VOA慢速英语 飞鸟撞击：航空安全的隐患

　　Michael O’Donnell says the F.A.A. is spending between seven hundred fifty thousand and one million dollars a year on radar research.

　　The United States space agency already uses an Aircraft Birdstrike Avoidance Radar at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The radar is built by the company DeTect of Panama City, Florida. It was put in place to help protect the space shuttle from bird strike damage. And the Air Force currently uses radar developed by DeTect at several bases.

　　Technology also has a part in the growing threat from birds. Today’s large passenger planes have fewer but more powerful engines than older models. That means it is easier for planes with only two engines to strike a flock of birds and lose power in both engines.

　　But Michael O’Donnell says the number of serious bird strike incidents has remained at or below two hundred each year. He credits this to better education and knowledge about the issue.

　　(MUSIC)

　　VOICE TWO:

　　From bird strikes, we turn to another kind of threat caused by objects in space. The number of man-made objects in Earth orbit has been growing each year. These include satellites, old rocket parts and other pieces of spacecraft.