Boeing said Wednesday that it was entering the space tourism business, an announcement that could bolster（增强）the Obama administration’s efforts to transform the National Aeronautics and Space Administration into an agency that focuses less on building rockets and more on nurturing a commercial space industry.
The flights, which could begin as early as 2015, would most likely launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida to the International Space Station. The Obama administration has proposed turning over to private companies the business of taking NASA astronauts to orbit, and Boeing and Bigelow Aerospace of Las Vegas won an $18 million contract this year for preliminary (初步的)development and testing of a capsule that could carry seven passengers.
Current NASA plans call for four space station crew members to go up at a time, which would leave up to three seats available for space tourists. The flights would be the first to give nonprofessional astronauts the chance to go into orbit aboard a spacecraft launched from the United States. Seven earlier space tourists have made visits to the space station, riding in Russian Soyuz capsules.
“We’re ready now to start talking to possible customers,” said Eric C. Anderson, co-founder and chairman of Space Adventures, the space tourism company based in Virginia that would market the seats for Boeing.
Boeing and Space Adventures have not set a price, although Mr. Anderson said it would be competitive with the Soyuz flights, which Space Adventures arranged with the Russian Space Agency. Guy Laliberté, founder of Cirque du Soleil, paid about $40 million for a Soyuz ride and an eight-day stay at the space station last year. But the possibilities that anyone buying a ticket will get to space on an American vehicle depend on discussions in Congress about the future of NASA.
小题1: Which of the following is most probably a private travel company?
A. Boeing. B. Space Adventure.
C. NASA. D. Russian Space Agency.
小题2: How many people can be carried along on a capsule to the space station?
小题3: What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．The American space tourism company is located in Virginia. |
| B．Russia has already taken lead in working on the space tourism business. |
| C．NASA has decided to focus less on building rockets because of the financial crisis. |
| D．In 2015, America would be the first country in the world to run the space tourism business. |
小题4:What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Taking NASA Astronauts to Orbit. | B．Living in the Space Station Space. |
| C．Ticket Price under Discussion. | D．Boeing Could Fly You to Orbit by 2015. |