Listening
Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
- reassign / ˌriːəˈsaɪn / (v.) – to give someone a new job, task, or role
Example:Employees were reassigned to other locations after the store closed down.
- replacement / rɪˈpleɪs mənt / (n.) – someone or something that takes the place of another, particularly in a position or function
Example:The company needs replacements for the staff members who left last month.
- liftoff / ˈlɪftˌɔf / (n.) – the moment when a space vehicle or aircraft leaves the ground and begins to rise into the air
Example:The plane’s liftoff was delayed due to bad weather.
- expeditiously / ˌɛk spɪˈdɪʃ əs li / (adv.) – in a way that works fast and well without wasting resources
Example:The government acted expeditiously to help the victims of the storm.
- accelerate / ækˈsɛl əˌreɪt / (v.) – to cause or make something happen sooner or faster
Example:New researchers were added to the team to accelerate the development of the vaccine.
Article
Read the text below.
NASA’s two stuck astronauts are returning to Earth a little sooner than planned.
The space agency announced that SpaceX had switched capsules for the astronaut flights in order to bring Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams home in mid-March instead of late March or April. That decision shaved at least a couple of weeks off their prolonged stay at the International Space Station, which hit the eight-month mark a few weeks ago.
“Human spaceflight is full of unexpected challenges,” NASA’s commercial crew program manager Steve Stich said in a statement.
The test pilots should have returned in June 2024 on Boeing’s Starliner capsule after what should have been a weeklong flight demo. But the capsule had so much trouble getting to the space station that NASA decided to bring it back empty and reassigned the pair to SpaceX.
Then SpaceX delayed the launch of their replacements on a brand-new capsule that needed more prepping, which added more time to Wilmore and Williams’ mission.
With even more work still anticipated for the new capsule, NASA opted for its next crew to fly up on an older capsule, with liftoff on March 12. This older capsule had already been assigned to a private crew awaiting launch this spring.
The private flight arranged by the Houston company Axiom Space, featuring astronauts from Poland, Hungary and India, was bumped and launched later to the space station, possibly still this spring.
NASA preferred having a new crew arrive before sending the old one back, in this case, Wilmore, Williams and two others up there since September. The new crew going up includes two NASA astronauts, as well as one from Japan and one from Russia.
NASA’s latest change in plans had come a few weeks after the space agency said it was working “expeditiously” to bring back Wilmore and Williams as soon as possible. Just a day earlier, President Donald Trump and SpaceX’s Elon Musk had vowed to accelerate the astronauts’ return.
This article was provided by The Associated Press.
Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
- The two astronauts had to stay in the International Space Station much longer than planned. How do you think this affected them physically and emotionally? In your opinion what could the two astronauts have done to keep a positive mind despite their situation? Discuss.
- Based on what happened to Wilmore and Williams, do you think space travel is safe? Why or why not? In your opinion, what kind of physical and mental training should a person get before being allowed to travel into space? Discuss.
Discussion B
- Should space exploration be led by governments, private companies, or both? What are the advantages and disadvantages of private companies like SpaceX working in space? Discuss.
- Billionaire Elon Musk invests a large amount of money in space travel. Do you think this benefits society, or should he focus on solving problems on Earth? Would you trust a private space company to take you to space? Why or why not? Discuss.
