維珍銀河CEO 新飛船或明年起飛

Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is battling to keep alive its dream of putting tourists into space as accusations surfaced that the company had ignored safety warnings, and its dwindling finances came under scrutiny.

李察•布萊信爵士(Sir Richard Branson)創立的維珍銀河(Virgin Galactic)正努力讓其將遊客送入太空的夢想繼續存活，此際，外界指控其忽視安全警告。同時，該公司日漸縮減的財力也成爲關注的焦點之一。

The head of the company rejected accusations that it had taken risks with its novel rocket propulsion system and said that it could have a new spacecraft ready to fly next year.

維珍銀河CEO喬治•懷特賽茲(George Whitesides)否認了這些指控，並表示，該公司考慮到了最新火箭推進系統的風險，同時宣稱新的宇宙飛船可能會在明年建成飛行。

George Whitesides, Virgin Galactic chief executive, said that claims from others in the space industry that Sir Richard Branson’s space tourism company was running high risks marked a difference of professional opinion rather than valid warnings.

他說，航空界人士對李察爵士的太空旅遊公司存在高風險的指控，僅代表不同的專業意見，並非有充分根據的安全警告。

At the same time, Sir Richard’s Virgin Group confirmed that it was supporting the day-to-day expenses of Virgin Galactic of Virgin Galactic out of its own pocket after the money for the initial financing for the project, including $400m put up by an Abu Dhabi government investment vehicle, had been exhausted.

同時，李察爵士的維珍集團(Virgin Group)證實，在該項目的初期融資（包括阿布扎比一政府投資機構提供的4億美元）用完後，維珍銀河的日常費用現在由維珍集團提供。

The possibility of further delays and the danger of cutbacks by Virgin were being watched nervously at the Mojave spaceport, a collection of hangars alongside a dusty strip of diners and cheap motels that has become a focus for the new private space industry.

在莫哈維航空港，人們對項目進一步拖延的可能憂心及維珍削減經費的風險充滿擔憂。

Friday’s flight was the first to use the new fuel system, which the Virgin Galactic chief executive acknowledged had been put through a full test cycle on the ground only a handful of times.

上週五，維珍銀河(Virgin Galactic)的“太空船2號”(SpaceShipTwo)在一次飛行測試中發生爆炸，兩名飛行員一死一傷。此次試飛是維珍銀河首次使用新的燃料系統，懷特賽茲承認僅在地面經過了爲數不多的完整測試周期。

US government investigators said late on Saturday that it was too early to reach any conclusions about the cause of the crash or how long the Virgin Galactic programme would be closed down. A full report could take a year, said Christopher Hart, acting chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board.

美國政府調查人員上週六晚表示，現在就對飛船墜毀的原因以及維珍銀河項目多久將被關閉做出任何結論，還爲時過早。美國國家運輸安全委員會(National Transportation Safety Board)代主席克里斯托弗•哈特(Christopher Hart)表示，全面報告可能會耗時一年。

Even if it ultimately clears Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo of any major flaws, the length of the NTSB investigation looks set to complicate further Sir Richard’s hopes of getting back to development of the project, which is already years behind schedule.

即便報告最終認定維珍銀行的“太空船2號”(SpaceShipTwo)不存在任何重大缺陷，該委員會的調查時間之長也將進一步打擊李察爵士讓該項目重新上馬的希望，該項目已較原計劃拖延數年。

A second spacecraft under construction for the last three years in New Mexico is “65 per cent complete”, Mr Whitesides said, adding that it could be ready to fly next year, once the cause of last week’s accident has been resolved. “The second spaceship is getting close to readiness,” he said.

懷特賽茲表示，過去3年在新墨西哥州在建的第二艘宇宙飛船已“完工65%”，他補充稱，一旦查清上週事故的原因，這架飛船可能會在明年起飛。他表示：“這架飛船正接近完工。”