PBS高端访谈:火箭事故会放缓太空旅游的脚步么?

 　　GWEN IFILL: And Miles joins me now.What is the latest on this feathering device that you talked about in that piece?

　　MILES O'BRIEN: Well, the idea with the feathering device is that you should never deploy¹ it going up and you should always deploy it going down.

　　So finding a safety system that answers both of those needs has been tricky². They have been tinkering with some ideas on how to go through some various failure scenarios³, and looking at ways to potentially unlock it maybe a little sooner. That might have been part of the test in this case. But in any case, when the rocket motor is firing, you don't want that thing to fold over on itself, which is the ideal reentry configuration⁴.

　　GWEN IFILL: You have been all over Twitter today saying, don't jump too fast to the conclusion that the pilot was in error.

　　MILES O'BRIEN: Yes, I think there is a tendency in these cases to impugn⁵ deceased pilots.

　　And in this case, we don't know that the pilot did anything wrong. He might have been responding to some sort of anomaly in the engine, which made him think we might need to go into feather mode, or this might have been part of the test to unlock it and see what happens. We don't really know. This is all what test flying is all about, expanding the envelope, as they say.

　　GWEN IFILL: Well, and what NTSB investigations⁶ are all about, ultimately.

　　So, between this and the accident on a launchpad in Wallops Island, Virginia, last week with another private space company, how much of a blow does this bring to the private space industry?

　　MILES O'BRIEN: It's a one-two blow that the entire industry is reeling over.

　　There are a lot of people who care deeply about the idea of making a real business of going to space. And these two incidents, disparate in every way, but yet in the realm of rocket science and commercialization of space, have just really taken the wind out of a lot of people's sails. I think it will press on, it will move on, but it's a setback⁸.

　　GWEN IFILL: Well, it raises questions about whether a government-sponsored space program is safer.

　　MILES O'BRIEN: Well, we had a government-sponsored space program. We lost 114 shuttle astronauts and three Apollo astronauts on the launchpad.

　　Space is hard under any circumstance. And it's difficult to say how much of this really to do with the fact that it's commercial and how much of it is government. The fact is, though, when you're trying to make a buck⁹, it's very difficult to square that with complete safety.

　　GWEN IFILL: And we're talking about the tourism here, largely, not the payload that was going to the space station. But certainly in this case of the Virgin⁷ Galactic flight, is it a thrill ride or is it science?

　　MILES O'BRIEN: It's a thrill ride. I mean, let's face it. That's what this is all about. This is bragging¹⁰ rights for people who can spend a quarter million dollars for about five minutes of weightlessness.

　　GWEN IFILL: A quarter million dollars, that's how much a ticket costs?

　　MILES O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes.

　　So, a quarter million dollars for five minutes. That's $50,000 a minute, and that's bragging rights you went to space. Could this lead to technologies which might make it possible to fly from New York to Tokyo in a couple of hours? Yes.

　　So, it's worth doing on a technological¹¹ standpoint, but we're at the Ford¹² Trimotor days. We're not at the triple Boeing 777 days. And there will be more casualties along the way.

　　GWEN IFILL: And we have Apple, Google and Virgin all involved in this, but might investment now slow?

　　MILES O'BRIEN: It could. I think it's going to have a chilling effect. But the people behind this are true visionaries. They really have drank the space Kool-Aid, if you will.

　　And there's true enthusiasm for pursuing this, so I think it will press on. But maybe it's a good idea to stop, take an unvarnished look at this, have the NTSB weigh in, and really give us an idea of what's going on beyond the hangar doors.

　　GWEN IFILL: Miles O'Brien, thank you, as always.

　　MILES O'BRIEN: You're welcome.

1 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

2 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

3 scenarios   

n.[意]情节；剧本；事态；脚本

参考例句：

• Further, graphite cores may be safer than non-graphite cores under some accident scenarios. 再者，根据一些事故解说，石墨堆芯可比非石墨堆芯更安全一些。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Again, scenarios should make it clear which modes are acceptable to users in various contexts. 同样，我们可以运用场景剧本来搞清楚在不同情境下哪些模式可被用户接受。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

4 configuration   

n.结构，布局，形态，(计算机)配置

参考例句：

• Geographers study the configuration of the mountains.地理学家研究山脉的地形轮廓。
• Prices range from $119 to $199,depending on the particular configuration.价格因具体配置而异，从119美元至199美元不等。

5 impugn   

v.指责，对…表示怀疑

参考例句：

• Nobody can impugn his ability.没有人对他的能力表示怀疑。
• The Secretary's letter questions my veracity and impugns my motives.部长的来信怀疑我的诚实，质疑我的动机。

6 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

7 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。

8 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

9 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

10 bragging   

v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的现在分词 )；大话

参考例句：

• He's always bragging about his prowess as a cricketer. 他总是吹嘘自己板球水平高超。 来自辞典例句
• Now you're bragging, darling. You know you don't need to brag. 这就是夸口，亲爱的。你明知道你不必吹。 来自辞典例句

11 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

12 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。