VOA慢速英语2021 首个全平民机组进入地球轨道

A private space flight launched by America's SpaceX has carried the first all-civilian crew into orbit.

由美国太空探索技术公司推出的私人太空飞行任务已经将首批全平民机组人员送入轨道。

The four civilian passengers are traveling on SpaceX's fully automated Dragon spacecraft, or capsule. They are on a three-day trip orbiting the Earth. The capsule launched Wednesday on top of one of SpaceX's reusable Falcon 9 rockets from Kennedy Space Center on Florida's Cape Canaveral.

这4名平民乘坐的是太空探索技术公司的全自动龙飞船或太空舱。他们正在进行为期三天的绕地球飞行。该太空舱位于太空探索技术公司可重复利用的猎鹰9号火箭顶部，于周三在佛罗里达州卡纳维拉尔角的肯尼迪航天中心发射升空。

The trip, named Inspiration4, marks SpaceX's first flight for private passengers. It is the first time a spacecraft has orbited Earth carrying a fully civilian crew. The capsule has already been in orbit. It was used for SpaceX's second astronaut flight for the U.S. space agency NASA to the International Space Station (ISS).

这趟被称之为灵感4的行程标志着太空探索技术公司首次搭载私人乘客飞行。这是首次有航天器搭载全平民机组人员绕地球轨道运行。该太空舱已经进入轨道。它曾被用于太空探索技术公司为美国宇航局前往国际空间站的第二次宇航员飞行任务。

The spacecraft was expected to reach an altitude of 575 kilometers above Earth. That is higher than the ISS and just above the current position of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

该航天器预计将达到地球上空575公里的高度。这个高度超过了国际空间站，并且略高于美国宇航局哈勃太空望远镜的当前位置。

The flight is being led by 38-year-old American businessman Jared Isaacman, who used his own money to pay for the trip. With a lifelong interest in flying, Isaacman has flown fighter jets and started a company to train others to do so. But he is not a professional astronaut.

此次飞行由38岁的美国商人贾里德·艾萨克曼率领，他用自有资金支付了这趟行程的费用。艾萨克曼毕生爱好飞行，他驾驶过战斗机，并创办了一家公司来培训其他人这样做。但是他不是专业宇航员。

Isaacman organized the flight as an effort to raise money for one of his favorite causes, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. The hospital treats child cancer patients. When announcing the flight in February, he promised the hospital $100 million and aims to raise another $100 million in donations.

艾萨克曼组织这次飞行是为田纳西州孟菲斯市圣裘德儿童研究医院筹集资金，这是他最喜欢的事业之一。这家医院治疗儿童癌症患者。在2月份宣布这次飞行任务时，他向这家医院承诺捐赠1亿美元，并承诺再筹集1亿美元的捐款。

Isaacman offered one seat on the spacecraft to Hayley Arceneaux, a former patient at St. Jude. Now 29, Arceneaux was 10 years old when doctors discovered she had bone cancer. The disease led to a medical operation that replaced her thigh bone. She is the first person in space with a prosthesis. Arceneaux said she is happy to represent "those who are not physically perfect."

艾萨克曼为圣裘德医院前病友海莉·阿尔森诺提供了航天器上的一个座位。现年29岁的阿尔森诺被医生发现患有骨癌时才10岁。这种疾病导致她做了更换大腿骨的医疗手术。她是首位穿着假肢进入太空的人。阿尔森诺表示，她很高兴能够代表那些身体不完美的人。

Arceneaux went on to become a physician's assistant at St. Jude. She will also be the youngest American to travel into space. She takes this honor from the late Sally Ride, who became the first American woman in space in 1983 at age 32.

阿尔森诺后来成为了圣裘德医院的医生助理。她也将成为进入太空的最年轻的美国人。她从已故的萨莉·莱德那里继承了这一荣誉，后者于1983年以32岁的年龄成为首位进入太空的美国女性。

The flight's other two passengers were chosen through competitions organized by Isaacman.

这次飞行的另两位乘客是通过艾萨克曼组织的比赛选出的。

One of those winners is Sian Proctor, a 51-year-old community college teacher from Phoenix, Arizona. She is also a pilot and was a NASA astronaut finalist candidate about 10 years ago.

其中一名胜出者是来自亚利桑那州凤凰城51岁的社区大学教师西昂·普罗克特。她也是飞行员，并且大约10年前还是美国宇航局宇航员的最终候选人。

The other passenger is 42-year-old Chris Sembroski, a data engineer from Everett, Washington. He is a former U.S. Air Force member who has experience with flying and missile systems. Sembroski was chosen from a group of 72,000 St. Jude donors who took part in a lottery for the seat. The effort raised $113 million.

另一位乘客是42岁的克里斯·塞姆布罗斯基，他是来自于华盛顿州埃弗雷特的一名数据工程师。他是前美国空军成员，拥有飞行和导弹系统方面的经验。塞姆布罗斯基是从参与座位抽签的72000名圣裘德医院捐助者中选出来的。这项工作筹集到了1.13亿美元。

The four passengers spent months in intense training before the flight. This included altitude exercises, simulator training, experiences with weightlessness and rides in fighter jets.

这4名乘客在飞行前进行了数月的高强度训练。这包括高空练习、模拟器训练、失重体验和乘坐战斗机。

The crew plans to perform a series of medical experiments during the trip. The members said in a statement they hope the experiments can lead to a better understanding of "human health on Earth and during future spaceflights."

机组人员计划在这次行程中进行一系列医学实验。他们在一份声明中表示，希望这些实验能够让人们更好地了解地球和未来太空飞行中的人类健康。

The SpaceX flight follows recent civilian space trips carried out by two other private companies: Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin. Those flights, however, were piloted by professional astronauts. The trips did not enter Earth orbit but passengers were able to experience weightlessness and observe Earth for a few minutes before returning home.

太空探索技术公司这次飞行发生在另外两家私营公司进行民用太空旅行之后，这两家公司是维珍银行和蓝色起源公司。然而，这些飞行是由专业宇航员驾驶。这些行程没有进入地球轨道，但是乘客们在返回前有几分钟时间可以体验失重并且观察地球。