Spacewalking

美國宇航局（NASA）負責人7月31日表示，他們將在8月1日判定“發現號”隔熱層凸起的兩塊材料是否會對飛船返回地球造成威脅，以免“發現號”重蹈“哥倫比亞號”航天飛機的悲劇。宇航局計劃讓宇航員在太空中進行修復工作。外電報道如下：A couple short strips of fabric dangling from Discovery's belly may require an unprecedented repair by spacewalking astronauts, if engineers determine there's even a possibility that the problem could endanger the shuttle during descent, NASA said Sunday. Teams of experts were scrambling to understand just how serious the problem was, with "strong arguments" raging on what to do, if anything. The trouble has nothing to do with foam or other launch debris, but rather the accidental slippage of ceramic-fiber cloth used to fill the thin gaps between thermal tiles, which some engineers worry could trigger potentially treacherous overheating during re-entry. Spacewalking意為“太空行走，太空漫步”，即宇宙員步出航天器后在太空中的行走或艙外活動，在上文中作形容詞“進行太空行走的”。 （中國日報網站編）