恒星英语学习网|VOA慢速英语:SpaceX赢得制造美国导弹跟踪卫星的合同

文章图片
【恒星英语学习网|VOA慢速英语:SpaceX赢得制造美国导弹跟踪卫星的合同】SpaceXhasbeenchosenbytheU.S.DefenseDepartmenttobuildmissile-trackingsatellites.
ItisthefirsttimeSpaceXhaswonagovernmentcontracttobuildsatellites.TheAmericanaerospacecompanyisbestknownforitsrockets.http://www.hxen.com/englishlistening/voaenglish/voaspecialenglish/
InMay,SpaceXmadehistorybylaunchingtwoastronautsintospaceaboardarocketandspacecraftthecompanybuiltandoperatedforNASA.
SpaceXhasincreaseditssatelliteproductioninrecentyearsforitsStarlinknetwork.Starlinkisagroupofsatellites-deployedtolow-Earthorbit-designedtosendinternetsignalsacrosstheworld.
SpaceXchiefElonMuskhassaidhehopesStarlinkwillmakeenoughmoneytohelppayforthecompany'sspacetravelgoals.
Underthecontract,SpaceXwilluseitsStarlinkplantinRedmond,Washington,tobuildfoursatellites.Thesatelliteswillhaveaspecialmissile-trackingsensorsuppliedbyanothercompany,anSDAofficialsaid.
Bothcompaniesareexpectedtohavethesatellitesreadyforlaunchbyfall2022.
TheawardsrepresentthestartofSDA'splantodevelopasystemofsatellitesinlow-Earthorbittodetectandfollowmissiles,suchasintercontinentalballisticmissiles(ICBMs).ICBMscantravellongdistancesandaredifficulttofollowandintercept,orstop.
TheAirForcehasnotorderedanyStarlinksatellitesofitsown.
I'mJohnRussell.
JoeyRoulettereportedonthisstoryforReuters.JohnRusselladapteditforLearningEnglish.BryanLynnwastheeditor.