Tired of Vacationing on Earth? Go on space rides for $102,00

 Tired of Vacationing on Earth? Go on space rides for $102,00

An American space tourism company that arranges multimillion-dollar treks¹ to the International Space Station for the ultra-wealthy has struck a new deal to offer suborbital spaceflights for nearly half the going cost. The price is still steep, though: $102,000 for the works.

Virginia-based firm Space Adventures has signed an exclusive deal with Armadillo Aerospace³, a Texas-based company founded by computer game entrepreneur John Carmack, to sell space tourist seats on new suborbital rocket ships that are currently in development at Armadillo.

Flights aboard Armadillo's vertically⁴-launched rocket ship in development will depart from a spaceport in the United States and take passengers to regions above 62 miles (100 kilometers), where space begins. After the engine is shut down, those aboard will experience up to five minutes of weightlessness and will have the opportunity to gaze out at 360-degree views into space and Earth's horizon below.

The time in space will be a few short minutes, but the complete experience, including training, will last a few days.

And while the $102,000 price tag for one of Space Adventure's suborbital spaceflights may seem hefty, it is nearly $100,000 less than rival company Virgin² Galactic's asking price for a seat on SpaceShipTwo, which is undergoing captive-carry tests at the moment.

"I am very pleased to announce Space Adventures' agreement with Armadillo," said Eric Anderson, president and chief executive officer of Space Adventures. Anderson said he planned to release more details about the deal next month at the International Space Development Conference in Chicago.

"We envision this as a critical turning point for public access to space," Anderson said.

Space Adventures is the only company that has booked private flights to the International Space Station. The company brokered⁵ those deals with the Russian Federal Space Agency, charging customers about $35 million for a ride on Russian-built Soyuz spacecraft. The most recent flight occurred last October and sent Canadian billionaire Guy Laliberte on an 11-day space excursion.

HealthTop TipsNutritionLoveLifestyleHappinessWeight Loss

"A decade of research and development has gotten us to the point where we can credibly⁶ talk about commercial passenger experiences," said John Carmack, president and chief technology officer of Armadillo Aerospace. "Everything is coming together — there is enough clarity in the technical, regulatory and market factors that it is the right time to form a solid partnership⁷ with Space Adventures to help us take things through to commercial operation."

Armadillo Aerospace, a leading developer of reusable rocket-powered vehicles, also produces rocket engines for the X-racer aircraft to be used by Rocket Racing⁸ League for aerial races.

The company has built rockets that launch and land vertically for competitions for prize money from NASA. Last November, Armadillo Aerospace took home second place and $500,000 in the NASA-sponsored contest to fly privately⁹ developed rockets on mock moon-landing missions.

1 treks   

n.远距离行走 ( trek的名词复数 )；长途跋涉，艰难的旅程（尤指在山区）v.艰苦跋涉，徒步旅行( trek的第三人称单数 )；（尤指在山中）远足，徒步旅行，游山玩水

参考例句：

• And visiting companies and completing job treks are becoming much more important in the job search. 参观公司、进行实地考察在找工作中变得重要得多。 来自互联网
• These range from treks around Mont an ascent of North Africa's highest mountain, Mount Toubkal. 参与者是徒步绕勃朗峰，然后攀登北非最高峰托布卡尔山。 来自互联网

2 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

3 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

4 vertically   

adv.垂直地

参考例句：

• Line the pages for the graph both horizontally and vertically.在这几页上同时画上横线和竖线，以便制作图表。
• The human brain is divided vertically down the middle into two hemispheres.人脑从中央垂直地分为两半球。

5 brokered   

adj.由权力经纪人安排（或控制）的v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的过去式和过去分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• a peace plan brokered by the UN 由联合国出面协商的和平计划
• Your husband brokered the deal to go in, transfrer the assets and get our man out. 你丈夫后来插了一脚，把生意都抢了过去，我们的人也被挤了出来。 来自电影对白

6 credibly   

ad.可信地；可靠地

参考例句：

• I am credibly informed that. 由可靠方面听说。
• An effective management software ensures network to run credibly. 一个高效的网管软件是网络运行的可靠保证。

7 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

8 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

9 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。