2020年经济学人 星际飞船已备好,来一场说走就走的宇宙之旅(2)

Crucially, unlike a Saturn¹ V, every part of which except the capsule containing the crew was thrown away during the course of a mission, a Starship will be fully² recyclable, with both stages returning to Earth in a manner similar to SN8. Moreover, unlike Saturn's partially³ recyclable successor, the Space Shuttle, refurbishing a Starship for relaunch will not cost $1bn a pop. Instead, Mr Musk⁴ estimates, the turnaround will require only a few million dollars.

最主要的是，土星5号在执行任务的过程中除了载有宇航员的太空舱外其他部分都会被丢弃，而星际飞船和土星5号不同，它可以被完全回收，两个阶段都会以类似SN8的方式返回地球。此外，与土星的部分可回收的继任者“太空梭”不同，星际飞船为重启而进行翻新所花费的费用不到10亿美元。相反，马斯克估计，整个翻新只需花费几百万美元。

Starships should also be cheap to build. Instead of a fancy carbon-fibre composite they are made of stainless⁵ steel, which is a seventieth as expensive, but is, in many ways, better. Not only is it resistant⁶ to the fracturing to which a composite might be prone⁷ in the low temperatures of outer space, but its melting-point is also high enough to prevent damage in the fiery⁸ conditions of re-entry. This is an important part of a Starship's easy recyclability.

星际飞船的建造成本应该也很低。它们用不锈钢代替了花哨的碳纤维复合材料，不锈钢的价格虽是碳纤维复合材料的70倍，但它在很多方面的表现确实比碳纤维复合材料要材料更加优质。它不仅能抵抗复合材料在外层空间的低温下可能发生的破裂，而且它的熔点也足够高，可以防止飞船在重返大气层的高温条件下被破坏。这是星际飞船易于回收利用的一个重要原因。

When an entire Starship will fly is still anyone's guess. Mr Musk has a good record of doing what he says, but his timings have a tendency to slip. For a man who famously once said his ambition was to die on Mars, but not on impact, the Starship project is an important step on the road to his intended retirement⁹ home. Bases on the Moon or Mars would need frequent resupply from Earth. That would be made easier by highpowered reusable rockets. Mr Musk has, himself, put the odds¹⁰ of SN8's flight being successful at three to one against. If it does succeed, however, the odds against his wider vision of the future coming true will shorten.

谁也说不准整艘星际飞船什么时候能飞起来。马斯克一向有言出必行的良好记录，但时间往往会走偏。对于一个曾经说过自己的夙愿是死在火星上而不是死在撞击上的人来说，星际飞船计划是他通往退休之家的重要一步。月球或火星上的基地需要频繁从地球获得补给，高功率可重复使用的火箭将使这一点变得更加容易。马斯克自己认为SN8飞行成功的几率是3:1。然而，如果成功了，实现他对未来更广阔愿景的几率将会增加。

1 Saturn   

n.农神，土星

参考例句：

• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings.天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。
• These comparisons suggested that Saturn is made of lighter materials.这些比较告诉我们，土星由较轻的物质构成。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

4 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。

5 stainless   

adj.无瑕疵的，不锈的

参考例句：

• I have a set of stainless knives and forks.我有一套不锈钢刀叉。
• Before the recent political scandal,her reputation had been stainless.在最近的政治丑闻之前，她的名声是无懈可击的。

6 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

7 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

8 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

9 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

10 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？