THE space race between America and the Soviet Union was as much about ideological one-upmanship as extraterrestrial exploration. A new space race to the moon has an even lesslofty goal: sightseeing. Two space-tourism companies are planning rival lunar missions thatcould see private individuals paying to fly to Earth s nearest celestial neighbour.

　　美國和蘇聯(lián)的空間競爭是關(guān)于外星探索上誰高人一等的問題。一個新的到月球的競爭有一個更加崇高的目標(biāo)：旅游觀光。兩個空間旅游公司計(jì)劃在月球項(xiàng)目上競爭以使私人個體可以掏錢飛上地球最近的天體鄰居。

　　On June 19th Excalibur Almaz, a space company based on the Isle of Man, a Britishdependency in the Irish Sea, became the second company-after Space Adventures, anAmerican space-tourism firm-to offer tickets for a commercial moonshot. Both firms arecharging $150m a seat, a price that includes months of ground-based training. Neither isoffering a descent to the moon s surface-just a lunar fly-by.

　　一個英國支持的位于英國曼島的神劍在六月19號成為第為繼美國空間旅游公司空間探險(xiǎn)公司之后第二家空間旅行公司為登月的商業(yè)用途提供票。兩個公司都要1500萬一個座位，包括數(shù)月的地上訓(xùn)練。兩個公司都不提供降落地面的服務(wù)僅僅是繞月飛行。

　　Whereas the Americans won the first space race, the Russians are favourites for the rematch.Both Excalibur Almaz and Space Adventures are using Russian-made rockets and spacecraft.Space Adventures plans to re-engineer the veteran Soyuz craft that it has used to shuttleseven space tourists up to the International Space Station . Excalibur Almaz intends torefit two Almaz space stations that were originally made for the Soviet armed forces.

　　鑒于美國贏得了第一次空間競賽，俄羅斯人熱衷于重新開賽。神劍和太空探險(xiǎn)兩家公司都使用俄羅斯生產(chǎn)的火箭和飛船。空間探險(xiǎn)公司計(jì)劃重新設(shè)計(jì)自身的聯(lián)盟號宇宙飛船，該飛船曾經(jīng)把7位旅客送進(jìn)國際航空站。神劍公司傾向于使用重新整修的2號鉆石空間站，該站由以前的蘇聯(lián)軍隊(duì)建造。

　　The space-tourism business is famously long on hype but rather short, so far, on results. Andboth firms face big engineering challenges, to put it mildly. The easier task probably falls toSpace Adventures, whose well-tested Soyuzcapsules-which have been flying, in one form oranother, since the 1960s-require a beefier communications system, larger portholes and a better heat shield for re-entry. A separatebooster rocket will be necessary to break the craft out of Earth orbit.

　　到目前為止，空間旅游已經(jīng)大力宣傳了很長時間，但是實(shí)際上剛剛開始。兩個公司都面臨著巨大的工程挑戰(zhàn)，使他們抓狂。比較簡單的任務(wù)可能降落在空間探險(xiǎn)公司身上，其調(diào)試良好的聯(lián)盟號飛船自從20世紀(jì)60年代以來已經(jīng)以一種形式或另一種形式飛過 僅僅需要加裝強(qiáng)大的制動裝置，大的舷窗另外為重新進(jìn)入加裝好的隔熱層。助推火箭分離器需要有強(qiáng)大的推力使航天器脫離地球軌道。

　　Excalibur Almaz s bulky space stations will need a lot more work to convert into lunarspacecraft. The first step will be to attach engines. The company plans to use ion thrusters,a high-tech propulsion system in which propellant is ejected using an electric field. Suchmotors are extremely efficient, and can be powered from a station s solar panels. But theygenerate little thrust, meaning that Excalibur Almaz s mission will take at least six months,compared with just six days for Space Adventures chemical-powered craft. In fact, the low-energy trajectory planned by Excalibur Almaz will take its crew members farther from theEarth than any other humans have been.

　　神劍的龐大空間站需要更多的工作使其成為旅月航天器。第一步將需要安裝引擎。公司計(jì)劃使用例子推動器，這是一種高科技的推動系統(tǒng)其推動劑是一種電場。這種發(fā)動機(jī)效率非常高，并且可以從空間站太陽能電極板得到能量。但是他們進(jìn)展緩慢，意思是神劍的使命可能至少推遲6個月，相比于空間探索公司僅僅需要6天就能加注的化學(xué)推動劑飛船。事實(shí)上，神劍計(jì)劃的低能量軌道將能把它的工作人員送到離地球比以前所有人都遠(yuǎn)的地方。

　　A journey that long would be risky. One danger is from unpredictable and potentiallydeadly solar flares, giant releases of stellar energy that would bombard the craft withradiation and fry its occupants. To protect its passengers, the company plans to build aninternal storm shelter that uses the spacecraft s water supplies to absorb radiation.

