首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Space Tourism A)Make your reservations now. The space tourism industry is officially open for business, and tickets are going fo
Space Tourism A)Make your reservations now. The space tourism industry is officially open for business, and tickets are going fo
admin
2015-04-14
48
问题
Space Tourism
A)Make your reservations now. The space tourism industry is officially open for business, and tickets are going for a mere $20 million for a one-week stay in space. Despite reluctance from National Air and Space Administration(NASA), Russia made American businessman Dennis Tito the world’s first space tourist. Tito flew into space aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket that arrived at the International Space Station(ISS)on April 30, 2001. The second space tourist, South African businessman Mark Shuttleworth, took off aboard the Russian Soyuz on April 25, 2002, also bound for the ISS.
B)Lance Bass of ’N Sync was supposed to be the third to make the $20 million trip, but he did not join the three-man crew as they blasted off on October 30, 2002, due to lack of payment. Probably the most incredible aspect of this proposed space tour was that NASA approved of it.
C)These trips are the beginning of what could be a profitable 21st century industry. There are already several space tourism companies planning to build suborbital vehicles and orbital cities within the next two decades. These companies have invested millions, believing that the space tourism industry is on the verge of taking off.
D)In 1997, NASA published a report concluding that selling trips into space to private citizens could be worth billions of dollars. A Japanese report supports these findings, and projects that space tourism could be a $10 billion per year industry within the next two decades. The only obstacles to opening up space to tourists are the space agencies, who are concerned with safety and the development of a reliable, reusable launch vehicle.
Space Accommodations
E)Russia’s Mir space station was supposed to be the first destination for space tourists. But in March 2001, the Russian Aerospace Agency brought Mir down into the Pacific Ocean. As it turned out, bringing down Mir only temporarily delayed the first tourist trip into space.
F)The Mir crash did cancel plans for a new reality-based game show from NBC, which was going to be called Destination Mir. The Survivor-like TV show was scheduled to air in fall 2001. Participants on the show were to go through training at Russia’s cosmonaut(宇航员)training center, Star City. Each week, one of the participants would be eliminated from the show, with the winner receiving a trip to the Mir space station. The Mir crash has ruled our NBC’s space plans for now. NASA is against beginning space tourism until the International Space Station is completed in 2006.
G)Russia is not alone in its interest in space tourism. There are several projects underway to commercialize space travel. There are a few of the groups that might take tourists to space. Space Island Group is going to build a ring-shaped, rotating "commercial space infrastructure(基础结构)" that will resemble the Discovery spacecraft in the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey." According to their vision statement, Space Adventures plans to "fly tens of thousands of people in space over the next 10-15 years and beyond, around the moon, and back, from spaceports both on Earth and in space, to and from private space stations, and aboard dozens of different vehicles. .. " Even Hilton Hotels has shown interest in the space tourism industry and the possibility of building or co-funding a space hotel. However, the company did say that it believes such a space hotel is 15 to 20 years away.
H)Initially, space tourism will offer simple accommodations at best. For instance, if the International Space Station is used as a tourist attraction, guests won’t find the luxurious surroundings of a hotel room on Earth. It has been designed for conducting research, not entertainment. However the first generation of space hotels should offer tourists a much more comfortable experience.
I)In regard to a concept for a space hotel initially planned by Space Island, such a hotel could offer guests every convenience they might find at a hotel on Earth, and some they might not. The small gravitational pull created by the rotating space city would allow space-tourists and residents to walk around and function normally within the structure. Everything from running water to a recycling plant to medical facilities would be possible. Additionally, space tourists would even be able to take space walks.
J)Many of these companies believe that they have to offer an extremely enjoyable experience in order for passengers to pay thousands, if not millions, of dollars to ride into space. So will space create another separation between the haves and have-nots?
The Most Expensive Vacation
K)Will space be an exotic retreat reserved for only the wealthy? Or will middle-class folks have a chance to take their families to space? Make no mistake about it, going to space will be the most expensive vacation you ever take. Prices right now are in the tens of millions of dollars. Currently, the only vehicles that can take you into space are the space shuttle and the Russian Soyuz, both of which are terribly inefficient. Each spacecraft requires millions of pounds of fuel to take off into space, which makes them expensive to launch. One pound of payload(有效载重)costs about $10 000 to put into Earth’s orbit.
