2022年托福阅读：“发觉号”再次推迟放射 已经为NASA效劳了26年的“发觉号”如今即将起先自己的最终一次航行，不过起先此次航行好像并不 launch window, which ends on Monday. There then follows a three-and-a-half-week period of unfavourable sun angles at the orbiting platform that produce strong heating on a docked shuttle. Fleet leader US politicians have confirmed that the reusable orbiters should give way to a new era of spaceflight, and one by one these remarkable vehicles are taking a final bow. Discovery is the oldest of the surviving ships. First launched in 11014, it has since completed 38 missions, travelling some 230 million kilometres in the process. Its commander on the final mission, Steve Lindsey, says Discovery is probably the most important of three remaining shuttles. "It is obviously a very historical vehicle, having flown the 'return to flight' test missions after both the Challenger and Columbia accidents," he said. "It deployed Hubble (and) it's the fleet leader in terms of number of flights - it'll have flown about a year on orbit by the time we're done with it, which is pretty remarkable for a space shuttle." After Discovery returns, only the Endeavour shuttle has a firm date to launch, in February next year. Atlantis could fly in June if the budget allows. Beyond that, American astronauts will use Russian Soyuz rockets to get into space until a range of com
