◎國際新聞中心
A three-armed spacecraft rocketed into orbit Friday to rescue a NASA telescope that’s in danger of crashing back to Earth.
1艘有3條機械臂的太空船週五升空進入軌道，以拯救1台面臨墜落地球危險的美國航太總署望遠鏡。
Northrop Grumman launched Katalyst Space Technologies’ Link spacecraft from the Marshall Islands in the Pacific. The Pegasus rocket blasted off from the belly of a modified airplane, putting Link on course to reach and capture NASA’s Swift Observatory in about a month.
諾斯洛普格魯曼公司從太平洋馬紹爾群島發射Katalyst太空科技公司的「連結號」太空船。「飛馬座」火箭從1架改裝飛機的機腹發射升空，使「連結號」進入航道，預計在約1個月後抵達並捕獲NASA的「雨燕」（Swift）天文台。
Launched in 2004, Swift is sinking faster than ever because of recent solar storms. NASA is paying $30 million for Katalyst to capture the telescope and boost its orbit so it can continue tracking some of the biggest explosions in the universe, like gamma ray bursts and exploding stars.
2004年發射的「雨燕」因近期的太陽風暴，正以前所未有的速度下墜。NASA支付3000萬美元給Katalyst，以捕獲這台望遠鏡並提升其軌道，讓它能繼續追蹤宇宙中一些最劇烈的爆炸事件，如伽瑪射線暴與恆星爆炸。
Katalyst threw the mission together in just nine months. NASA insisted on a rush job because the telescope will be too low to recover by the fall. Without a boost, it’s predicted to plunge to its demise in October. (AP)
Katalyst在短短9個月內就安排好這項任務。NASA堅持要趕工，因為到了秋天，這座望遠鏡的高度將低到無法回收。若未能推升，預計它將在10月墜毀。（美聯社）
新聞辭典
on course︰片語，在正確的航道上、按預期進行。例句：The construction of the new bridge is on course.（新橋的建設正按計畫進行。）
throw together︰片語，匆忙拼湊、倉促準備。例句：We had to throw together a quick meal for the unexpected guests.（我們不得不為不速之客匆忙準備一頓飯。）
