VOA慢速英语2018 美国军方欲为太空旅行补充燃料（在线收听）

US Military Wants to Refuel, Resupply with Space Travel

The United States Military’s Air Mobility Command says that refueling and resupplying the U.S. military may soon be done from space.

美国军方空军机动司令部称，美国军方的燃料补给可能很快就可以在太空中完成。 

Air Force General Carlton Everhart is the head of Air Mobility Command.He told VOA, “If I can resupply from space, I can go across the globe in about 30 minutes.”He added, “I do truly believe that is the next step.”

空军上将卡尔顿·埃弗哈特是空中机动司令部的负责人。他对VOA说，如果我能从太空中得到补给，我可以在30分钟内穿越地球。他补充说，“我真的相信这是下一步可以做到的。”

Everhart said the time gained by using hypersonic spacecraft could keep the U.S. ahead in “the speed of war.”That is an area where countries such as China and Russia are trying to make gains.

埃弗哈特说，利用高超音速飞船获得的时间可以使美国在“战争速度上”保持领先。中国和俄罗斯等国正尝试在这一领域取得进展。

The idea of using space to deliver supplies is more possible than ever before, say supporters.Many companies that Everhart hopes to partner with are already working on this kind of technology.

支持者说，通过太空运送物资的想法比以往任何时候都更有可能。埃弗哈特希望与之合作的许多公司已经在钻研这种技术。

Eric Stallmer is president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.The group, based in Washington D.C., supports the development of the space flight industry.Stallmer said that companies like SpaceX and Sierra Nevada, and even foreign companies, could be good partners for the U.S. government.

埃里克·斯托尔莫是商业航天联盟的主席。该总部位于华盛顿特区，致力于支持航天飞行工业的发展。斯托尔默说，像太空探索技术公司和内华达这样的公司，甚至是外国公司，都可能成为美国政府的好伙伴。

Cost, however, remains an important issue for space flight.

然而，成本仍然是太空飞行的一个重要问题。 

Experts say the need to transport supplies through space must be greater than the financial costs.For example, it might only be used during very important operations.

专家说，通过太空运输物资的需求肯定大于财政花费。例如，它可能只能用于非常重要的操作中。 

Todd Harrison is a space and defense expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.He said the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012 is an example of a situation where speed was more important than cost.The attack resulted in the death of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

托德·哈里森是华盛顿战略与国际研究中心的空间和防务专家。他说，2012年美国驻利比亚，班加西领事馆遭遇袭击就是一个速度比成本更重要的例子。这次袭击导致美国大使克里斯托弗·史蒂文斯和其他三名美国人死亡。

“Imagine if we had been able to launch a SEAL team and put them right down in that compound within 45 minutes of knowing that it was under attack.It could have made the difference,” he said.

他说：“想象一下，如果我们能够在得知它受到攻击的45分钟内，派遣一个海豹突击队，并将它们放在那个化合物里，可能结果就会有所不同”。

Everhart is not only interested in launching supplies from one point on Earth to another.He also wants to use satellites to position supplies in space.

埃弗哈特不仅对从地球上的一个点向另一个点发送补给感兴趣,他还想利用卫星定位太空中的补给。 

Stallmer said a lot of spaceflight companies are studying the idea of space refueling stations.There also are plans to change refueling vehicles into habitats in space once they have been used.

斯托尔默说，很多航天公司都有研究太空补给站的想法。此外，这些公司还在计划一旦太空补给站开始使用，就在太空中将燃料补给车改为太空栖息地。

However, it is still unclear when these technologies will be fully developed: Experts have estimated from two to more than 10 years.

然而，目前尚不清楚这些技术何时会得到全面发展：专家预计可能会2年到10多年。 

But this does not stop Everhart from dreaming.

但这并不能阻止埃弗哈特的梦想。 

“The train is leaving the station and we’re going to be on it.And I’m not going to be on the caboose…I’m going to be in the front,” he said.

“火车即将离开车站，我们将要乘车”。他说，“我不会在车尾，我要站在前面。” 

Everhart said his team is already writing proposals for the government to make space resupply a possibility for the military in the future.

埃弗哈特说，他的团队已经在为政府起草建议让太空补给成为未来军队的一种可能。

Words in This Story

caboose - n. a part of a train that is attached at the back end and is used by people who work on the train?

globe - n. the earth?

habitat - n. the place or type of place where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives or grows?

hypersonic - adj. relating to speeds of more than five times the speed of sound