Rendezvous & Docking | 交会对接

The next key technology is automated rendezvous and docking. In order to refill the spaceship in orbit, you have to be able to rendezvous and dock with the spaceship with very high precision and transfer propellant. That is one of things that we have perfected with Dragon. Dragon 1 will do an automated rendezvous and docking without any pilot control to the space station.

下一个关键技术是自动化交会对接。为了在轨道上给飞船补给，你必须精确地（with very high precision）和飞船交会对接并输送推进剂（propellant）。这是Dragon飞船已经完善的技术之一。龙飞船1号可以在无人操控的情况下（without any pilot control）和宇宙空间站（space station）自动交会对接。

Dragon 1 currently uses the Canadarm for the final placement onto the space station. Dragon 2, which launches next year, will not need to use the Canadarm as it will directly dock with the space station and it can do so with zero human intervention. You just press go and it will dock.

龙飞船1号目前使用加拿大机械臂来完成最后的对接安置（placement）。将于明年发射的龙飞船2号不需要使用加拿大机械臂，因为他可以直接和空间站对接，并且不需要人工介入（with zero human intervention）。只要按下“执行”按钮，他便会自动对接。

Dragon has also allowed us to perfect heat shield technology. When you enter at a high velocity, you will melt almost anything. The reason meteors do not reach Earth is they melt or disintegrate before they reach the ground, unless they are very big. You have to have a sophisticated heat shield technology that can withstand unbelievably high temperatures and that is what we have been perfecting with dragon-also a key part of any planet colonizing system.

龙飞船也完善了隔热罩技术（heat shield technology）。在大气层中的运动速度足够高时，摩擦产生的热量足以融化任何物质。流星（meteor）之所以无法到达地球，就是因为他们在抵达地面之前就已经融化分解了（melt or disintegrate），除非他们足够大以至于烧不完。你必须拥有一套先进的（sophisticated）隔热罩技术以承受（withstand）难以想象的高温炙烤。这是龙飞船上我们一直在完善的技术——也是行星移居系统（planet colonizing system）的重要组成部分。