Futuristic: Orbital Technologies has revealed plans for a space hotel, which could be open by 2016(dailymail.co.uk)
If you're tired of the Mediterranean and don't want to head to Disney again, perhaps it's time for a summer holiday in space? It would certainly be one way to avoid the crowds. As the space tourism battle heats up, Russia has unveiled plans for its first floating hotel, 217 miles above earth, and it is something of a boutique offering. Hosting just seven guests in a four cabins, the accommodation will boast huge windows with views back to earth and tasty microwave meals will be served instead of the freeze-dried tubes of nourishment so often used by astronauts. Just getting there will be an adventure in itself – it will take two days aboard a Soyuz rocket – and it won’t exactly be a budget holiday: A five-day stay will cost you £100,000, on top of £500,000 for your journey. The hotel, or the Commercial Space Station to give it its proper name, is due to open by 2016 and, according to those behind it, will be ‘far more comfortable’ than the International Space Station used by astronauts and cosmonauts. In the weightlessness of space, visitors can choose to have beds that are either vertical or horizontal, while showers will be sealed affairs to stop water going where it shouldn’t (those aboard the International Space Station must make do with sponge baths until they return home). Tourists, who will be accompanied by experienced crew, will dine on food prepared on Earth and sent up on the rocket, to be reheated in microwave ovens. Delicacies such as braised veal cheeks with wild mushrooms, white bean puree, potato soup and plum compote, will all be available. Iced tea, mineral water and fruit juices will be available, but alcohol will be strictly prohibited. Toilets will use flowing air instead of water to move waste through the system. Waste water will be recycled, while the air will be filtered to remove odour and bacteria and then returned to the cabin. Sergei Kostenko, chief executive of Orbital Technologies which will construct the hotel, said: ‘Our planned module inside will not remind you of the International Space Station. A hotel should be comfortable inside, and it will be possible to look at the Earth through large portholes. ‘The hotel will be aimed at wealthy individuals and people working for private companies who want to do research in space.’ Tourists might also find themselves playing host to unexpected guests – there is a plan for the hotel to be used as an emergency bolthole for astronauts aboard the International Space Station if there is a crisis, rather than bringing them all the way back to Earth.
如果你已经厌倦了地中海，也不再想去迪斯尼乐园，或许是时候来一次盛夏太空之旅了。那绝对是避开人潮的好去处。 随着太空旅游大战升温，俄罗斯已宣布将建造首座太空旅馆，这座旅馆位于距地面217英里的高空，而且服务一流。 太空旅馆的4个客舱可容纳7位房客。在住宿体验方面，游客不仅可以通过巨型舷窗俯瞰地球美景，还可品尝微波炉美食，而不必吃宇航员们常吃的经过冻干管状食物。 前往太空旅馆本身就是一次大冒险——要搭乘两天的联盟号飞船——而且出游价格不菲：住五天就要花费10万英镑，另有50万英镑的旅程费。 这家旅馆（更准确地说应该叫商务太空站）将于2016年开业。内部人士称，这比宇航员住的国际空间站要舒服多了。 在失重的太空里，游客们可以选择“站着”睡或者平躺着睡。淋浴间全密闭，以防水珠乱溅。（在回家前，国际空间站的宇航员只能用海绵擦身。） 旅馆“服务生”都是经验丰富的宇航员，所食用的食物是事先在地球上准备好的，由火箭运到太空，再在微波炉里加热。美食应有尽有，像野蘑菇炖牛肉、白豌豆泥、土豆汤、李子蜜饯等。 冰茶、矿泉水和果汁也都一应俱全，唯独酒是严厉禁止的。洗手间不用水而用流动的空气来派出秽物。废水会被循环利用，空气经过滤去除异味和细菌后再回到客舱里。 轨道科技公司将负责建造这家旅馆，总裁塞格•柯斯登斯说：“我们设计的模型不会让你联想起国际空间站。旅馆应该是很舒适的，通过大大的舷窗可以看到地球。” “这家旅馆的目标顾客是超级富豪，和想进行太空研究的私人公司中的职员。” 旅客们还可能要招待一些不速之客——按照计划，如果国际空间站发生险情，旅馆将用作紧急避难所安置国际空间站的宇航员，而不是直接把他们送回地球。
boutique: a small business offering specialized products and services（精品店，专卖流行衣服的小商店）
freeze-dried: 冻干的
on top of: in addition to; besides（另外，在……之上）
braised：炖熟的，焖熟的
porthole: a small, usually circular window in a ship's side（舷窗）
bolthole: a place affording escape（避难处） | 
