美國(guó)東部時(shí)間9月15日20時(shí)，SpaceX公司用獵鷹9號(hào)火箭發(fā)射載人龍飛船，將4名平民乘客送往太空，開(kāi)展為期三天的繞地球之旅。這是SpaceX首次全民用、純商業(yè)太空飛行，龍飛船上沒(méi)有任何專(zhuān)業(yè)宇航員。

SpaceX has launched the world’s first crew of “amateur astronauts” on a private flight to circle Earth for three days.

太空探索公司SpaceX日前將全球第一批“業(yè)余宇航員”送上太空，他們將乘坐私人太空飛船環(huán)繞地球飛行三天。

Wednesday night’s successful launch marked the most ambitious leap yet in space tourism. It’s the first chartered passenger flight for Elon Musk’s space company and the first time a rocket streaked toward orbit with a crew that contained no professional astronauts.

9月15日晚SpaceX太空船的成功發(fā)射標(biāo)志著太空旅游業(yè)有史以來(lái)最野心勃勃的一次飛躍。這是埃隆·馬斯克的太空公司的首次私人包機(jī)旅行，也是火箭第一次將沒(méi)有專(zhuān)業(yè)宇航員的機(jī)組人員送入軌道。

Leading the flight is Jared Isaacman, 38, who made his fortune with a payment-processing company he started in his teens. Isaacman is the third billionaire to launch this summer, following flights by Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson and Blue Origin’s Jeff Bezos in July.

這次飛行的領(lǐng)頭人是38歲的賈里德·艾薩克曼，他十幾歲就創(chuàng)立了支付處理公司并靠此發(fā)家致富。艾薩克曼是今夏繼維珍銀河公司的理查德·布蘭森和藍(lán)色起源公司的杰夫·貝索斯之后第三位進(jìn)行太空旅行的億萬(wàn)富翁。

Isaacman is joined by Hayley Arceneaux, 29, a childhood cancer survivor who works as a physician assistant at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Isaacman has pledged $100m of his own money to the hospital and is seeking another $100m in donations.

同行的還有29歲的海莉·阿西諾，這位童年曾患癌癥的幸存者在美國(guó)田納西州孟菲斯市的圣猶大兒童研究醫(yī)院做助理醫(yī)師。艾薩克曼承諾向這家醫(yī)院捐贈(zèng)1億美元的個(gè)人財(cái)產(chǎn)，而且正在籌集另外1億美元捐款。

Also along for the ride are Chris Sembroski, 42, a data engineer in Everett, Washington, and Sian Proctor, 51, a community college educator in Tempe, Arizona.

一起乘坐飛船的還有42歲的克里斯·森布羅斯基和51歲的西恩?普羅科特。克里斯是華盛頓州埃弗里特市的一名數(shù)據(jù)工程師，西恩是亞利桑那州坦佩市的一名社區(qū)學(xué)院教育工作者。

Arceneaux is set to become the youngest American in space and the first person in space with a prosthesis, a titanium rod in her left leg.

海莉?qū)⒊蔀檫M(jìn)入太空最年輕的美國(guó)人，以及首位攜帶假體進(jìn)入太空的人。她的左腿植入了一塊鈦合金人工骨材。

The passengers will spend three days orbiting Earth at an unusually high altitude of 357 miles (575km) – 100 miles (160km) higher than the International Space Station – before splashing down off the Florida coast this weekend.

他們將在357英里（575千米）的驚人高度繞地球飛行三天，并于本周末在佛羅里達(dá)海岸著陸。這個(gè)飛行高度比國(guó)際空間站還要高100英里（160千米）。

Isaacman, an accomplished pilot, persuaded SpaceX to take the Dragon capsule higher than it’s ever been. Initially reluctant because of the increased radiation exposure and other risks, SpaceX agreed after a safety review.

飛行經(jīng)驗(yàn)豐富的艾薩克曼說(shuō)服SpaceX公司讓龍飛船升到前所未有的高度。考慮到遭受的輻射量增大和其他風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，SpaceX公司一開(kāi)始不愿意，后來(lái)在進(jìn)行安全審查之后還是同意了。

Isaacman is picking up the entire tab for the flight but won’t say how many millions he paid.

這次太空之旅的費(fèi)用全都由艾薩克曼負(fù)責(zé)，但是他不愿透露自己花了多少錢(qián)。

Though the capsule is automated, the four Dragon riders spent six months training for the flight to cope with any emergency. That training included centrifuge and fighter jet flights, launch and re-entry practice in SpaceX’s capsule simulator and a grueling trek up Washington’s Mount Rainier in the snow.

盡管龍飛船是自動(dòng)駕駛，不過(guò)四名乘客還是接受了6個(gè)月的飛行培訓(xùn)來(lái)應(yīng)對(duì)任何緊急狀況。這些培訓(xùn)包括離心機(jī)和戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)飛行、在SpaceX飛船模擬器內(nèi)進(jìn)行發(fā)射和重返大氣層練習(xí)，以及在華盛頓瑞尼爾山的一次艱苦的雪中徒步旅行。

Four hours before liftoff, the four emerged from SpaceX’s huge rocket hangar, waving and blowing kisses to their families and company employees, before they were driven off to get into their sleek white flight suits. Once at the launch pad, they posed for pictures and bumped gloved fists, before taking the elevator up. Proctor danced as she made her way to the hatch.

在飛船發(fā)射前四小時(shí)，這四個(gè)人從SpaceX巨大的火箭機(jī)庫(kù)出來(lái)，向家人和公司職員招手、飛吻，然后就被送去換上光滑潔白的航天服。到達(dá)發(fā)射臺(tái)后，他們合影留念、戴著手套碰了碰拳頭，就乘坐電梯上去了。西恩在走向艙口時(shí)還跳起舞來(lái)。

SpaceX’s next private trip, early next year, will see a retired Nasa astronaut escorting three wealthy businessmen to the space station for a weeklong visit.

SpaceX公司將于明年年初開(kāi)展下一次私人太空之旅，屆時(shí)一名退休的美國(guó)航空航天局宇航員將會(huì)陪同三名富商到空間站進(jìn)行為期一周的旅行。

英文來(lái)源：衛(wèi)報(bào)

翻譯&編輯：丹妮