　　長距離的旅行將很危險(xiǎn)。危險(xiǎn)之一來自不可預(yù)定和可能的致命的太陽耀斑，恒星能量的巨大釋放將用射線炸毀飛船并且燒焦乘客。為了保護(hù)乘客，該公司計(jì)劃建立內(nèi)部 風(fēng)暴掩體 用飛船的供水系統(tǒng)來吸收射線。

　　Neither firm will start refitting its spacecraft, a process expected to take around threeyears, until it has sold all the seats on its maiden flights . The companies are marketing their lunar missions to the same high-techentrepreneurs and ultra-rich thrill-seekers who have snapped up tourist visits to the ISS andsuborbital joyrides-long planned, but yet to fly-with firms such as Virgin Galactic.

　　這一計(jì)劃預(yù)計(jì)需要三年的時間，兩個公司都將不重新修理飛船知道其賣掉所有的處女飛行的座位，兩公司想類似的高科技公司和富有刺激性的富人們宣傳市場，這些人把計(jì)劃很長時間但是沒有實(shí)施的去國際空間站和軌道兜風(fēng)的旅游票一搶而空比如Virgin Galactic公司。

　　Space Adventures already claims to have sold one ticket. That has led Excalibur Almaz tosweeten its deal by offering equity in the company to its first paying passengers. But fillingseats may prove tricky. Not only is the asking price more than seven times the $20m cost ofa jaunt to the ISS, it also requires months of demanding physical and psychologicaltraining. And even if the engineering can be perfected, it remains to be seen how manydaredevil billionaires will be willing to spend months cooped up in a metal tube eatingfreeze-dried food.

　　空間探索公司已經(jīng)聲明賣出一張票。這促使神劍公司推出為首位付款游客提供裝備的優(yōu)惠政策。但是填充座位可能很棘手。這不僅僅需要超過到達(dá)空間站所需 200萬美元七倍的價(jià)格，還需要花費(fèi)數(shù)月來進(jìn)行體力和心理的鍛煉。并且即使發(fā)動機(jī)非常好，還需要看有多少不怕死的億萬富翁將希望花費(fèi)數(shù)月被關(guān)閉在金屬的容器內(nèi)吃著冰冷干燥的食物。

　　THE space race between America and the Soviet Union was as much about ideological one-upmanship as extraterrestrial exploration. A new space race to the moon has an even lesslofty goal: sightseeing. Two space-tourism companies are planning rival lunar missions thatcould see private individuals paying to fly to Earth s nearest celestial neighbour.

　　美國和蘇聯(lián)的空間競爭是關(guān)于外星探索上誰高人一等的問題。一個新的到月球的競爭有一個更加崇高的目標(biāo)：旅游觀光。兩個空間旅游公司計(jì)劃在月球項(xiàng)目上競爭以使私人個體可以掏錢飛上地球最近的天體鄰居。

　　On June 19th Excalibur Almaz, a space company based on the Isle of Man, a Britishdependency in the Irish Sea, became the second company-after Space Adventures, anAmerican space-tourism firm-to offer tickets for a commercial moonshot. Both firms arecharging $150m a seat, a price that includes months of ground-based training. Neither isoffering a descent to the moon s surface-just a lunar fly-by.

　　一個英國支持的位于英國曼島的神劍在六月19號成為第為繼美國空間旅游公司空間探險(xiǎn)公司之后第二家空間旅行公司為登月的商業(yè)用途提供票。兩個公司都要1500萬一個座位，包括數(shù)月的地上訓(xùn)練。兩個公司都不提供降落地面的服務(wù)僅僅是繞月飛行。

　　Whereas the Americans won the first space race, the Russians are favourites for the rematch.Both Excalibur Almaz and Space Adventures are using Russian-made rockets and spacecraft.Space Adventures plans to re-engineer the veteran Soyuz craft that it has used to shuttleseven space tourists up to the International Space Station . Excalibur Almaz intends torefit two Almaz space stations that were originally made for the Soviet armed forces.

　　鑒于美國贏得了第一次空間競賽，俄羅斯人熱衷于重新開賽。神劍和太空探險(xiǎn)兩家公司都使用俄羅斯生產(chǎn)的火箭和飛船。空間探險(xiǎn)公司計(jì)劃重新設(shè)計(jì)自身的聯(lián)盟號宇宙飛船，該飛船曾經(jīng)把7位旅客送進(jìn)國際航空站。神劍公司傾向于使用重新整修的2號鉆石空間站，該站由以前的蘇聯(lián)軍隊(duì)建造。

　　The space-tourism business is famously long on hype but rather short, so far, on results. Andboth firms face big engineering challenges, to put it mildly. The easier task probably falls toSpace Adventures, whose well-tested Soyuzcapsules-which have been flying, in one form oranother, since the 1960s-require a beefier communications system, larger portholes and a better heat shield for re-entry. A separatebooster rocket will be necessary to break the craft out of Earth orbit.

