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The American space agency NASA is preparing to test a new supersonic airplane that could help establish a new generation of superfast aircraft.
美国宇航局NASA正准备测试一架新的超音速飞机，这可能有助于建立新一代超高速飞行器。
The new aircraft is called X-59, and it was built in partnership with American defense contractor Lockheed Martin. The experimental plane is part of a NASA project, or mission, called Quesst.
这架新飞机被称为X-59，它是与美国国防承包商洛克希德·马丁公司合作建造的。这架实验飞机是NASA的一个名为Quesst的项目或任务的一部分。
The mission aims to collect data in the United States on the level of noise produced by supersonic travel. Supersonic describes a vehicle that travels faster than the speed of sound: about 1,235 kilometers an hour.
该任务旨在在美国收集关于超音速飞行产生的噪音水平的数据。超音速描述的是一种比声音传播速度更快的交通工具：约每小时1,235公里。
The data Quesst gathers could lead U.S. officials to change rules that currently ban supersonic flights over land. NASA says the X-59 was developed to reduce the loudness of the sonic boom it produces when breaking the sound barrier to very low levels heard on the ground.
Quesst收集的数据可能会促使美国官员修改目前禁止在陆地上空进行超音速飞行的规定。NASA表示，X-59的开发目的是将其突破音障时产生的音爆噪音降低到地面上可听到的非常低的水平。
A few U.S. companies are exploring ways to restart supersonic passenger travel for the first time since 2003. That is the year the Concorde aircraft stopped flying. The Concorde was the world’s first supersonic passenger jet. It was operated jointly by Britain and France.
自2003年以来，一些美国公司正在探索重新启动超音速乘客飞行的方式。那一年，协和飞机停止飞行。协和飞机是世界上第一架超音速客机，由英国和法国共同运营。
The Concorde flew at speeds more than twice the speed of sound, British Airways explained. This meant it could travel from London to New York in about three-and-a-half hours. The same flight took about eight hours with normal passenger jets.
协和飞机以超过音速两倍的速度飞行，英国航空解释说。这意味着它可以在约三个半小时内从伦敦飞往纽约。而普通客机则需要约八个小时。
The new supersonic planes being developed make less noise and use less fuel than the Concorde. But manufacturers are under pressure from environmental groups and airports to meet the same noise and carbon emission limits as traditional planes.
正在开发的新型超音速飞机产生的噪音较小，燃料消耗也较少，但制造商面临来自环保组织和机场的压力，要求其符合与传统飞机相同的噪音和碳排放限制。
NASA and Lockheed Martin recently showed off the X-59 plane during an event in Palmdale, California.
最近，NASA和洛克希德·马丁在加利福尼亚州帕尔默代尔的一次活动中展示了X-59飞机。
At the ceremony, NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy called the development of the supersonic aircraft a “major accomplishment.” She noted that members of the NASA and Lockheed Martin teams had worked hard to take the X-59 from an idea to reality “in just a few years.”
在典礼上，NASA副局长帕姆·梅尔罗伊称超音速飞机的研发是一个“重大的成就”。她指出，NASA和洛克希德·马丁团队的成员们为在短短几年内将X-59从概念变为现实而努力工作。
Melroy added her hope that the X-59 “will help change the way we travel, bringing us closer together in much less time.”
梅尔罗伊补充说她希望X-59“将帮助改变我们的旅行方式，在更短的时间内让我们更加接近”。
The aircraft measures 30 meters long and nine meters wide. NASA said in a press release that the X-59 is expected to fly at 1.4 times the speed of sound, or about 1,500 kilometers per hour. The aircraft’s design, shape and technologies will permit it to reach high speeds while producing “a quieter sonic thump,” the agency explained.
这架飞机长30米，宽9米。NASA在新闻稿中表示，预计X-59将以声音速度的1.4倍飞行，即每小时约1,500公里。机身的设计、形状和技术将使其能够在产生“更安静的音爆声”时达到高速，机构解释道。
The X-59 has not yet completed a test flight. But NASA officials have said they expect that to happen sometime this year. The team will be carrying out other tests in the coming months, including instrument experiments, fast engine runs and ground testing.
X-59尚未进行测试飞行。但NASA官员表示，他们预计今年晚些时候将会进行测试。团队将在接下来的几个月进行其他测试，包括仪器实验、快速发动机运行和地面测试。
Once the aircraft has been cleared to fly, it will be deployed to several cities across the U.S. to collect data on the sounds the plane produces and how people on the ground react to the noise.
一旦飞机获准飞行，将被部署到美国境内的多个城市，以收集关于飞机产生的声音以及地面上的人们如何
对噪音作出反应的数据。
The data will be provided to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and international flight regulators. The information will help regulators decide whether to change existing laws restricting supersonic flight.
这些数据将提供给美国联邦航空管理局和国际航空监管机构。这些信息将帮助监管机构决定是否修改限制超音速飞行的现有法律。
NASA said one of the biggest differences between the X-59 and other supersonic planes is that it has a thinner, smaller nose. The nose, which was reduced by about one-third, aims to break up shock waves that results in more intense sonic booms.
NASA表示，X-59与其他超音速飞机之间最大的不同之一是它有一个较薄、较小的机头。这个机头减小了约三分之一，旨在分解导致更强烈的音爆的冲击波。
The Quesst team “also designed the aircraft with its engine mounted on top and gave it a smooth underside” in an effort to reduce shock waves near the back of the plane, NASA said.
Quesst团队“还设计了这架飞机，其发动机安装在顶部，并使其底部光滑”以努力减小飞机尾部附近的冲击波，NASA表示。
Another American company developing supersonic aircraft is Boom Supersonic in Colorado. The company first showed off its experimental supersonic plane, the XB-1, in October 2020. Boom has been carrying out tests of the aircraft since then.
科罗拉多州的Boom Supersonic是另一家正在开发超音速飞机的美国公司。该公司于2020年10月首次展示了其实验性超音速飞机XB-1。自那时以来，Boom一直在对该飞机进行测试。
The company says on its website that its development and testing activities during the past few years have centered on ground tests, including a series of taxi runs. In 2024, Boom said it plans to begin its “high-speed taxi testing” early in the year, while preparing for an actual flight test that could happen later in the year.
该公司在其网站上表示，过去几年间其发展和测试活动主要集中在地面测试上，包括一系列的滑行测试。Boom表示，到2024年，它计划在年初开始“高速滑行测试”，同时准备进行可能在年底进行的实际飞行测试。
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Words in This Story
sonic boom – n. an explosive sound made by an aircraft, bullet, etc. made when something travels faster than the speed of sound
accomplishment – n. success in doing something good
thump – n. a noise produced by a strike, fall, etc.
regulate – v. to control an activity or process using rules, often established by governments
