VOA慢速英语2018--维珍银河完成载客飞船的测试

Virgin¹ Galactic Completes Test of Spaceship to Carry Tourists

Virgin Galactic says its spacecraft designed to launch tourists into space completed an important test flight on Thursday.

The rocket ship, called SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity², climbed more than 82 kilometers during the flight above California’s Mojave Desert. Virgin Galactic said by reaching this height, the spacecraft had reached the boundary of space for the first time.

The 80-kilometer space boundary is used by the U.S. Air Force and other U.S. agencies. That differs from a long-held view that the boundary is reached at 100 kilometers. Virgin Galactic officials say recent research favors the lower number.

At the start of the flight, a special plane carrying the VSS Unity climbed to nearly 13,700 meters before releasing the spaceship. The VSS Unity then fired up its rocket engine and quickly traveled up and out of sight from a group of watchers on the ground.

The spacecraft was piloted by Mark Stucky and former NASA astronaut Frederick “CJ” Sturckow. During the flight, the two men were able to experience weightlessness and see the curvature of the planet, the company said.

The spaceship reentered the atmosphere at 2.5 times the speed of sound and landed safely a few minutes later. In addition to the pilots, the spaceship carried four NASA research payloads and a mannequin named Annie.

Virgin Galactic’s chief, British billionaire Richard Branson, watched the flight from the ground. “Today we have shown Virgin Galactic can open space to the world,” he said. Branson met the pilots after the flight and declared “Space is Virgin territory!”

Virgin Galactic’s latest success comes four years after another spacecraft crashed during a test flight that killed the co-pilot and seriously injured the pilot. The crash led to major delays in the company’s progress in taking tourists to space.

Branson said after Thursday’s test he aims to launch the company’s first space flight with passengers - including himself - by March 2019.

More than 600 people have paid for or put down deposits⁴ to fly aboard Virgin’s suborbital flight. Famous people including actor Leonardo DiCaprio and music star Justin Bieber are among them. A 90-minute flight costs $250,000.

Richard Branson is not alone in the space tourism business. Amazon founder⁵ Jeff Bezos launched Blue Origin, which also plans to take space tourists on suborbital trips. Blue Origin will use the more traditional method of spacecraft attached to a rocket launched from the ground. Also, SpaceX founder Elon Musk⁶ recently announced plans to take a wealthy Japanese businessman and his friends on a trip around the moon.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

boundary – n. the edge or limit of something

curvature – n. something taking the shape of a round line

mannequin – n. artificial model made in the form of a human

deposit³ – n. money that you give someone when you agree to buy something

suborbital – adj. relating to or denoting a trajectory that does not complete a full orbit of the earth

1 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。

2 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

3 deposit   

n.定金，存款，矿藏；vt.使沉淀，寄存，储蓄

参考例句：

• There is too much deposit in a bottle of wine.酒瓶里有太多的沉淀物。
• The hotel requires a deposit for all advance bookings.旅馆规定凡预订房间都要先付订金。

4 deposits   

存放( deposit的名词复数 )； 订金； 寄存处； 储蓄

参考例句：

• Only a small fraction of a bank's total deposits will be withdrawn at any one time. 任何时候，一家银行的总存款只有少量会被提取。
• There are rich deposits of gold in those hills. 那些丘陵里埋藏着丰富的金矿。

5 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

6 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。