[ti:NASA Delays Launch of Newest Space Telescope] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]NASA says it has postponed the launch of its newest space telescope [00:06.64]because of the coronavirus crisis and technical issues. [00:13.04]The U.S. space agency says the launch of its James Webb Space Telescope [00:20.52]is now planned for October 31, 2021. [00:26.24]The launch has been delayed many times. [00:30.28]Before the recent postponement, it had been set for March 2021. [00:38.12]The Webb is supposed to replace NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, [00:43.92]which has been in operation for 30 years. [00:48.16]NASA has identified the new telescope as a top science priority. [00:56.40]The large infrared telescope has a nearly seven-meter mirror for exploring space. [01:05.52]It is designed to look deeper into space [01:09.40]and offer more answers about the past than any other spacecraft. [01:16.04]The James Webb Space Telescope was first set to fly more than 10 years ago, [01:23.68]but has faced major development delays. [01:28.08]Its last planned liftoff was canceled in 2018. [01:34.24]NASA officials said things seemed to be progressing well [01:39.40]for the March launch date until the coronavirus hit. [01:44.44]NASA said restrictions related to the health crisis had slowed work [01:50.96]on the telescope by its main maker, America's Northrop Grumman. [01:57.64]"Mission success is critical, but team safety is our highest priority," [02:04.84]NASA Associate Administrator Steve Jurczyk told The Associated Press. [02:12.04]Thomas Zurbuchen is with NASA's Science Mission Directorate. [02:18.56]He said, "Webb is the world's most complex space observatory, [02:24.68]and our top science priority, and we've worked hard [02:29.88]to keep progress moving during the pandemic." [02:34.32]NASA noted that costs related to the latest postponement [02:39.84]would not be greater than the $8.8 billion spending limit [02:46.04]for development on the project set by Congress. [02:51.28]Officials say several important tests will be carried out [02:55.96]on the telescope in the coming months. [02:59.96]The project team will also seek to reopen [03:04.28]and refold Webb's massive sun shield one last time. [03:11.04]The shield is needed to keep the infrared telescope cold in space. [03:17.92]NASA plans to transport the telescope next summer [03:23.20]to its launch site in French Guiana on the northeast coast of South America. [03:30.92]The Guiana Space Centre is a French and European Space Agency launch site. [03:38.08]After the launch, Webb will travel 1.5 million kilometers from Earth to orbit the sun. [03:48.28]It will unfold the sun shield and deploy its mirror, [03:52.84]which is designed to look for signs of light from far-away stars and galaxies. [04:00.04]Eric Smith is a NASA program scientist with the Webb program. [04:07.28]He said the telescope will seek to observe "light [04:11.36]from the first generation of galaxies [04:14.72]that formed in the early universe after the Big Bang." [04:20.04]Webb is also designed to study the atmospheres [04:24.52]of nearby exoplanets for possible signs of life. [04:29.56]NASA says it plans to keep the Hubble [04:33.76]and Webb telescopes operating together for a time. [04:39.60]Smith noted that while Webb will be exploring new things, [04:44.52]it will also be looking at many of the same things that Hubble did. [04:50.28]"For me, it will be seeing old friends with completely new eyes," Smith said. [04:59.00]I'm Bryan Lynn. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM