As a self-described adventure junkie, Yanik Silver of Potomac, Maryland has raced cars in Baja, run with the bulls in Pamplona, and swum with great white sharks off the coast of South Africa. So what does he still have left to accomplish? A trip into suborbital space, a goal the founder of Maverick Business Adventures hopes to achieve as space tourist number 144 on the Virgin Galactic passenger list when the company begins commercial service in the next 18 months to two years. The experience won't be cheap as Silver has already put down a US$175,000 deposit on the US$200,000 trip, but he's convinced it will be worth it.
Virgin Galactic is moving forward with its plans to offer suborbital flights to about 68 miles above the Earth. The flights, which will have space for six passengers, will provide 1,000-mile views and four to five minutes of zero gravity. At this point, the company won't commit itself to a launch date for commercial service, but its executives suggest the first experimental flights could take place sometime next year. Safety and regulatory issues will determine the first commercial launch, with Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson and members of his family filling the first seats.
Providing all goes well, the other 400-plus people who have put down deposits with Virgin Galactic are expected to earn their space-tourist wings during the year after that. With the other 200 or so who have signed up for planned suborbital flights with another company called Space Adventures, it seems that space tourism is poised to take off.
1. According to the article, what are adventure junkies?
(A) People that are hooked on drugs.
(B) People that participate in a lot of exciting events.
(C) People that collect trinkets from all over the world.
(D) People that want to become astronauts.
2. Why isn't there a launch date for Virgin Galactic's commercial service?
(A) Branson's family hasn't gone on the first flight yet.
(B) No one is sure if the human body can withstand four to five minutes of zero gravity.
(C) They don't have enough people to pony up the money for the flights.
(D) There are still safety concerns and regulations to figure out.
3. What is the author's opinion on space travel?
(A) It will soon become very popular.
(B) It won't work out the way people envision it.
(C) The popularity of space travel will be limited to the 600 or so people that have signed up.
(D) The price of space travel will go down dramatically over the next few years.
太空旅游蓄势待发
马里兰州波托马克市的亚尼克‧希尔佛自诩为冒险迷，他曾经在下加州赛车、在潘普洛纳市和公牛一起狂奔，也曾经在南非外海和大白鲨一起游泳。那他还有什么未竟之事呢？这位『特力独行者商务冒险公司』创办人希望达成的目标是前往亚轨道进行太空之旅，他是『维京银河公司』在未来 18 个月至 2 年间开始提供商务服务时，等候名单上的第 144 位太空旅客。这次的经历所费不赀，因为希尔佛已经为这趟要价 20万美金的旅程预付了 17 万 5 千元的订金，但他相信这一切都是值得的。
维京银河公司目前正朝提供在地球上方 68 英里处的亚轨道飞行计划迈进。这些航班将能容纳 6 位乘客，且能提供 1,000 英里的视野及 4 到 5 分钟的零重力状态。此刻，该公司无法承诺商旅服务的首航日期，但该公司的高层表示，首次试验飞行可能会在明年举行。商务飞行的首航日期将取决于安全及监控相关议题，而维京集团的创办人理查德‧布兰森爵士及其家人将坐上首航的位子。
如果一切顺利，其余 400 多位已预缴订金给维京银河公司的人，预计在商务飞行首日后 1 年之间取得太空旅客的资格。再加上另外 200多人已经报名参加另 1 家太空冒险公司的亚轨道飞行之旅，太空旅游这个产业似乎是蓄势待发了。
答案：1. (B)2. (D)3. (A)
太空旅游是指非以执行任务为目的，而搭乘宇宙飞船参与太空飞行。起初是因为苏联解体后，由于宇宙飞船的飞行成本甚高，俄国为筹措经费，开放了民间投资赞助，回报即可让赞助者搭乘宇宙飞船进入太空，因此大多数太空旅游之游客为支付大笔费用的亿万富翁。自 2001 年开始，已有 5 位自费的太空游客。每位游客必须经过严格的体检、训练才能成为太空游客。
如今，美、日已出现专办太空旅游的旅行社。推出的太空旅游产品包括：
一、宇宙体验飞行：可将你载到 100 公里的高空（比一般客机飞航高度高 10倍），享受俯瞰地球的新奇感觉。包括太空训练课程在内，费用约 335 万台币。
二、超音速喷射机体验飞行：搭乘俄罗斯新型喷射机，费用约 62 万台币。
三、无重力体验：这个最便宜，约 26 万台币。
太空旅游当然不只以上这些，最顶级的是『月球旅行』，一趟以 2 人为限，要价高达 32 亿台币。
（数据源：远见杂志；天下杂志）
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