SCIENCE REPORT - Space Tourism

By Mario Ritter
SCIENCE REPORT -March 14, 2002: Space Tourism

This is the VOA Special English SCIENCE REPORT.

Would you like to orbit¹ the Earth inside the International Space Station? Now you can take a space holiday
—
for
a price. This is due to a recent decision by top space officials of the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan and the
European Space Agency².

Last April, American businessman Dennis Tito reportedly paid between twelve -million and
twenty-million dollars to spend one week on the International Space Station. NASA had
strongly objected to the Russian plan to permit a civilian³ on the costly⁴ research vehicle. After
two years of negotiations⁵, space officials have agreed on a process to train private citizens to
take trips to the International Space Station.

NASA recently agreed to conditions that will permit Russia to sell trips to
the space station. The trips are planned by an American company called Space Adventures
Limited of Arlington, Virginia. The company calls itself “the world’s leading space tourism
company.
”
The company has sold a space trip to Mark Shuttleworth, a South African
businessman. In April, Mister⁶ Shuttleworth will be launched⁷ into space from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Experts say the change in policy at NASA shows a new desire to use space vehicles for Dennis Tito
business and industrial purposes. In a speech to Congress⁸ last year, NASA official Michael Hawes said that the
space agency had not considered civilian travel as one of the industries it wanted to develop. However, Mister
Hawes said that private space travel could now be done as long as safety measures are observed carefully.

Yet, the average citizen will not be able to travel into space in the near future. Space Adventures Limited sells a
training program for space flight that costs two-hundred-thousand dollars. That price does not include the cost of
the trip to the International Space Station. That holiday in space costs twenty-million dollars.

Candidates⁹ for adventure space travel trips must be in excellent health and must pass difficult health tests. They
must receive a lot of training. However, Special English can help you prepare for a space holiday. This is because
all successful candidates who wish to travel to the International Space Station must be able to read and speak
English.

This VOA Special English SCIENCE REPORT was written by Mario Ritter.

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1 orbit   

n.轨道；vt.使沿轨道运行；使进入轨道运行；vi.沿轨道运行，环行

参考例句：

• The space rocket was launched and went into orbit.宇宙火箭发射后进入轨道。
• We can draw the earth's orbit round the sun.我们可以画出地球绕太阳运行的轨迹。

2 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

3 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

4 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

5 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

6 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

7 launched   

v.发射( launch的过去式和过去分词 )；[计算机]开始（应用程序）；发动；开展（活动、计划等）

参考例句：

• He launched a bitter diatribe against the younger generation. 他对年轻一代发起了猛烈的抨击。
• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide. 这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。

8 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。

9 candidates   

n.报考者( candidate的名词复数 )；申请求职者；攻读学位者；最后命运或结局如何已显然可见者

参考例句：

• Employers must consider all candidates impartially and without bias. 雇主必须公平而毫无成见地考虑所有求职者。
• one of the leading candidates for the presidency 总统职位的主要候选人之一