NASA gives SpaceX $50 million contract to launch new satellite

admin 2019年9月16日

Pre-reading questions:

Do you want to ride a spaceship? Why or why not? Please explain your answer.
If you will be given a chance to explore one planet, what would it be? Please explain your answer.

Vocabulary:

contract /KON-trakt/

[noun] a legal document that states and explains a formal agreement between two different people or groups, or the agreement itself
Steffan and I made a contract for the upcoming project of our company.

advantageous /ad-vuh n-TEY-juhs/

[adjective] something that is advantageous helps you or is useful to you
It would be advantageous for our agency if that famous dance group will endorse us.

compose /kuhm-POHZ/

[verb] to be the parts that something is made of
Her clothes are composed of different silk from Ming Dynasty.

honor /ON-er/

[noun] great respect for someone, or the feeling of pride and pleasure resulting when respect is shown to you
She felt honored because of the trust she received from her clients through her years of service in her company.

device /dih-VAHYS/

[noun] an object or machine that has been invented for a particular purpose
The government is using a special device to find all the culprit in Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas incident.

NASA has granted SpaceX a $50 million contract to launch an advanced device that will allow scientists to study unusual objects in space. NASA said that the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) is designed to study X-right light that comes from a black hole and neutron stars. The report said that the study of active galactic nuclei, magnetars, and pulsar wind nebulae will also be advantageous to IXPE. The device is composed of three alike space telescope that has sensitive technology detection. The total cost of the project is $50.3 million and will be launched in April 2021 at the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX president said that SpaceX is honored NASA for continuing its trust in their proven launch vehicles to deliver important science payload to orbit. NASA aims that the mission will help discover the universe’s origin, life force, and other objects in space that need to be discovered. A study published in a journal said that the IXPE will expand its observation in space by improving its devices that measure energy, time, and location. As stated by James Gleeson, a spokesperson for SpaceX, there will be launches that SpaceX will perform for NASA in the future including the business projects for the International Space Station.

Comprehension Questions:

What would be advantageous to IXPE?
Who is the president of SpaceX?
How much is the total cost of the space project?
What does NASA aim in this project?
How would IXPE expand its observation in space?

Discussion Questions:

Every government should produce an aircraft that will help NASA explore the universe. What do you think about that?
Do you agree that spending too much time to discover and study things in space is not worth it? Why or why not?
Aside from Earth, do you think humans can live on other planets? Why or why not?
If you will be one of the scientists of SpaceX, what would you like to discover? Explain your answer.
If aliens are true, what would you want them to know about the human race?