【856-858】任务结束后SpaceX机组安全着陆&马航MH370事后5年马航正在追踪飞行中的飞机&女足强将告美足球
AS IT IS
SpaceX Crew Spacecraft Lands Safely After Space Station Mission
March 08, 2019
This image provided by NASA shows SpaceX's Dragon capsule carrying a test dummy splashed down into the Atlantic ocean off the Florida coast, Friday, March 8, 2019. (NASA via AP)
An American spacecraft designed to carry astronauts has successfully completed a six-day test mission.
The unmanned SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule touched down safely Friday morning in the Atlantic Ocean. The landing happened about 300 kilometers off the coast of Florida.
Crew Dragon began its six-hour trip back to Earth after pulling away from the International Space Station, or ISS. The spacecraft spent the week docked at the ISS. Crew Dragon launched on March 2 from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. It successfully linked up with the space station the next day.
SpaceX employees who watched the landing at company headquarters in California cheered when the red and white parachutes opened to lower Crew Dragon into the water.
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“I'm kind of shaky and I'm super excited,” said Benji Reed, SpaceX's director of crew mission management. “Everything happened just perfectly, right on time the way that we expected it to.”
It was the first time in 50 years that a capsule designed for astronauts returned from space by landing in the Atlantic Ocean. The last time was on March 13, 1969, when America’s Apollo 9 landed in the ocean after orbiting Earth in preparation for moon landings.
American space station astronauts have been carried to space by Russian rockets since the U.S. space agency NASA halted its shuttle program eight years ago.
The successful test mission marked an important moment for the U.S. space program’s plans to restart manned space flights. SpaceX plans to launch its first crewed test flight in July with American astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken.
America’s Boeing has plans to launch its Starliner capsule without a crew as early as next month, and possibly with astronauts in August. The Starliner is designed to touch down on land.
NASA has awarded SpaceX and Boeing a total of $6.8 billion to build competing rocket and capsule systems to launch astronauts into orbit. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine praised Crew Dragon’s mission. He said such progress was “leading to a day where we are launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil.”
Crew Dragon brought 180 kilograms of test equipment to the space station, including a dummy named Ripley. The dummy was fitted with sensors around its head, neck, and back for an experiment designed to test how a flight would feel for humans.
The space station’s three-member crew greeted Crew Dragon upon its arrival. American astronaut Anne McClain and Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques carried out air quality tests and inspections inside the capsule.
I’m Bryan Lynn.
Bryan Lynn wrote this story, based on reports from the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. Ashley Thompson was the editor.
We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.
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Words in This Story
mission – n. an important task, usually involving travel somewhere
capsule – n. the part of a spacecraft that carries people
dock – v. to link up with or attach to
dummy – n. a model or reproduction of a person
sensor – n. piece of equipment designed to find light, hear, etc.
AS IT IS
Top Women’s Soccer Players Take US Soccer to Court
March 08, 2019
All 28 members of the World Cup champion U.S. women’s national soccer team have taken legal action against the United States Soccer Federation. They claim the organization pays them less than male players and denies them equal training, travel and playing conditions.
The women filed their lawsuit in Los Angeles on Friday, which was International Women’s Day. The case claims gender-based discrimination by the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF).
In most of the world, the sport is called football.
The action comes just three months before the American women will defend their title at the Women’s World Cup in France.
The players say they have faced ongoing “institutionalized gender discrimination” including unequal pay. The women also say they have the same responsibilities as players on the U.S. men’s national team. They are seeking equal pay and treatment, along with payment for lost earnings over the years.
The U.S. Women’s National Team Players Association was not part of the lawsuit. However, its representatives said in a statement that the association “supports the plaintiffs’ goal of eliminating gender-based discrimination by USSF.”
Alex Morgan, a member of the women’s team, said in a prepared statement, “Each of us is extremely proud to wear the United States jersey, and we also take seriously the responsibility that comes with that. We believe that fighting for gender equality in sports is a part of that responsibility.”
The U.S. Soccer Federation did not immediately comment on Friday.
When the team The U.S. women’s soccer team has seen great international successes, including three World Cup championships and four Olympic gold medals.
When the team won its most recent World Cup title in 2015, it was the most-watched soccer game in American television history.
I'm Ashley Thompson.
Ashley Thompson adapted this story based on reports by the Associated Press and Reuters. George Grow was the editor.
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Words in This Story
lawsuit - n. a process by which a court of law makes a decision to end a disagreement between people or organizations
gender - n. the state of being male or female
title - n. the status or position of being the champion in a sport or other competition
plaintiff - n. a person who sues another person or accuses another person of a crime in a court of law
eliminate - v. to remove (something that is not wanted or needed) : to get rid of (something)
proud - adj. very happy and pleased because of something you have done, something you own, someone you know or are related to, etc. :feeling pride
jersey - n. a loose shirt worn by a member of a sports team as part of a uniform
AS IT IS
Five Years after MH370, Malaysia Airlines Is Tracking Planes in Flight
March 08, 2019
Family members hold candles during the fifth annual remembrance event for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia March 3, 2019. (REUTERS/Lai Seng Sin)
About once a month, a group of Malaysians gather at a coffee shop or a home in Kuala Lumpur. They meet to support each other and to keep the memory of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 alive.
Five years ago, the Malaysia Airlines plane disappeared on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Search efforts covered an area from Southeast Asia to the coast of Africa. But neither the plane nor any of the 239 people it carried were found.
Investigators became hopeful when, in July 2015, a piece of the plane’s wing was found in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar. But authorities officially suspended the search in January 2017.
Jacquita Gonzales’ husband, Patrick Gomes, was an inflight supervisor on the plane. Gonzales’ home is often the meeting place for family members of the missing.
“It goes beyond a group waiting for answers,” she told the Reuters news agency. “It has become a family as well, an extended family.”
Calvin Shim is raising his two children without his wife, Christine Tan. She was a crew member on flight MH370. “The other families know exactly how each of us feel,” he said at a recent meeting at Gonzales’ home.
New satellite tracking system
Since the 1940s, ground-based radar systems have been used to follow planes and other aircraft in flight. But this kind of system cannot track aircraft over large areas of the world’s oceans.
This is one reason why the Malaysia Airlines plane has not been found.
The disappearance of MH370 renewed the world’s attention on tracking aircraft around the world. Shortly after the disappearance, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) pushed for quick action “to improve tracking of aircraft in flight.”
The United Nations organization is now asking that aircraft be fitted with a tracking system that reports its position every 15 minutes. By 2021, the organization also wants aircraft to be able to send information once every minute when in trouble.
In April 2017, Malaysia Airlines announced that it would be one of the first airlines to use Aireon's space-based system to track its planes in flight. Aireon says its system uses 66 satellites to cover the world. Its system includes areas that lacked air traffic service in the past -- like over oceans and the North and South poles. The system uses Global Positioning System (GPS) and signals from aircraft to determine locations in real-time.
Aireon chief Don Thoma said in a statement: “Malaysia Airlines has taken a lead role in the industry since the tragic events of 2014. Real-time, global flight tracking, anywhere on the planet, will further its safety goals, by allowing Malaysia Airlines to track its aircraft anytime, anywhere.”
I'm Ashley Thompson.
Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.
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Words in This Story
wing - n. one of usually two long flat part of an airplane that extend from the sides and make it possible for that plane to fly
authorities - n. people who have power to make decisions
inflight - adj. provided while you are flying in an airplane
track - v. to follow or watch the path
tragic - adj. causing strong feelings of sadness