[ti:First All-Civilian Crew Launches into Earth Orbit] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]A private space flight launched by America’s SpaceX [00:05.96]has carried the first all-civilian crew into orbit. [00:13.00]The four civilian passengers are traveling [00:17.00]on SpaceX’s fully automated Dragon spacecraft, or capsule. [00:24.96]They are on a three-day trip orbiting the Earth. [00:29.64]The capsule launched Wednesday [00:32.60]on top of one of SpaceX’s reusable Falcon 9 rockets [00:39.08]from Kennedy Space Center on Florida’s Cape Canaveral. [00:44.12]The trip, named Inspiration4, [00:48.60]marks SpaceX’s first flight for private passengers. [00:54.28]It is the first time a spacecraft has orbited Earth [00:59.48]carrying a fully civilian crew. [01:03.96]The capsule has already been in orbit. [01:07.96]It was used for SpaceX’s second astronaut flight [01:13.20]for the U.S. space agency NASA [01:16.52]to the International Space Station (ISS). [01:20.12]The spacecraft was expected to reach an altitude [01:24.68]of 575 kilometers above Earth. [01:30.44]That is higher than the ISS and just above the current position [01:37.52]of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. [01:42.16]The flight is being led by 38-year-old [01:46.40]American businessman Jared Isaacman, [01:50.36]who used his own money to pay for the trip. [01:54.96]With a lifelong interest in flying, [01:58.68]Isaacman has flown fighter jets [02:01.56]and started a company to train others to do so. [02:06.76]But he is not a professional astronaut. [02:11.24]Isaacman organized the flight as an effort [02:15.40]to raise money for one of his favorite causes, [02:19.56]St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. [02:26.24]The hospital treats child cancer patients. [02:30.40]When announcing the flight in February, [02:34.00]he promised the hospital $100 million [02:38.20]and aims to raise another $100 million in donations. [02:44.80]Isaacman offered one seat on the spacecraft [02:48.84]to Hayley Arceneaux, a former patient at St. Jude. [02:54.80]Now 29, Arceneaux was 10 years old [02:59.12]when doctors discovered she had bone cancer. [03:03.64]The disease led to a medical operation [03:07.16]that replaced her thigh bone. [03:10.52]She is the first person in space with a prosthesis. [03:15.28]Arceneaux said she is happy to represent [03:19.48]“those who are not physically perfect.” [03:22.92]Arceneaux went on to become a physician’s assistant at St. Jude. [03:30.84]She will also be the youngest American to travel into space. [03:36.20]She takes this honor from the late Sally Ride, [03:40.76]who became the first American woman in space in 1983 at age 32. [03:49.92]The flight’s other two passengers were chosen [03:54.00]through competitions organized by Isaacman. [03:58.52]One of those winners is Sian Proctor, [04:02.88]a 51-year-old community college teacher from Phoenix, Arizona. [04:09.92]She is also a pilot and was a NASA astronaut [04:14.36]finalist candidate about 10 years ago. [04:18.64]The other passenger is 42-year-old Chris Sembroski, [04:24.44]a data engineer from Everett, Washington. [04:29.24]He is a former U.S. Air Force member [04:32.60]who has experience with flying and missile systems. [04:37.56]Sembroski was chosen from a group of 72,000 St. Jude donors [04:45.16]who took part in a lottery for the seat. [04:49.40]The effort raised $113 million. [04:55.16]The four passengers spent months [04:58.12]in intense training before the flight. [05:02.24]This included altitude exercises, simulator training, [05:07.60]experiences with weightlessness and rides in fighter jets. [05:13.72]The crew plans to perform [05:16.84]a series of medical experiments during the trip. [05:21.80]The members said in a statement they hope the experiments [05:26.40]can lead to a better understanding of “human health [05:30.52]on Earth and during future spaceflights." [05:35.96]The SpaceX flight follows recent civilian space trips [05:40.76]carried out by two other private companies: [05:44.40]Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin. [05:48.40]Those flights, however, were piloted by professional astronauts. [05:54.56]The trips did not enter Earth orbit [05:58.16]but passengers were able to experience weightlessness [06:02.80]and observe Earth for a few minutes before returning home. [06:08.64]I’m Bryan Lynn. [06:11.12]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM