維珍飛船沙漠墜毀 “太空一遊”需25萬美元

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- A passenger rocket plane developed by Virgin Galactic's crashed on Friday after suffering an "in-flight anomaly" during a powered test flight over the U.S. state of California, the commercial company said on Twitter.

新華網洛杉磯10月31日電——維珍銀河公司在“推特”網站消息稱，太空船2號在測試飛行時發生“嚴重異常”情況，導致飛船損毀。

"SpaceShipTwo has experienced an in-flight anomaly. Additional info and statement forthcoming," Virgin said, giving no further details.

維珍銀河公司並未透露更多細節，僅表示”太空船二號在飛行途中遭遇嚴重異常情況，稍後將會進一步給出相關信息和評論”。

Two pilots were on board when the catastrophic explosion and crash happened. After the anomaly, at least one chute was reportedly sighted over the Mojave Air and Space Port in California, the base from which SpaceShipTwo and its WhiteKnightTwo carrier plane took off.

此次災難性的爆炸和墜毀發生時，飛船上載有兩名飛行員。遭遇嚴重異常後，飛船在美國西南部莫哈韋沙漠墜毀，搭載“太空船2號”和“白騎士2號”飛行船已於當地安全着陸。

Media reported that one pilot was killed and the other seriously injured.

有媒體消息稱，一名飛行員已經遇難，另外一名遭受重傷。

The craft, which is still in its test phase and normally carries two pilots, had been carried aloft on a bigger aircraft known as WhiteKnightTwo and then released for a test of its rocket engine.

“太空船2號”仍在試行階段，通常搭載兩名飛行員。搭載“太空船2號”的“白騎士2號”飛行器於當地時間31日上午發射升空。

SpaceShipTwo is designed to carry two pilots and six passengers on suborbital spaceflights. Tickets to ride the spaceship cost 250, 000 U.S. dollars each.

爲實現商業太空遊，維珍銀河公司研發了“太空船2號”亞軌道飛行器。飛船一次可搭載2名機組人員和6名遊客。票價爲每人25萬美元。

The suborbital flight has been under development at Mojave Air and Spaceport in the desert northeast of Los Angeles.

維珍亞軌道飛行一直在美國西南部莫哈韋沙漠的莫哈韋航天航空港進行研製。