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Terence the teddy takes off from Los Angeles on Wednesday
(Agencies) | |
A teddy bear from Cumbria is launching into space to raise cash for
charity.
Terence, a seasoned
traveller who has been to Iraq, will be the guest of honour on aviation legend Burt Rutan's
SpaceShipOne when it flies above Earth.
The mission takes off from California on September 29, and on his
return the cuddly toy will be auctioned off
in aid of the North Air Ambulance Appeal.
SpaceShipOne is the world's first private spacecraft, and is competing
for a prestigious space travel prize.
Chief executive of the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS),
Graham Pickering, said "flying officer" Terence had been handed over to
the RAF six months ago and staff had been receiving postcards from him
ever since.
He said: "Terence was a fundraising idea that really took off.
"We have received pictures of him in a U2 craft, trying parachuting and
even looking drunk and disorderly.
"When the RAF finally discharge him he will be a very rare bear indeed
- we just hope he does not burn up on re-entry to Earth."
GNAAS, which needs charitable donations of more than ￡2m a year, has
three air ambulances.
Peter Bond, spokesman for the Royal Astronomical Society, said
Terence's safety was not guaranteed.
He said: "This is a new and experimental craft and this will only be
the second time it has flown. During its first voyage it developed
technical problems but hopefully they have now been resolved."
Since May, Terence has spent time with members of 100 Squadron based at
RAF Leeming in Basra, Iraq, and at airshows with performing fighter
planes.
SpaceShipOne will fly 100km (62 miles) above the Earth's surface, just
breaking through the planet's atmosphere.
If it repeats the feat inside two weeks, it will claim the $10m Ansari
X-Prize set up to galvanize
the private spaceflight business.
(Agencies) |
來(lái)自英格蘭坎布里亞郡的一只泰迪熊即將飛入太空，為慈善事業(yè)籌集資金。
由著名飛行器設(shè)計(jì)師伯特·魯坦設(shè)計(jì)的“太空飛船一號(hào)”是航天飛行史上的奇跡。“太空飛船一號(hào)”在地球上空飛行時(shí)，泰迪熊特倫斯將有幸成為飛行嘉賓。特倫斯是一位經(jīng)驗(yàn)豐富的旅行者，他曾經(jīng)去過(guò)伊拉克。
這次太空飛行9月29日從加利福尼亞開(kāi)始。返航后，這只可愛(ài)的泰迪熊將被拍賣掉，用于幫助北部空中救護(hù)服務(wù)中心購(gòu)買空中救護(hù)機(jī)。
“太空飛船一號(hào)”是世界上第一艘私人開(kāi)發(fā)的太空飛船，它將角逐一項(xiàng)著名的太空飛行獎(jiǎng)。
北部空中救護(hù)服務(wù)中心（GNAAS）的執(zhí)行總監(jiān)格雷厄姆·皮克林說(shuō)：“六個(gè)月前，‘飛行官’
特倫斯被轉(zhuǎn)交給英國(guó)皇家空軍，從那時(shí)起，工作人員們就一直收到從他那兒寄來(lái)的明信片。”
他說(shuō)：“用特倫斯玩具熊籌款的想法真的啟動(dòng)了。”
“我們收到了它在U2太空船中拍的照片。它正在試著跳傘，即使看上去有點(diǎn)醉醺醺的，有些慌亂的樣子。”
“當(dāng)他最后從英國(guó)皇家空軍退役時(shí)，它將成為一只珍貴的玩具熊。我們只希望它在返回地球時(shí)不要燒起來(lái)。”
北部空中救護(hù)服務(wù)中心每年需要200萬(wàn)英鎊的慈善捐款，該中心擁有三架空中救護(hù)機(jī)。
皇家天文學(xué)會(huì)的發(fā)言人彼得·邦德說(shuō)特倫斯安全沒(méi)有得到保證。
他說(shuō)：“這是一個(gè)全新的用于實(shí)驗(yàn)的太空飛船，這才是它第二次飛行。在它的第一次飛行中曾出現(xiàn)技術(shù)問(wèn)題，但愿現(xiàn)在問(wèn)題已經(jīng)解決了。”
從五月份開(kāi)始，泰迪熊特倫斯和駐扎在伊拉克巴士拉英國(guó)皇家空軍Leeming基地的100空軍中隊(duì)的隊(duì)員在一起，并且參加了戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)的空中表演。
“太空飛船一號(hào)”將會(huì)在距離地球表面100千米（62英里）的上空飛行，這個(gè)高度剛剛超出地球的大氣層。
如果在兩周內(nèi)再創(chuàng)佳績(jī)的話，“太空飛船一號(hào)”將會(huì)贏得1000萬(wàn)美元的安薩里X獎(jiǎng)。這個(gè)獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)是為鼓勵(lì)私人航空事業(yè)而設(shè)立的。
（中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)站譯） |
Updated: 2004-09-30 09:58