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If you had to buy a new car every time you had to go somewhere, you'd be broken by Tuesday.
如果你每去一个地方就要买一辆新车的话，那到不了周二你就得破产。
So, why not apply the same logic to space travel.
那为什么到了太空旅行这块就变了呢？
90s kids will remember the space shuttle launches that ferried astronauts and cargo to the ISS.
上世纪90年代的孩子们还依稀记得，人们用航天飞机运送宇航员和货物，到达国际空间站。
But even the reusable shuttle was expensive, and so the program ended in 2011.
但即便可以重复利用，航天飞机高昂的发射及维护费用已让这个项目难以为继，终在2011年宣告结束。
According to the founder of SpaceX, Elon Musk, the shuttle was too complex, and money could be saved if the rocket was simplified.
据SpaceX的创始人Elon Musk说，航天飞机太过复杂，如果简化火箭结构，方可节约资金。
Simplifying a rocket. How hard could that be?
简化火箭？难度几何？
Well, after few crash landings and explosions, SpaceX seems to have the self-landing reusable rocket thing figured out.
历经了几次紧急迫降和爆炸事件后，SpaceX自着陆可重复利用火箭的研制似乎有了眉目。
So, does this make space travel cheaper?
研制这种火箭能否降低太空旅行的成本？
Space shuttle missions cost about 450 million dollars per launch, and while that sounds like a lot more than SpaceX's price of $133 million,
航天飞机执行一次任务的成本约为4.5亿美元，虽然听起来远比SpaceX的发射费用1.33亿美元高不少，
you have to remember the Space Shuttle was a beast of a craft, capable of carrying 50,000 pounds of cargo AND 7 crew members.
但是别忘了，航天飞机一次发射就能搭载5万英磅货物，外加7名宇航员。
Broken down by the pound Shuttle flights cost about 10,000 dollars whereas a SpaceX Dragon stuffed to the gills costs 9,100 dollars for every pound of
cargo.
航天飞机平均每磅的运输成本约为10000美元，而SpaceX平均每磅的满负荷运输成本为9100美元。
That's well shy of Musk's ultimate goal of bringing down the cost of space travel by a at least a factor of 10.
而Musk的最终目标是将太空旅行的成本降低至少10倍以上，二者实在相去甚远。
But, he hopes to hit those numbers by launching more cargo at once on their next rocket, the Falcon Heavy.
为了接近这一目标，Musk寄希望于火箭Falcon Heavy，希望它能提高单次货物的搭载量。
For now SpaceX has started launching reused Falcon-9 rockets and says the cost of refurbishing one is less than half of building one from scratch.
如今，SpaceX重启猎鹰-9火箭准备发射，声称重新部署二次利用的费用远低于从无到有新建火箭的一半。
They still have to recoup their investment, but eventually Musk says prices will drop.
他们仍然需要回收投资成本，但Musk说最终成本会降下来的。
The thing is, SpaceX is competing for government contracts with another company called United Launch Alliance or ULA, a joint venture of Lockheed-Martin
and Boeing.
重要的是，SpaceX正与洛克希德马丁及波音的一家合资公司——联合发射联盟，就政府合同展开角逐。
Based on the US Air Force's 2018 budget estimate, it looks like ULA will charge 422 million dollars per launch in 2020.
根据美国空军2018的军费预算，2020年，ULA的单次发射费用似乎将收取4.22亿美元。
SpaceX, on the other hand, has done similar jobs for only 83 million dollars.
而另一方面，SpaceX公司的单次发射费用仅为8300万美元。
So things are allegedly cheaper.
据此，价格占优。
Though, how much of that 300 million dollars difference is down to the rocket, is up for debate.
然而，3亿美元的差别，就火箭而言，到底差在哪儿，尚存争议。
In fact, the Government Accountability Office has criticized ULA for a lack of transparency on pricing.
事实上，美国政府责任署已经就ULA报价缺乏透明度一事对其提出批评。
While some would argue ULA charges that much because they're up against the margin and can't cut costs, Musk thinks they charge that much because they
can.
虽然有人会说，ULA报价偏高是因为他们成本难以削减，导致利润空间不足，而Musk则认为他们是坐地起价。
They used to have no competition, their launch record is outstanding, and the satellites they're launching cost billions, so what's a few hundred million
dollars between friends?
他们过去没有竞争对手，发射记录保持良好，而发射卫星又的确要耗资数十亿美元，难道还差这区区几个亿么？
While the Department of Defense can accept the higher launch costs because their budget is bigger than God's, NASA is, by comparison,
由于政府预算颇高，美国国防部对于高价发射成本尚可接受，而比较而言，
a poor pauper that has to make a lump of coal last the winter.
NASA是个可怜的穷光蛋，到了冬天还要靠自己烧煤。
In 2015 NASA received 34 times less money than the DOD.
单2015年，NASA所受款额较比国防部低34倍之多。
So, if can save NASA money, it would be an ideal partnership.
所以，如果SpaceX可以为NASA雪中送炭，他们将成为一对完美搭档。
The next thing NASA needs is a way to transport people.
NASA的下步计划是输送宇航员。
X's unfinished Dragon 2 spacecraft is designed to carry people at a price of 58 million dollars per seat.
SpaceX的在建Dragon 2火箭，可以搭载宇航员进入太空，每座5800万美元。
Pretty good considering the only other ride to the ISS is aboard a Russian Soyuz,and since the shuttle's retirement they've been hiking the price.
跟搭乘俄罗斯联盟号宇宙飞船到达国际空间站（ISS）相比，这已经算好的了，且自美国的航天飞机退役后，俄罗斯就涨价了。
They're planning to charge 81 million dollars a seat next year.
他们明年的计划费用为每座8100万美元。
I for one hope he does manage to get that price down, because I don't think I can save up 58 million dollars before I die.
而我呢，只希望他能降降价，因为我想，自己到死我也省不出那5800万美元来。
Maybe I should invent some sort of service.
也许我该做出某项服务发明。
Like an easy way to pay my pals or something.
比如像一种简单的支付方式，给我的朋友付个款什么的。
I don't know, get back to me on this one, Elon.
我不知道，有好主意告诉我哦，Elon。
Thanks for watching, if you like what you see may I casually direct you to the subscribe button.
谢谢观看，如果喜欢我们的节目，欢迎订阅。
If you bought a ticket to space, how high would you have to go before you technically got there?
如果你买票进行太空之旅，在你真正到达之前，你要飞多高？
Trace tells you where space starts here.
Trace来告诉你，宇宙始于何处。
So would you hitch a ride on a rocket if you could?
如果可以，你愿搭乘火箭吗？
Let us know in the comments, and thanks for watching.
请在评论中告诉我们，谢谢观看！
