When Mike Kelly first set out to_考试试题_职称英语

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When Mike Kelly first set out to build his ownprivate space-ferry service, he figured his bread-and-butter business would belofting satellites into high-Earth orbit. Now he thinks he may have figuredwrong. "People were always asking me when they could go," says Kelly,who runs Kelly Space & Technology out of San Bernardino, California."I realized that real market is in space tourism."

According to preliminary market surveys, thereare 10,000 would be space tourists willing to spend $1 million each to visitthe final frontier. Space Adventure in Arlington, Virginia, has taken more than130 deposits for a two-hour, $98,000 space tour tentatively (and somewhatdubiously) set to occur by 2005. Gene Meyers of the Space Island Group says:"Space is the next exotic vacation spot."

This may all sound great, but there are a fewhurdles. Putting a simple satellite into orbit -with no oxygen, life support orreturn trip necessary-already costs an astronomical $22,000/kg. And thatdoesn't include the cost of insuring rich and possibly litigious passenger.John Pike of the Federation of American Scientists acerbically suggests thatthe entire group of entrepreneurs trying to corner the space-tourism markethave between them "just enough money to blow up one rocket." The U.S.space agency has plenty of money but zero interest in making space lessexpensive for the little guys. So the little guys are racing to do what thegovernment has failed to do: design a reusable launch system that'sinexpensive, safe and reliable. Kelly Space's prototype looks like a plane thathas sprouted rocket engines. Rotary Rocket in Redwood City, California, has abooster with rotors make a helicopter-style return to Earth; Kistler Aerospacein Kirkland, Washington, is piecing together its versions from old Soviet engines,shuttle-style thermal protection tiles and an elaborate parachute system. Thefirst passenger countdowns are still years away, but bureaucrats at the FederalAviation Administration in Washington are already informally discussing flightregulations. After all, you can't be too prepared for a trip to that galaxyfar, far away.

For those who are intent on joining the100-mile high club, Hilton and Budget are plotting to build space hotels.Before the Russian space Mir came down, some people were talking about using itas a low-rent space motel to reduce the cost. If a space hotel is finally builtin space, and if you're thinking of staying in it, you may want to check theMichelin ratings before booking yourself a suite.

1. Mike Kelly planned to turn his business ofmaking bread and butter into a business that is engaged in space tourism.