英语新闻丨中国将发射神舟二十号执行航天员轮换任务

China plans to launch the Shenzhou XX mission on Thursday afternoon for a crew shift aboard the nation's Tiangong space station, as stated by a senior program official.

据一位高级项目官员透露，中国计划于周四下午发射神舟二十号飞船，并在天宫空间站进行航天员轮换任务。

Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the China Manned Space Agency, announced at a news conference on Wednesday morning at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China that the Shenzhou XX spacecraft, carrying three crew members—mission commander Senior Colonel Chen Dong, Colonel Chen Zhongrui and Colonel Wang Jie—is set to launch at 5:17 pm on Thursday using a Long March 2F carrier rocket.

中国载人航天工程办公室副主任林西强周三上午在位于中国西北部的酒泉卫星发射中心举行的新闻发布会上宣布，神舟二十号飞船将于周四下午5点17分使用长征二号F运载火箭发射，届时将搭载三名航天员发射升空，三名航天员分别为任务指令长大校陈冬、大校陈中瑞和大校王杰。

Thursday also marks China's 10th Space Day, observed annually on April 24.

周四也是中国第十个航天日，每年的4月24日是中国航天日。

Lin mentioned that the Long March 2F rocket will soon be loaded with propellants at its service tower.

林西强提到，长征二号F火箭即将在其服务塔上进行推进剂的装载。

"After the Shenzhou XX spacecraft reaches its designated orbital position, it will engage the rapid autonomous rendezvous-docking mode and take approximately six and a half hours to approach and dock with the front port on the Tianhe core module," Lin said.

“神舟二十号飞船到达预定轨道位置后，将进入快速自主交会对接模式，大约需要六个半小时才能接近并交会对接天和核心舱的左舷。”林西强说道。

The Shenzhou XX team will conduct China's 15th manned spaceflight and become the ninth group of residents aboard the Tiangong, which is currently the only operational space station independently operated by a single nation.

神舟二十号团队将执行中国第十五次载人航天飞行，也将是进驻中国空间站“天宫”的第九批居民。天宫是目前唯一一个由单一国家独立运营的运营空间站。

The Tiangong, completed in late 2022, orbits Earth at an altitude of about 400 kilometers. It consists of three permanent components—the Tianhe core module and two large science lab modules named Wentian and Mengtian—and is currently linked with two visiting spacecraft, the Shenzhou XIX crew ship and the Tianzhou 8 cargo ship. It stands as one of the largest and most intricate structures ever established in space by humanity.

已于2022年底建成的天宫空间站目前以约400公里高度环绕地球运行。它由三个永久性部件组成——天和核心舱以及两个名为“问天”和“梦天”的大型科学实验舱，目前还对接有神舟十九号载人飞船与天舟八号货运飞船，是人类在太空中建造的最大、最复杂的结构之一。

Chen Dong and his team will take over the expansive orbital outpost from their counterparts in the Shenzhou XIX mission—mission commander Senior Colonel Cai Xuzhe and crew members Lieutenant Colonel Song Lingdong and Lieutenant Colonel Wang Haoze—who arrived on Oct 30. By now, Cai's team has spent 175 days in orbit.

陈冬及其团队将从神舟十九号乘组手中接管这一轨道前哨站。神舟十九号航天员为任务指令长空军大校蔡旭哲、中校宋令东和中校王浩泽，他们于去年10月30日抵达空间站，目前已在轨飞行175天。

The two groups will coexist for approximately four days for transition work, after which the Shenzhou XIX astronauts will depart and return to Earth on Tuesday, according to Lin.

据林西强介绍，两个团队将共处约四天进行交接工作，之后神舟十九号宇航员将于周二离开并返回地球。

During their six-month orbital stay, the Shenzhou XX crew will perform various tasks such as conducting scientific experiments and technological demonstrations, conducting spacewalks to install space debris shielding equipment, experimental instruments, and other external devices, retrieving devices from outside the space station, and engaging in science lectures and other public-benefit activities.

在为期六个月的轨道停留期间，神舟二十号机组人员将执行各种任务，例如开展科学实验和技术演示，进行太空行走以安装空间碎片屏蔽设备、实验仪器和其他外部设备，从空间站外部回收设备，以及开展科普讲座和其他公益活动。

This will mark the third space mission for Chen Dong, who participated in the Shenzhou XI mission in 2016 and Shenzhou XIV in 2022, where he served as the mission commander with Cai as a crew member. For Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, this upcoming flight will be their first extraterrestrial expedition.

这将是陈冬的第三次太空任务。他曾参与过2016年的神舟十一号任务和2022年的神舟十四号任务，并在神舟十四号任务中担任指令长，蔡旭哲是其中的一名机组人员。对于陈中瑞和王杰来说，即将到来的这次飞行将是他们的首次太空之旅。

rendezvous-docking

/ˈrɒndɪvuː ˈdɒkɪŋ/

n.交会对接

orbital

/ˈɔːbɪtl/

adj.轨道的；与轨道有关的

expedition

/ˌekspəˈdɪʃn/

n.探险；远征

shielding

/ˈʃiːldɪŋ/

n.屏蔽；防护