L)NASA and Lockheed Martin are currently developing a single-stage-to-orbit launch space plane, called the VentureStar, that could be launched for about a tenth of what the; space shuttle costs to launch. If the VentureStar takes off, the number of people who could afford to take a trip into space would move into the millions.
M)In 1998, a joint report from NASA and the Space Transportation Association stated that improvements in technology could push fares for space travel as low as $50 000, and possibly down to $20 000 or $10 000 a decade later. The report concluded that at a ticket price of $50 000, there could be 500 000 passengers flying into space each year. While still leaving out many people, these prices would open up space to a tremendous amount of traffic.
N)Since the beginning of the space race, the general public has said, "Isn’t that great—when do I get to go?" Well, our chance might be closer than ever. Within the next 20 years, space planes could be taking off for the Moon at the same frequency as airplanes flying between New York and Los Angeles.
The prize for the winner in the fall 2001 NBC TV game show would have been a trip to the Mir space station.
选项
答案
F
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/jih7777K
0
大学英语六级
相关试题推荐
CanthePCIndustryResurrectItself?A)InternetDataCenter’s(IDC)recentreportstatedthatPCshipmentsdeclined13.9%lastqu
中华民族的传统文化博大精深、源远流长。早在2000多年前,就产生了儒家学说(Confucianism)和道家学说(Taoism),以及其他很多在中国思想史上有地位的学说流派(theoriesanddoctrines),这就是有名的“诸子百家(Hund
ShouldCollegesFocusonTalentTrainingorScientificResearch?Manyoftoday’scollegestudentsaresufferingfromaform
A、Hemadeabusinesstrip.B、HehadaquarrelwithMarsha.C、Hetalkedtoheronthephone.D、Heresolvedabudgetproblem.C细节推
北京烤鸭是自封建帝王时代就在北京城流行的著名菜肴,如今它被认为是中国的一道国菜。这道菜以它薄而脆的酥皮,以及厨师们在客人面前片鸭子的真实情形而著称。专门用于制作烤鸭的鸭子在养殖65天后就被屠宰了,鸭子在烤制前要先用调料腌制(season),然后才送进焖炉
年画(NewYearPainting)是中国画的一种,始于古代的门神画(doorgodpainting),在清朝光绪年间正式被称为年画。北宋年间,每逢过年过节家家户户贴年画已成为一种风尚。木板年画历史悠久,堪称中国民间艺术宝库中的一颗明珠。木版年画
秦始皇是中国历史上一位很有作为的皇帝,他生前动用了大量人力、物力为自己修造陵墓。秦陵兵马俑(TerracottaWarriorsandHorses)就是为陪葬这位皇帝而制作的陶兵和陶马。秦始皇陵兵马俑被发现于1974年。三个兵马俑坑(terraco
TheRevolutionaryWar,whichbeganofficiallyonApril19,1775,draggedonformorethansixbitteryears.Itwasaconflictfo
龙,一种仅出现在神话故事中的动物,在英文中是邪恶的象征。在英语文化中,龙是中撒旦(Satan)的化身。然而在中国传统文化中,龙是为人类造福的动物。龙在中文里是吉祥、权威和珍稀的象征。现在龙在中国人的心目中依然享有崇高的地位,中国人自称“龙的传人”。龙成为民
Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteanessaycommentingontheremark"Itisgreedtodoallthetalkingbutnot
随机试题
创造“人本主义”治疗的学者是
按“五轮学说”上下眼睑所属脏腑是()
痄腮的病因是感受
盐酸地尔硫革符合下列哪些性质
会计从业资格证书是具备会计从业资格的证明文件,该证书在()范围内有效。
我国已形成了具有中国特色的地方政府债券市场,即以企业债券形式发行地方政府债券。()
某公司是一家由事业单位转而成的股份制企业。在转制之前,员工的薪酬基本上是按照职务、技术职称和工龄等来确定的,员工的工资差别不大,所以干多和干少一个样,尽管单位的效率不高,但大家觉得挺满足。但改制以后,由于企业要直接面对激烈的市场竞争,所以公司的领导层决定打
前进:倒退()
中华传统美德的根本要求是()
冯.诺依曼型体系结构的计算机硬件系统的5大部件是
最新回复
(
0
)