一晚80萬美元？全球首家太空酒店已開訂，擬於2022年開業

Photo credit: Getty Images

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住太空酒店得花多少錢？

Ever wondered how you"d sleep in space? Orion Span, a US-based space technologystart-up, announced its plans on April 5th to open a luxury hotel in low-Earth orbit.

你想像過在太空中睡覺嗎？4月5日，一家名為Orion Span的美國太空科技初創公司宣布，計劃在低地球軌道開設一家豪華酒店。

start-up剛成立的公司，新企業

例句：Many of the companies emerging from this start-up wave, like the last, look as if they were created with an eye to being sold on quick. 正如上一次浪潮一樣，在這次初創企業浪潮中湧現出來的公司中，有很多企業似乎就是為了迅速賣掉而創立的。

Screenshot: Twitter

Orion Span intends to launch themodularspace station called Aurora Station in 2021 and bring guests aboard the following year, and you can reserve a room for $80,000. Just be aware that that figure is only adown paymentfor a 12-day stay 200 miles above the earth, which runs astratospheric$9.5 million per person. The station is projected toaccommodatefour travelers and two crew members at a time.

Orion Span公司打算在2021年推出模塊式的空間站，命名為Aurora Station，並將在2022年迎客登站。你可以花8萬美金預訂一個房間。但請注意，此金額只是在地球上空200英里處停留12天的預付款，每名旅客的實際花費高達950萬美元。該空間站預計一次可接納四名旅客和兩名機組人員。

modular["m?dj?l?(r)] adj. 組合式的；模塊化的

例句：In a complex modular system, you might have dozens of sheets, each dedicated to a specific task. 在一個複雜的模塊化系統中，可能需要很多表，每一個都有特定的任務。

down payment首期付款；預付金

例句：This year already, authorities have raised the bank reserve requirement twice and increased the required down payment on land purchases. 今年以來，中國官方已兩次上調銀行存款準備金率，還提高了參與競拍土地前需繳納的保證金比例。

stratospheric[?str?t?"sfer?k] adj. 同溫層的, 平流層的；極高的

例句：While it remains some way behind Facebook in total members, Twitter has recorded stratospheric growth since the start of the year. 儘管與Facebook相比，Twitter會員總數仍有些落後，但自今年年初以來，該網站的會員數量出現了飛速增長。

accommodate[?"k?m?de?t] vt. 容納；順應

例句：The door is hobbit-sized, though apparently it had been widened to accommodate Chirac"s European frame. 房門很小，儘管據稱它已加寬，以便讓希拉克那樣的歐洲身材進去。

Screenshot: Twitter

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12天的太空之行

During the 12-day adventure, the super-rich travelers will fly at a height of 200 miles above the Earth"s surface in Low Earth Orbit, where they willwitnessincredible views of the blue planet.

在這12天的冒險旅程中，富豪旅客們將在距地球表面200英里以上的近地軌道高空遨遊，並目睹這蔚為壯觀的藍色星球。

The Aurora Station will complete an orbit every 90 minutes, meaning guests will see around 16 sunrises and sunsets every 24 hours. Activities on board include taking part in research experiments such as growing food while in orbit, which guests can take home for asuper-smugsouvenir, and soaring over their hometown.

Aurora Station每90分鐘可繞地球一圈，這意味著旅客們每24小時可觀看約16次日出，16次日落。空間站上的活動包括參與研究實驗，例如在運行軌道上種植食物，旅客們還可以將這些讓他們超級得意的紀念品帶回家，並體驗在自己故鄉上空遨遊的感覺。

witness["w?tn?s] vt. 目擊，見證 n. 目擊者，證人

例句：What she did witness was a confrontation between the ship, which was defenseless, and an American submarine. 她所見到的是毫無自衛能力的船隻和一艘美國潛水艇的衝突。

smug[sm?ɡ] adj. 沾沾自喜的；自鳴得意的

例句：Those who run one-year MBA programmes may be feeling smug at this point. 在這一點上，那些開設一年制MBA課程的商學院也許會沾沾自喜。

Screenshot: Twitter

Besides posting Instagram shots via high-speed wireless internet, they can also enjoy a VR experience on theholodeck, float freely through the hotel with thethrillsof zero gravity, or take in views of the northern and southernaurorafrom the station"s windows. Upon return to Earth, they will also be greeted with a specially arranged hero"s welcome.

除了通過高速無線網路發Instagram照片，旅客們還可以在全息艙面上享受虛擬現實的樂趣，在空間站內自由漂浮的同時感受零重力帶來的興奮感，或是透過空間站窗戶飽覽南北極光。回到地球後，他們還將受到特別安排的英雄式歡迎儀式。

不過，出於安全考慮，並不是什麼人都能入住 Aurora Station 的：

Travelers will complete a three-month Orion Span Astronaut Certification (OSAC) program before take-off. Orion Span has a team of space industry veterans who together have more than 140 years of human space experience.

