发生这种事真的是件好事，

before we put humans on these rockets.

就在我们把人送上这些火箭之前。

So,

那么，

my grandfather worked on Apollo,

我祖父曾参与过阿波罗计划，

and my mom found something really cool this week in the basement.

我妈妈这周在地下室发现了一些非常酷的东西。

It is a coin made from materials that flew with Apollo 8 around the moon.

这是一枚由随阿波罗8号绕月飞行的材料制成的硬币。

Really cool.

非常酷。

It comes with this letter from Frank Borman,

随附的还有弗兰克·博尔曼的一封信，

who was one of the astronauts,

他是宇航员之一，

thanking the people that made his rocket for their dedication to safety. 短語搭配

信中感谢为他制造火箭的人们对安全的专注奉献。

Really,

真的，

really cool.

非常酷。

Also,

还有，

there's this.

这个。

It's a lunar landing celebration invitation from Dr. Wernher von Braun.

这是一张韦恩赫尔·冯·布劳恩博士发出的登月庆祝邀请函。

And if you zoom in here,

如果你放大这里看，

you can see what he says in closing. 表達脈絡

你可以看到他在信末的结语。

He says,

他写道，

"My greatest hope is that together we can work on ever greater ventures in the future."

我最大的希望是，未来我们能够携手共创更伟大的事业。

That's exactly what the International Space Station is.

这正是国际空间站的意义所在。

It's a greater thing.

这是一项更伟大的事业。

It transcends politics. 表達脈絡

它跨越了政治。

It transcends language.

它跨越了语言。

It's just amazing.

这简直太不可思议了。

And so,

所以，

you got to ask yourself, 短語搭配

你得问问自己，

in this situation,

在这种情况下，

resupply vehicles fail,

补给飞船出现故障，

what would von Braun do?

冯·布劳恩会怎么做？

And I think he would double down. 短語動詞

我想他会加倍努力。

I think he would realize that he could learn from mistakes in these resupply vehicles

我想他会意识到，他可以从这些补给飞船的失误中吸取教训，

and roll that knowledge into the human space flight effort. 短語動詞

并将这些知识应用到载人航天的努力中去。

And I'm really excited about that.

对此我感到非常激动。

I hope you enjoyed this episode of Smarter Every Day.

希望你喜欢这期Smarter Every Day。

It was sponsored by audible.com,

本期由audible.com赞助，

where you can get a free audiobook by going to audible.com/smarter.

你可以前往audible.com/smarter免费获取一本有声书。

I recommend Endurance by Alfred Lansing.

我推荐阿尔弗雷德·兰辛的《坚忍号》。

I read this book because I saw a space station astronaut reading this book on one of the tours I watched online.

我读这本书，是因为我在网上看的一次游览中看到一位空间站宇航员正在读这本书。

Incredible parallels.

有着惊人的相似之处。

They were stuck trying to cross Antarctica by land. 語法

他们曾被困在试图徒步横穿南极洲的途中。

They tried to resupply by boat.

他们试图通过船只进行补给。

Didn't work.

失败了。

They had to survive on what they had. 短語動詞

他们必须依靠现有的东西生存下来。

There's penguins that they would kill and eat.

他们会捕杀企鹅来吃。

I'm not going to tell you if they eat the dogs,

我不会告诉你们他们有没有吃狗，

but it's an incredible book.

但这是一本令人难以置信的书。

Anyway,

不管怎样，

check it out.

去看看吧。

It's about Shackleton's incredible voyage.

关于沙克尔顿那场不可思议的航行。

audible.com/smarter,

audible.com/smarter，

Endurance by Alfred Lansing.

阿尔弗雷德·兰辛的《坚忍号》。

I am Destin.

我是Destin。

You're getting smarter every day.

你每天都在变得更聪明。

Have a good one.

祝你开心。