　　到目前為止，空間旅游已經(jīng)大力宣傳了很長時間，但是實(shí)際上剛剛開始。兩個公司都面臨著巨大的工程挑戰(zhàn)，使他們抓狂。比較簡單的任務(wù)可能降落在空間探險(xiǎn)公司身上，其調(diào)試良好的聯(lián)盟號飛船自從20世紀(jì)60年代以來已經(jīng)以一種形式或另一種形式飛過 僅僅需要加裝強(qiáng)大的制動裝置，大的舷窗另外為重新進(jìn)入加裝好的隔熱層。助推火箭分離器需要有強(qiáng)大的推力使航天器脫離地球軌道。

　　Excalibur Almaz s bulky space stations will need a lot more work to convert into lunarspacecraft. The first step will be to attach engines. The company plans to use ion thrusters,a high-tech propulsion system in which propellant is ejected using an electric field. Suchmotors are extremely efficient, and can be powered from a station s solar panels. But theygenerate little thrust, meaning that Excalibur Almaz s mission will take at least six months,compared with just six days for Space Adventures chemical-powered craft. In fact, the low-energy trajectory planned by Excalibur Almaz will take its crew members farther from theEarth than any other humans have been.

　　神劍的龐大空間站需要更多的工作使其成為旅月航天器。第一步將需要安裝引擎。公司計(jì)劃使用例子推動器，這是一種高科技的推動系統(tǒng)其推動劑是一種電場。這種發(fā)動機(jī)效率非常高，并且可以從空間站太陽能電極板得到能量。但是他們進(jìn)展緩慢，意思是神劍的使命可能至少推遲6個月，相比于空間探索公司僅僅需要6天就能加注的化學(xué)推動劑飛船。事實(shí)上，神劍計(jì)劃的低能量軌道將能把它的工作人員送到離地球比以前所有人都遠(yuǎn)的地方。

　　A journey that long would be risky. One danger is from unpredictable and potentiallydeadly solar flares, giant releases of stellar energy that would bombard the craft withradiation and fry its occupants. To protect its passengers, the company plans to build aninternal storm shelter that uses the spacecraft s water supplies to absorb radiation.

　　長距離的旅行將很危險(xiǎn)。危險(xiǎn)之一來自不可預(yù)定和可能的致命的太陽耀斑，恒星能量的巨大釋放將用射線炸毀飛船并且燒焦乘客。為了保護(hù)乘客，該公司計(jì)劃建立內(nèi)部 風(fēng)暴掩體 用飛船的供水系統(tǒng)來吸收射線。

　　Neither firm will start refitting its spacecraft, a process expected to take around threeyears, until it has sold all the seats on its maiden flights . The companies are marketing their lunar missions to the same high-techentrepreneurs and ultra-rich thrill-seekers who have snapped up tourist visits to the ISS andsuborbital joyrides-long planned, but yet to fly-with firms such as Virgin Galactic.

　　這一計(jì)劃預(yù)計(jì)需要三年的時間，兩個公司都將不重新修理飛船知道其賣掉所有的處女飛行的座位，兩公司想類似的高科技公司和富有刺激性的富人們宣傳市場，這些人把計(jì)劃很長時間但是沒有實(shí)施的去國際空間站和軌道兜風(fēng)的旅游票一搶而空比如Virgin Galactic公司。

　　Space Adventures already claims to have sold one ticket. That has led Excalibur Almaz tosweeten its deal by offering equity in the company to its first paying passengers. But fillingseats may prove tricky. Not only is the asking price more than seven times the $20m cost ofa jaunt to the ISS, it also requires months of demanding physical and psychologicaltraining. And even if the engineering can be perfected, it remains to be seen how manydaredevil billionaires will be willing to spend months cooped up in a metal tube eatingfreeze-dried food.

　　空間探索公司已經(jīng)聲明賣出一張票。這促使神劍公司推出為首位付款游客提供裝備的優(yōu)惠政策。但是填充座位可能很棘手。這不僅僅需要超過到達(dá)空間站所需 200萬美元七倍的價(jià)格，還需要花費(fèi)數(shù)月來進(jìn)行體力和心理的鍛煉。并且即使發(fā)動機(jī)非常好，還需要看有多少不怕死的億萬富翁將希望花費(fèi)數(shù)月被關(guān)閉在金屬的容器內(nèi)吃著冰冷干燥的食物。