在升空前，旅客們需要通過為期三個月的Orion Span宇航員認證培訓項目。Orion Span擁有一支資深的航天工作人員隊伍，隊員們的載人航天經驗累積超過140年。

holodeck["hɑl?dek] n. 全息甲板；全息艙面

例句：In less than 30 years" time the Star Trek holodeck will be a reality. 再過不到30年，「星際旅行」號的全息艙面就會變為現實。

thrill[θr?l] n. 興奮；震顫感 vt. 使非常激動

例句：However, the thrill was swiftly replaced by dread and anxiety: I didn"t like the thought of her in the dark in that smelly cupboard. 然而，這種興奮迅速被恐懼和不安所代替：一想到她呆在那個黑暗、有臭味的柜子里，我就不舒服。

aurora[??"r??r?] n. 極光；曙光

例句：And you"ll see that it leads with a shifting star field, and there"s an Aurora Borealis in the background, kind of morphing with color. 這是宇宙的初始畫面，你可以看到它有一個移動的星盤，以極光為背景，顏色變幻。

veteran["vet(?)r?n] n. 老兵；富有經驗的人

例句：It was a pre-recorded sequence that had already been heard by the programme editor (a BBC veteran, aged 25), and a senior colleague. 這是一個事先錄製好的節目，已通過節目編輯（一名BBC老手，25歲）和一名高級主管的審核。

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Orion Span公司未來展望

Screenshot: Twitter

"Our goal is to make spaceaccessibleto all," Frank Bunger, CEO and founder of Orion Span, said in a statement. "Upon launch, Aurora Station goes into service immediately, bringing travelers into space quickly and at a lower price point than ever seen before."

「我們的目標是讓所有人都可以遨遊太空，」Orion Span創始人兼首席執行官弗蘭克·邦吉在聲明中說，「推出後，Aurora Station會立即投入使用，能將旅客們快速送往太空，而且他們的花費也會比之前更低。」

「The earliest step of that is to get people visiting in space first,」 he said, 「So by making that a regular event and arecurring, comfortable event, we believe we are making steps toward having people be morepermanentlyin space — and living there.」

「我們的第一步是讓人們先來到太空，」他說，「這樣，通過讓這件事成為一件平常、經常且舒適的活動，我們相信我們正朝著讓人們長期待在——甚至住在太空里的這一目標前進。」

accessible[?k"ses?b(?)l] adj. 可到達的；可進入的

例句：While investors did not appreciate the direction of the market, at all times the markets were accessible, liquid and transparent. 雖然投資者並不欣賞市場的走向，但一直以來，市場始終是開放、流動和透明的。

recurring[r?"k??(r)] adj. 循環的；重複發生的

例句：In the feedback, as many others in the markets tried to nail what was wrong, a few recurring themes began to stand out from the noise. 在各種反饋中，有許多市場人士試圖揪出錯誤之處，但在一片嘈雜中，也有一些反覆出現的主題開始脫穎而出。

permanently["p??m(?)n?ntl?] 永久地；長期

例句：To avoid permanently deleting or corrupting your iPhoto library, do not attempt to alter the contents of this file. 要避免永久刪除或損壞iPhoto圖庫，嚴禁嘗試更改該文件的內容。

The company providedscantdetails about how guests will get to and from the hotel, but said they are evaluating potential partners now.

該公司並未透露過多關於旅客如何往返於酒店的細節，但表示他們正在評估潛在的合作夥伴。

scant[sk?nt] adj. 微小的；不足的

例句The Daily Telegraph newspaper said the drawing of Sarah Brown "bears scant resemblance to her".《每日電訊報》稱，莎拉?布朗的肖像畫「和她本人不怎麼像」。

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太空旅行，選擇不止一家

Photo credit: Getty Images

Orion Span would not be the first operation to offer rides into space. A number of wealthy travelers have flown to the International Space Station (ISS) with the Russian space programme – which said recently it too plans to open a 「space hotel」 in 2022.

Orion Span並不是首家推出太空旅行的公司。在此之前，已有不少富有的旅客通過俄羅斯太空計劃飛往國際空間站，而後者最近同樣表明將在2022年推出一家「太空酒店」。

Also, Axiom Space, a Texas-based company with a former International Space Station managerat the helm, has plans to put a commercial space station in orbit by 2024. It says it will begin to take tourists to the ISS in 2019 and later to its own station.

此外，總部位於美國得克薩斯州、由國際空間站前管理人員掌舵的Axiom Space公司計劃在2024年前將自己的商業空間站送入軌道，並打算從2019年起將旅客送往國際空間站，之後再送至自己的空間站。

at the helm掌舵；掌權

例句：Homesickness has not set in, despite past reports in the British press that had linked him to a return at the helm of British Airways. 儘管以往英國媒體的報道將他與重掌英國航空聯繫在一起，但思家情緒並未萌生。

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