SpaceX如何改變太空產業：英語精讀講義

5,

5，

4,

4，

3,

3，

2,

2，

1.

1。

The position.

就位。

On February 6th,

2月6日，

SpaceX launched their new Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

SpaceX從NASA的甘迺迪太空中心發射了他們的新型獵鷹重型火箭。

In a spectacular and very media effective stunt,

在一場極為壯觀且極具媒體效應的噱頭中，

they sent a midnight cherry red Tesla Roadster as test payload 用詞

他們將一輛午夜櫻桃紅色的特斯拉Roadster跑車作為測試酬載，

on its way into deep space. 片語搭配

送往深空。

The rocket has the ability to put more than 140,000 lb of cargo into lower Earth orbit,

該火箭能夠將超過14萬磅的貨物送入低地軌道，

much more than anyone has commercially requested them to do.

遠遠超出了任何商業請求的酬載量。

That makes it by far 文法

這使得它成為目前為止

the most powerful operational rocket in the world.

世界上最強大的現役火箭。

And SpaceX is already developing an even more powerful one.

而SpaceX已經在開發一款更強大的火箭。

The BFR,

BFR，

which will be more than 106 m high

它的高度將超過106公尺，

and carry up to 550,000 lb

能將高達55萬磅的酬載

into lower Earth orbit.

送入低地軌道。

So, why are they doing all this? 表達脈絡

那麼，他們為什麼要這麼做呢？

The space exploration goals of the United States are set by the US government,

美國的太空探索目標是由美國政府設定的，

and they have been changing drastically with every new president.

且每逢新總統上任，這些目標都會發生劇變。

Under President Bill Clinton,

在比爾·柯林頓總統任內，

exploration of space was not a main priority,

太空探索並不是首要任務，

at least if you go by the budget of NASA, 片語動詞

至少從NASA的預算來看是如此，

which decreased during his presidency.

其預算在他任期內有所減少。

However, a lot of progress was made 片語搭配

然而，當時還是取得了很大進展，

and the construction of the International Space Station began.

國際太空站的建設也開始了。

Under his leadership,

在他的領導下，

the cooperation between the United States and Russia in space

美國和俄羅斯在太空領域的合作

was enormously strengthened.

得到了極大的加強。

Clinton saw his space policy as a political signal 文法

柯林頓將他的太空政策視為一個政治信號，

to manifest the beginning of a time of cooperation

以彰顯合作時代的開始

and the end of the Cold War. 文化背景

以及冷戰的結束。

Early on in President Bush's presidency, 片語搭配

在布希總統任期之初，

NASA took a huge hit 慣用語

NASA遭受了巨大的打擊，

when the Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart 片語動詞

哥倫比亞號太空梭

during re-entry into the atmosphere. 用詞

在重返大氣層時解體。

As a response to the tragedy,

為了應對這場悲劇，

as well as to regain public excitement over space, 文法

也為了重新喚起公眾對太空的熱情，

Bush ordered NASA to focus on putting humans back to the Moon.

布希下令NASA將重點放在讓人類重返月球上。

Our third goal

我們的第三個目標

is to return to the Moon by 2020

是在2020年重返月球，

as the launching point for missions beyond. 慣用語

以此作為更遠任務的發射點。

They started the Constellation program

他們啟動了星座計畫，

and the development of two new rockets specifically designed 片語搭配

並開發了專門設計用於

for the purpose of sending humans back to the Moon by the year 2020.

在2020年將人類送回月球的兩款新火箭。

It also meant that for a short period of time,

這也意味著在很短的一段時間內，

once the Space Shuttle program is retired,

一旦太空梭計畫退役，

and all focus is on the Ares rockets,

所有的重點都將轉移到戰神火箭上，

America would be dependent on the Russians 片語搭配

美國將不得不依賴俄羅斯人

to get their astronauts to the International Space Station.

將他們的太空人送上國際太空站。

Relations between the two countries were good at the time,

當時兩國關係良好，

and NASA expected this period to last about 4 years. 文法

NASA預計這一時期將持續約4年。

But development on the Constellation program took longer than expected, 文法

但星座計畫的開發時間比預期的要長，

and ever since 2011,

而且自2011年以來，

experts came to the conclusion that the Moon project 片語搭配

專家們得出結論，月球項目

was lacking innovation and will need funding

缺乏創新，且需要的資金

much higher than originally expected.

