C2 · 50 words
Spaceflight engineering in Spanish
Propulsion, orbits, satellites and missions — the language of going to space.
La etapa de propulsión is the rocket stage, and la etapa is one word for three English ones. It is the stage of a rocket, dropped when it is empty. It is the leg of a journey or of a race — la etapa de mañana llega a los Pirineos is tomorrow's stage of the Tour, which English happens to call a stage as well. And it is a period of a life: una etapa difícil is a hard patch, never a stage of anything. The thread is a piece of the way with a clear end.
The words
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Phrase (44)
la ingeniería aeroespacialthe engineering that works with almost no margin at allPhraseC2
La ingeniería aeroespacial trabaja con márgenes muy estrechos.Aerospace engineering works with very narrow margins.
el vehículo lanzadorthe rocket that lifts something off the groundPhraseC2
El vehículo lanzador tiene tres etapas.The launch vehicle has three stages.
la etapa de propulsiónone of the parts of that rocket, dropped when its fuel is gonePhraseC2
La etapa de propulsión se separa a los dos minutos.The propulsion stage separates after two minutes.
la relación empuje-pesothe push against the weight, which must exceed one to leave the padPhraseC2
La relación empuje-peso supera la unidad al despegar.The thrust-to-weight ratio exceeds one at lift-off.
el impulso específicohow much push each kilo of propellant buysPhraseC2
El impulso específico mide la eficiencia del propulsante.Specific impulse measures the efficiency of the propellant.
el propulsante criogénicothe fuel kept so cold it has to be loaded at the last minutePhraseC2
El propulsante criogénico se carga poco antes del lanzamiento.Cryogenic propellant is loaded shortly before launch.
la relación de masasthe full rocket against the empty one, as a ratioPhraseC2
La relación de masas decide la velocidad final.The mass ratio decides the final speed.
la ecuación del cohetethe equation that turns that ratio into speedPhraseC2
La ecuación del cohete castiga cada kilo de más.The rocket equation punishes every extra kilo.
el incremento de velocidadthe change of speed a manoeuvre costs, budgeted like moneyPhraseC2
El incremento de velocidad se presupuesta como el combustible.The change in velocity is budgeted like fuel.
la ventana de lanzamientothe few minutes in which a launch is possible at allPhraseC2
La ventana de lanzamiento dura cuatro minutos.The launch window lasts four minutes.
la cuenta atrásthe counting down, and the checks that go with itPhraseC2
La cuenta atrás se detuvo a falta de treinta segundos.The countdown stopped thirty seconds short.
el aborto del lanzamientothe stopping of all that, decided without asking anybodyPhraseC2
El aborto del lanzamiento se decide automáticamente.The launch abort is decided automatically.
la torre de escapethe little rocket on top that pulls the crew clearPhraseC2
La torre de escape aparta la cápsula del cohete.The escape tower pulls the capsule away from the rocket.
la masa transportable a órbitawhat actually reaches orbit, which is a fiftieth of what stood therePhraseC2
La masa transportable a órbita es un dos por ciento de la masa inicial.The mass carried to orbit is two per cent of the starting mass.
la órbita baja terrestrethe nearest useful orbit, four hundred kilometres upPhraseC2
La órbita baja terrestre está a cuatrocientos kilómetros.Low Earth orbit is four hundred kilometres up.
el arco geoestacionariothe one ring where a satellite hangs over the same spotPhraseC2
El arco geoestacionario es un recurso limitado.The geostationary ring is a limited resource.
la órbita heliosíncronathe orbit that crosses every place at the same local hourPhraseC2
La órbita heliosíncrona pasa siempre a la misma hora local.The sun-synchronous orbit passes at the same local time.
el plano orbitalthe flat surface an orbit lies in, which fixes what is overflownPhraseC2
El plano orbital decide qué latitudes se sobrevuelan.The orbital plane decides which latitudes are overflown.
la excentricidad de la órbitahow far from a circle that orbit isPhraseC2
La excentricidad de la órbita la aleja del círculo.The eccentricity of the orbit moves it away from a circle.
la maniobra de transferenciathe pair of burns that moves a craft from one orbit to anotherPhraseC2
La maniobra de transferencia requiere dos encendidos.The transfer manoeuvre requires two burns.
la maniobra de sobrevuelo planetariothe swing past a planet that borrows some of its motionPhraseC2
La maniobra de sobrevuelo planetario roba energía a un planeta.The planetary flyby steals energy from a planet.
la corrección de trayectoriathe short burns that put a craft back on its intended pathPhraseC2
La corrección de trayectoria dura pocos segundos.The trajectory correction lasts a few seconds.
el mantenimiento de la posiciónthe small burns that keep a satellite where it is supposed to bePhraseC2
El mantenimiento de la posición consume combustible cada semana.Station keeping burns fuel every week.
