 |
|
Astronaut Leroy Chiao is the first American to vote for president from
space. (yahoo!) | |
With a quick computer key stroke, space station
astronaut Leroy Chiao became the first American to vote for president from
space, casting an encrypted
ballot via e-mail and urging fellow countrymen to go to
the polls Tuesday.
"It was just a small thing for me, but it is important symbolically to
show that every vote does count," Chiao said from the international space
station a few hours after the polls opened 225 miles below.
Chiao, 44, sent in his ballot Sunday night -- "Halloween night and
maybe that's kind of appropriate."
"I thought long and hard about it over the weekend, made my final
decision and Sunday night went ahead and cast the ballot and pushed the
send button," he said to the reporter. "It was a neat moment."
His ballot traveled via a secure e-mail connection to Mission Control
in Houston, which forwarded it to the Galveston County clerk's office in
Texas, where Chiao normally resides. He was living in Russia before his
launch three weeks ago from Kazakhstan, training for this six-month space
station mission.
Only one other American has voted before from space: astronaut David
Wolf aboard Russia's Mir space station in 1997, thanks to a state law
signed that year by Texas' then-governor -- President Bush. The 1997
ballot included the Houston mayoral race, other city offices and local
issues.
Chiao said he considered all the issues facing the nation -- not just
the future of the space program -- in deciding whom to vote for. He said
the choice was private.
Both candidates seem to support space exploration, Chiao said. He
expressed hope that regardless of whether Bush or Sen. John Kerry wins,
the moon and Mars initiative announced by the president in January will
keep going "and I'll be hoping to be a part of it."
The son of Chinese immigrants, Chiao feels too many Americans take the right to vote for granted.
"People in my ancestry haven't always had the right to vote and it's
something that kind of hits
home for me," he said.
The astronaut, who is sharing the space station with Russian cosmonaut
Salizhan Sharipov, does not expect to learn the outcome of the election
until he wakes up Wednesday morning. An early wake-up call usually conveys
bad news, he said, "so this is something that can wait until the
morning."
(Agencies) |
隨著焦立中飛快地按下計算機按鍵，身為國際空間站宇航員的他成為第一位在太空參加總統選舉的美國人。星期二（11月2日），他用電子郵件的方式發送了一張加密選票，并號召美國同胞們參加投票。
投票活動開始幾小時后，焦立中在位于225英里高空的國際宇宙空間站說：“這對我來說只是一件小事，但卻具有重大的象征意義，因為這表明每一張選票都很重要。”
現年44歲的焦立中是在周日晚上寄出選票的，他說：“萬圣節的夜晚或許是個合適的時機。”
他對記者說：“周末我考慮了很久，然后做出了最后的決定。周日晚上，我毫不猶豫地投了一票并按下了發送鍵。這一刻其實很簡單。”
他的選票通過安全電郵連接“旅行”到休斯敦宇航任務控制中心，隨后轉到德克薩斯州加爾維斯頓縣的選舉辦公室，加爾維斯頓縣是焦立中通常居住的地方。三周前，焦立中在哈薩克斯坦被送入太空，之前他住在俄羅斯，為長達六個月的空間站任務接受培訓。
在此之前，只有一個美國人在太空參加過投票，他就是1997年在俄羅斯的米爾空間站上投票的宇航員大衛·沃爾夫，這要多虧當年的德克薩斯州州長、后來的布什總統1997年簽署的一項州立法規。1997年的投票包括選舉休斯頓市長、其他市屬職位和當地的一些議題。
焦立中表示，在決定給誰投票時，他考慮了國家面臨的所有情況，而不僅僅是空間項目的前景。他說這個選擇完全是他的個人行為。
焦立中說，這兩名候選人似乎都支持空間探索活動。他表示，不管最后是總統布什還是參議員克里贏，他都希望總統一月份宣布的月球和火星計劃能夠繼續進行下去。他說：“我希望能成為（該計劃的）一份子。”
焦立中是中國移民的兒子，他感到太多的美國人認為選舉權是理所當然的。
他說：“我的家人以前一直沒有選舉權，所以對我來說選舉權有很深遠的意義。”
焦立中和俄羅斯宇航員薩禮贊·沙利波夫共享空間站，他并沒有在星期三早上醒來之前期望得知大選結果。過早喚醒我們的鈴聲一般不會帶來什么好消息，他說：“因此等到早晨再知道結果也不晚。”
（中國日報網站譯） |
Updated: 2004-11-05 10:12