遠遠高於最初的預期。

President Barack Obama then shifted NASA's focus 片語搭配

隨後，巴拉克·歐巴馬總統將NASA的重點

from the moon to the manned exploration of Mars.

從月球轉移到了載人火星探索上。

I just have to say 語氣意圖

我必須要說，

pretty bluntly here,

非常直白地說，

we've been there before. 語氣意圖

我們以前已經去過那裡了。

Buzz has been there.

巴茲已經去過了。

There's a lot more of space to explore.

還有更多的太空領域需要探索。

The problem was that with the end of the Space Shuttle missions,

問題是，隨著太空梭任務的結束，

as well as Constellation,

以及星座計畫的終止，

NASA had no way to get its astronauts into space on its own. 講解

NASA無法獨自將其太空人送入太空。

Five private companies were asked for proposals on spacecrafts.

於是，他們向五家私營公司徵求了太空船提案。

And in order to reach the space station,

為了到達太空站，

we will work with a growing array of private companies 片語搭配

我們將與越來越多相互競爭的私營公司合作，

competing to make 文法

以使

getting to space easier and more affordable.

進入太空變得更加容易且更具性價比。

Two companies, Boeing and SpaceX,

後來，波音和SpaceX兩家公司

were then commissioned to develop one 用詞

受委託開發一款

that could carry astronauts to the International Space Station.

能夠將太空人送往國際太空站的飛船。

We might see those ships do their first missions

我們可能會在明年左右

in the next year or so. 用詞

看到這些飛船執行它們的首次任務。

But it has cost NASA a lot to rely on the Russians 文法

但是，長期依賴俄羅斯人

for such a long period of time.

讓NASA付出了高昂的代價。

With NASA's new job being to focus on Mars,

隨著NASA的新任務將重點放在火星上，

they consequently started developing a rocket

他們隨之開始開發一款

that could be used for those missions,

可用於這些任務的火箭，

the SLS, Space Launch System.

即SLS，太空發射系統。

When finished, it will be the most powerful rocket in the world,

完成後，它將成為世界上最強大的火箭，

exceeding the capabilities of the Heavy Falcon by SpaceX. 片語搭配

超越SpaceX重型獵鷹的運載能力。

And it has strong support from key members of Congress

並且它得到了國會關鍵議員的大力支持，

because it brings a lot of jobs.

因為它能帶來大量的就業機會。

However, Unlike the Heavy Falcon,

然而，與重型獵鷹不同的是，

the SLS will still take a long time until it's ready.

SLS距離準備就緒還有很長的時間。

With its first unmanned test flight currently scheduled for December 2019.

其首次無人試飛目前計畫在2019年12月進行。

But with a new president sworn into office, 片語搭配

但隨著新總統宣誓就職，

NASA is currently again in a period of changing plans.

NASA目前又進入了一個計畫變更期。

The directive I'm signing today will refocus America's space program 片語搭配

我今天簽署的指令，將使美國的太空計畫重新聚焦於

on human exploration and discovery.

人類的探索與發現。

It marks an important step in returning American astronauts to the Moon 片語搭配

這標誌著讓美國太空人自1972年以來

for the first time since 1972

首次重返月球，

for long-term exploration and use.

進行長期探索和利用的重要一步。

This time, we will not only plant our flag and leave our footprint, 慣用語

這一次，我們不僅要插上旗幟並留下腳印，

we will establish a foundation for an eventual mission to Mars 慣用語

我們還要為最終的火星任務奠定基礎，

and perhaps someday to many worlds beyond.

甚至有一天可能會前往更遙遠的世界。

The proposed NASA budget revealed on February 12th, 2018,

2018年2月12日公布的NASA擬議預算，

shows that the Trump administration is already trying

表明川普政府已經在嘗試

to free up money to support these costly plans. 片語動詞

騰出資金來支持這些昂貴的計畫。

For example, by closing the NASA Education Office, 文法

例如，透過關閉NASA教育辦公室，

cutting off funding for the International Space Station by 2025, 片語動詞

在2025年切斷對國際太空站的資金支持，

as well as canceling the WFIRST telescope.