el control de actitudthe keeping of a craft pointed the right wayPhraseC2
El control de actitud usa ruedas de reacción.Attitude control uses reaction wheels.
la rueda de reacciónthe spinning wheel inside that turns the craft the other wayPhraseC2
La rueda de reacción gira para que gire la nave al revés.The reaction wheel turns so that the craft turns the other way.
el sensor de estrellasthe instrument that knows where it is pointing by looking at starsPhraseC2
El sensor de estrellas orienta con precisión angular.The star tracker points with angular precision.
el panel solar desplegablethe wing of cells that unfolds once there is roomPhraseC2
El panel solar desplegable se abre tras la separación.The deployable solar panel opens after separation.
el control térmico pasivoholding the temperature with layers and paint rather than with powerPhraseC2
El control térmico pasivo emplea capas aislantes.Passive thermal control uses insulating layers.
el radiador térmicothe plate that throws heat away into nothingPhraseC2
El radiador térmico expulsa el calor al vacío.The thermal radiator throws the heat into the vacuum.
la redundancia del sistemathe second of everything that cannot be repairedPhraseC2
La redundancia del sistema duplica lo que no se puede reparar.System redundancy duplicates what cannot be repaired.
el punto único de fallothe one part whose failure takes the whole thing with itPhraseC2
El punto único de fallo se busca en el diseño.The single point of failure is hunted for in the design.
la estación de seguimientothe dish on the ground that listens for that craftPhraseC2
La estación de seguimiento solo ve la nave un rato.The tracking station sees the craft only for a while.
el segmento terrenoeverything on the ground, which costs as much as the satellitePhraseC2
El segmento terreno cuesta tanto como el satélite.The ground segment costs as much as the satellite.
la ventana de comunicaciónthe minutes in which that dish and the craft can hear each otherPhraseC2
La ventana de comunicación dura ocho minutos por pasada.The communication window lasts eight minutes per pass.
el retardo de la señalthe time the signal takes, which makes live steering impossiblePhraseC2
El retardo de la señal a Marte impide pilotar en directo.The signal delay to Mars rules out flying it live.
la reentrada atmosféricathe coming back into the air, which heats the shield redPhraseC2
La reentrada atmosférica calienta el escudo al rojo.Atmospheric re-entry heats the shield red hot.
el escudo térmicothe layer meant to burn away and take the heat with itPhraseC2
El escudo térmico se consume a propósito.The heat shield is consumed on purpose.
el corredor de reentradathe narrow band of angles at which coming back is survivablePhraseC2
El corredor de reentrada es muy estrecho.The re-entry corridor is very narrow.
el acoplamiento orbitalthe joining of two craft in orbit, at centimetres a secondPhraseC2
El acoplamiento orbital se hace a centímetros por segundo.Orbital docking is done at centimetres per second.
la actividad extravehicularthe work done outside, in a suit, for six hoursPhraseC2
La actividad extravehicular dura seis horas.The spacewalk lasts six hours.
la radiación cósmica en órbitathe particles up there that put a limit on how long anybody staysPhraseC2
La radiación cósmica en órbita limita la estancia.Cosmic radiation in orbit limits the stay.
el objeto catalogado en órbitaa piece of junk that is tracked, and has to be dodgedPhraseC2
El objeto catalogado en órbita obliga a maniobrar de evasión.The catalogued object in orbit forces an avoidance manoeuvre.
la desorbitación controladathe deliberate bringing down of something at the end of its lifePhraseC2
La desorbitación controlada evita dejar restos arriba.Controlled de-orbiting avoids leaving debris up there.
la constelación de satélitesmany satellites working as one, so that coverage never stopsPhraseC2
La constelación de satélites da cobertura continua.The satellite constellation gives continuous coverage.
Noun (f) (3)
la cofiathe shell over the cargo, thrown away once the air is thinNoun (f)C2
La cofia se desprende fuera de la atmósfera densa.The fairing is jettisoned outside the dense atmosphere.
la telemetríathe stream of readings sent down from a craftNoun (f)C2
La telemetría llega con retraso de minutos.The telemetry arrives minutes late.
la microgravedadthe falling that feels like weightlessness and is notNoun (f)C2
La microgravedad no es ausencia de gravedad.Microgravity is not the absence of gravity.
Noun (m) (3)
el apogeothe far point of itNoun (m)C2
El apogeo se alcanza media órbita después.Apogee is reached half an orbit later.
el perigeothe near point of it, where the speed is greatestNoun (m)C2
El perigeo es donde más deprisa se mueve.Perigee is where it moves fastest.
el amerizajethe landing in the sea, slowed by three parachutesNoun (m)C2
El amerizaje se frena con tres paracaídas.The splashdown is slowed by three parachutes.
This list belongs to Technology and industry — 26 lists and 1296 words that can also be practised as a whole.
Practise this list
From these 50 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.