2007年VOA标准英语-Is Space For Sale?

By Gergely, Valer
Moscow and Washington
14 March 2007
 
watch Gergely report  

Space tourism is no longer science fiction, at least for those who can afford it. Private companies around the world are now competing to become leaders in commercial space activities. For producer Valer Gergely, Jim Bertel reports this space race is creating new industries.  

Conquering space was once an ideological¹ contest between two rival world powers during the Cold War. Today, private companies compete to profit from space.

 
Eric Anderson of Space Adventures
Eric C. Anderson, president and CEO of Space Adventures, the first company to send paying passengers into space, believes the new space race is a positive development.

"From the first days of spaceflights, of course, the race was between the Soviet² Union and the U.S., to be the first to put a person into orbit, to go first to the moon,” he explains. “Now the space race is motivated by profit, which is even better because it means it will sustain itself beyond the ups and downs of politics."

Anderson believes space is an incredible new frontier for business. Space Adventures has earned over $120 million in sales for offering commercial seats to the public.

"When you find millions of people who want to go into space and we find a way to be able to take them there, that creates the opportunity for space entrepreneurs,” he says.

 
Space Adventures began receiving commercial services from the Russian Space Agency after the collapse³ of the Soviet Union. "In the early 1990s things changed in the former Soviet Union of course. The motivation of maintaining their space capability⁴ had to rely more on commercial activities."

Space Adventures’ clients pay $20 million each for their voyage.  Future travelers may even take a spacewalk for an additional $15 million.

U.S. software developer Charles Simonyi will travel to the International Space Station on a Soyuz spacecraft in April. He has been training for his flight in Star City, Russia.

"I think that commercial 'anything' is a good direction,” says Simonyi. “If you are looking at the communication network of the world having cell phones, having the commercial Internet, they increased the capacity of our communication immensely relatively⁵ to what governments can accomplish on their own. I think spaceflights will eventually be the same way."

In the past the US space agency, NASA, has not provided much opportunity for commercial activities. That may change under the current administration, says Doug Cooke, NASA's Deputy Associate Administrator⁶ for Exploration.

"NASA is not in the position, from the government point of view, to sell opportunities to others. But we have been encouraged to find these opportunities, to find opportunities for international participation⁷, commercial participation, to expand the sphere of influence of commerce from Earth to lower orbit and beyond."

Other companies, such as Virgin⁸ Galactic, are trying to gain their share of the market by developing their own spaceship for paying passengers. Virgin Galactic's spaceship designer Burt Rutan believes space should not be accessible only to the elite⁹. "I do want to get to the moon in my lifetime. And I want to see affordable¹⁰ travel to the moon in my lifetime."

Virgin Galactic plans to fly its first passengers on a suborbital flight in the next two years for $200,000 per person and build a spaceport in New Mexico. So far more than 50,000 people have shown interest in becoming space tourists.  The competition is a clear sign that a new industry is being created.

Last year Space Adventures participated in the World Travel Market announcing plans to offer private missions to the far side of the Moon -- for $100 million.

"The participants will be able to come within 100 kilometers of the far side of the Moon,” said Anderson. “Replicating the lunar missions that were done in the 1960s -- the Apollo mission, for example. The beauty of this that we are able to use the existing Soyuz spacecraft with very minimum modifications¹¹."

 
The Earth from space

Anderson believes that 30 to 40 years from now it will be within the reach for the great percentage of the world population to travel to space. "What we are doing today is much more than just rich people buying trips to space. It is actually the catalyst¹² that will open up the future where all of us will be able to go to space."

Some Russian experts believe the moon could also be a resource for fuel used by nuclear fusion¹³ power plants. Based on some estimates, the isotope¹⁴ helium-3 reserve on the moon could provide enough energy for Earth for hundreds of years. The process, however, would take decades to develop.

1 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

2 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

3 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

4 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

5 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

6 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

7 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

8 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。

9 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

10 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

11 modifications   

n.缓和( modification的名词复数 )；限制；更改；改变

参考例句：

• The engine was pulled apart for modifications and then reassembled. 发动机被拆开改型，然后再组装起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The original plan had undergone fairly extensive modifications. 原计划已经作了相当大的修改。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 catalyst   

n.催化剂，造成变化的人或事

参考例句：

• A catalyst is a substance which speeds up a chemical reaction.催化剂是一种能加速化学反应的物质。
• The workers'demand for better conditions was a catalyst for social change.工人们要求改善工作条件促进了社会变革。

13 fusion   

n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc. 黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• This alloy is formed by the fusion of two types of metal.这种合金是用两种金属熔合而成的。

14 isotope   

n.同位素

参考例句：

• The isotope ratio is directly used for comparing oils or gases.同位素比率直接用于比较各种石油或天然气。
• How to apply a radio isotope?如何运用放射性同位素？