以及取消WFIRST望遠鏡項目。

Even though there are good reasons for NASA's reorientation 文法

儘管NASA在新一任美國總統上任時的調整

by each incoming US president,

有其充分的理由，

it becomes extremely difficult for NASA to meet the ever-changing demands. 片語搭配

但這讓NASA極難滿足不斷變化的需求。

And so in the process of constantly changing goals, 片語搭配

因此，在目標不斷更改的過程中，

a lot of taxpayers' money is lost on projects

大量納稅人的錢浪費在了

that never see the light of day. 慣用語

永遠無法見天日的項目上。

And this is where Elon Musk comes into play. 表達脈絡

而這正是伊隆·馬斯克登場的時候。

The stated goal of SpaceX is to reach Mars

SpaceX的明確目標是到達火星，

and even colonize the planet.

甚至殖民這顆星球。

In order to get the technology right 片語搭配

為了完善技術

and have the revenue to support these plans,

並獲得支持這些計畫的收入，

SpaceX is drastically reducing the cost of rocket launches.

SpaceX正在大幅降低火箭發射的成本。

Most significantly, by propulsively landing their rockets 文法

最顯著的方式是，透過推進降落他們的火箭，

and then reusing them on future missions.

然後在未來的任務中重複使用它們。

Their Falcon 9 rocket starts at $62 million,

他們的獵鷹9號火箭發射起價為6200萬美元，

which is a fraction compared to the Atlas V by ULA,

與聯合發射聯盟（ULA）起價1.09億美元的擎天神5號火箭相比，

that starts at $109 million.

只是其一小部分。

But the real revolution might be the BFR system 表達脈絡

但真正的革命可能是他們目前正在研發的

that they are currently working on.

BFR系統。

Consisting of a booster, a spacecraft, and a tanker, 文法

該概念由助推器、太空船和加油船組成，

the concept is designed to be completely reusable.

旨在實現完全可重複使用。

So, the booster transports the ship into orbit,

所以，助推器將飛船送入軌道，

then returns to the launch pad.

然後返回發射台。

With the help of a tanker,

在加油船的幫助下，

the spaceship can then be refueled several times in orbit,

飛船可以在軌道上進行多次補給燃料，

which will give it enough propellant 文法

這將為它提供足夠的推進劑

to go on a journey to Mars.

踏上前往火星的旅程。

Development of this is costing billions of dollars,

研發這個系統需要花費數十億美元，

and so it may seem like a risky approach, 語氣意圖

因此這似乎是一種高風險的做法，

not knowing if anyone will pay for a trip to Mars.

因為不知道是否有人會為火星之旅買單。

But the concept is also designed to replace all previous tasks,

但這個概念也旨在取代以往的所有任務，

from orbital launch of satellites,

從衛星的軌道發射，

Earth-Moon transport, Mars missions,

到地月運輸、火星任務，

or even the proposed usage for fast transport between continents on Earth,

甚至提議用於地球各大洲之間的快速運輸，

having one single system for these many possible applications 文法

擁有一個能應對這些眾多潛在應用的單一系統，

allows for greater mass production, which in turn reduces costs. 表達脈絡

可以實現更大規模的量產，進而降低成本。

Perhaps more importantly, though, 表達脈絡

不過也許更重要的是，

the system would provide the flexibility to be assigned to NASA missions,

該系統將提供極大的靈活性，以被指派參與NASA的任務，

no matter what the focus of the US administration might be. 文法

無論美國政府的重點如何變化。

And if SpaceX does achieve to bring costs down, 片語動詞

如果SpaceX確實成功降低了成本，

it will be hard to justify using the more expensive SLS. 文法

那就很難找到理由去使用更昂貴的SLS了。

By this point, all of this is very hypothetical 表達脈絡

到目前為止，這一切都還非常假設性，

because it is easy to create a great-looking concept,

因為創建一個看起來很棒的概念很容易，

yet a lot of the technology is not figured out yet, 講解

但許多技術問題尚未解決，

and we will have to see whether words turn into action. 講解

我們需要拭目以待，看看這些言詞是否能化為行動。