VOA慢速英语2021 亿万富豪相争 贝佐斯将率先进入太空

Three of the founders² of America's top private space companies have stated their personal desire to fly into space.

美国顶级私营太空公司的3位创始人都已经表达了他们飞入太空的个人愿望。

But only one will be first.

但是只有其中一位将率先进入太空。

Jeff Bezos is head of the rocket company Blue Origin. He also founded the online store Amazon. Bezos has announced plans to make his wish come true next month on the company's first human space flight. If successful, the 57-year-old would become the first person to ride his own company's rocket into space.

杰夫·贝佐斯是蓝色起源火箭公司的负责人。他还创办了亚马逊在线商城。贝佐斯已经宣布计划在下个月该公司的首次载人航天飞行中实现他的愿望。如果成功，这位57岁的老人将成为第一位搭载自己公司的火箭进入太空的人士。

Two other founders -- Elon Musk³ of SpaceX and Richard Branson of Virgin⁴ Galactic -- have said they also want to ride into space on a company-built spaceship.

另外两位创始人——太空探索技术公司的埃隆·马克斯和维珍银河公司的理查德·布兰森都已经表示他们也想搭乘己公司建造的宇宙飞船进入太空。

"Ever since I was five years old, I've dreamed of traveling to space," Bezos said in a message announcing his plans on Instagram. He said he would be making the trip with his brother, Mark. "On July 20th, I will take that journey with my brother. The greatest adventure, with my best friend," Bezos said.

贝佐斯在 Instagram 上发表消息宣布他的计划时表示：“我从5岁开始就梦想着去太空。”他表示他会跟他的兄弟马克一起进行这趟行程。贝佐斯表示：“在7月20日，我将和我的兄弟，也是我最好的朋友，一起踏上这段最伟大的冒险旅程。”

Joining the brothers will be at least one other passenger who is being chosen by an online auction⁵. Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket and capsule can carry up to six people.

至少还有一位乘客将通过在线拍卖被选中跟这两兄弟一起。蓝色起源公司的新谢泼德火箭和太空舱最多可搭载6人。

The spacecraft will take its passengers on a 10-minute flight to about 105 kilometers above Earth. That distance is a common international definition for the beginning of space, also known as the "Karman line." The passengers are expected to spend about four minutes in this suborbital space, where they can experience weightlessness and observe the curvature of Earth.

该航天器将搭载乘客进行一段10分钟的飞行，到达距离地球大约105公里的上空。这个距离是太空起点的国际通用定义，也被称为“卡门线。”预计乘客们将在这个亚轨道空间上停留大约4分钟，在那里他们可以体验失重并观察地球曲面。

The rocket will take off from Blue Origin's launch center in a rural area of West Texas. After the capsule separates, the reusable rocket is designed to return to Earth and land in an upright position by itself. The capsule is designed to float back to the surface with three large parachutes.

该火箭将从蓝色起源公司位于德克萨斯西部偏远地区的发射中心升空。在太空舱分离之后，可重复使用的火箭将自行返回地球，并以竖直姿态着陆。太空舱被设计成通过3个大型降落伞飘落到地表。

Blue Origin said it has carried out 15 successful test flights of New Shepard, but none of those carried humans. The spacecraft is named after NASA astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American to go into space. The planned launch date is July 20. The date was chosen because it is the 52nd anniversary of the first moon landing by Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

蓝色起源公司称其已经对新谢泼德号进行了15次成功试飞，但是都没有载人飞行。该航天器以美国宇航局宇航员艾伦·谢泼德命名，他是首位进入太空的美国人。计划发射日期定在7月20日。这个日期是精心挑选的，因为这天是阿波罗11号宇航员尼尔·阿姆斯特朗和巴兹·奥尔德林实现人类首次登月的第52个周年纪念日。

Bezos has said he will step down as Amazon's chief 15 days before the launch. Earlier, he announced that he wanted to spend more time on projects for Blue Origin.

贝佐斯曾表示，他将在发射前15天辞去亚马逊首席执行官一职。早些时候，他宣布想花更多时间在蓝色起源的项目上。

On its website, the company says its goal is to develop reusable launch vehicles for civilian⁶ and defense⁷ purposes. The Bezos flight will officially launch the company's space tourism business. The company has yet to start selling seats to the public or announce prices for the short trips.

该公司在其官方网站上表示，其目标是为民用和国防项目开发可重复利用的运载火箭。贝佐斯此次飞行将正式启动该公司的太空旅游项目。该公司尚未向公众出售座位或公布短途太空旅行的价格。

Virgin Galactic founder¹ Branson has said he also plans to ride into space on the company's winged spacecraft later this year after one more test flight over the state of New Mexico. Virgin Galactic recently completed its third test flight into space with a crew.

维珍银河公司的创始人布兰森表示，在新墨西哥州再次进行试飞之后，他也计划在今年晚些时候搭载该公司的有翼航天器进入太空。维珍银河公司最近完成了第3次搭载机组人员的试飞。

The 70-year-old Branson offered congratulations to Bezos after his announcement. Branson tweeted that their two companies "are opening up access to space -- how extraordinary!"

70岁的布兰森在贝佐斯宣布这一消息后向他表示祝贺。布兰森在推特上表示，他们两家公司“正在开放进入太空的渠道，这是多么非凡的事情！”

Like Blue Origin, Branson's company plans to send space tourists to the lower levels of space. About 600 people have already planned flights, which cost up to $250,000.

跟蓝色起源公司一样，布兰森的公司计划将太空旅客送到低层太空。大约有600人已经计划进行这种费用达到25万美元的飞行。

Musk's SpaceX has already carried 10 astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA, the U.S. space agency. His company has also sold several seats on private space flights. SpaceX, however, has said its space tourism program aims to launch people into super high orbit – about 800 to 1,200 kilometers above Earth. The price for those trips is expected to cost millions of dollars.

马斯克的太空探索科技公司已经为美国宇航局运送了10名宇航员到达国际空间站。他的公司还计划出售私人太空飞行中的几个座位。然而，太空探索科技公司称其太空旅行项目旨在将人们送到距离地球800到1500公里的超高轨道。这趟行程的价格预计将花费数百万美元。

Musk has not said when he might be ready to go to space himself. But he has predicted his company's reusable spacecraft called Starship will one day carry people to the moon and Mars.

马斯克没有说明他自己何时可能准备好去太空。但是马斯克预测他公司被称为星舰的可重复利用宇宙飞船有朝一日将载人飞往月球和火星。

Musk has repeatedly said he wants "to die on Mars. Just not on impact."

马斯克一再表示，他想“死在火星上，只要不是（在登陆时）撞死。”

1 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

2 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

3 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

4 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。

5 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

6 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。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。