When Barbara Barrett was offered a shot at visiting the International Space Station, she had just one concern: how to clear her schedule for the nearly half-year of preparation required. But the Lewisville area native realized training for a backup spot on an upcoming Soyuz spaceflight to the station was the next logical move in what has been a high-flying career.
當芭芭拉‧巴瑞特接受邀請訪問國際太空站時，她只擔心一件事：如何排除將近半年必須事先安排的行程。但出生德州路易斯維爾地區的巴瑞特很清楚，接受訓練以便在即將飛往太空站的聯合號太空船上當後補太空人，是她原本就雄心勃勃、翱翔天際的事業合理的下一步。
"It is such a natural step for me," Barrett said in a phone interview recently from Star City, Russia, where she is preparing for the planned Sept. 30 launch of Soyuz TMA-16. "One of the great adventures of humankind has been the ability to go into space."
巴瑞特最近從俄羅斯星城「太空中心」接受電話訪問時說：「對我，這是很自然的一步。人類最偉大的探險之一是能夠上太空。」她正在受訓，準備9月30日隨聯合號TMA-16太空船升空。
No stranger to adventure, Barrett is an international business and aviation attorney and diplomat who completed a stint as the U.S. ambassador to Finland in December. An instrument-rated pilot, she has been recognized as the first civilian woman to land an F-18 Hornet on an aircraft carrier. She also has served as deputy administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, vice chairman of the U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board and, more recently, a board member of the Space Foundation.
巴瑞特天生愛冒險，她是一位國際商業和航空律師及外交官， 12月才卸下美國駐芬蘭大使職務。她是位持有儀器導航飛行執照的機師，也被公認是駕駛F-18大黃蜂戰鬥機降落在航空母艦上的第一位平民婦女。她也曾擔任聯邦航空局副局長，美國民用航空局副主席，比較晚近則曾擔任太空基金會董事。
"It's a big time commitment," Barrett said of the regimen of study and simulator training she's now undergoing at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, about an hour from Moscow. "I did have some apprehension: could I take off five months to live in Russia "
「這是需要投入大量時間的一流任務，」巴瑞特談起她在距莫斯科一小時車程的星城加加林太空訓練中心所接受的密集智能正規訓練和模擬太空艙訓練。「我的確有些擔心：在俄羅斯住五個月後能否升空？」
Ultimately, Barrett couldn't turn down what she has described as "an adventure--and education--of a lifetime." In addition to her time and energy, Barrett has committed her own finances to be able to take part in the Soyuz space program.
但巴瑞特終究無法拒絕她所謂「一生一次的冒險和教育機會。」除了投入時間和精力，巴瑞特也自掏腰包，參加聯合號太空計畫訓練。
Barrett is pursuing a backup spot on the TMA-16 crew through the invitation of Virginia-based Space Adventures. The company has arranged privately funded berths on previous orbital flights for five different space tourists since 2001.
巴瑞特是經由維吉尼亞州「太空冒險公司」邀請，成為聯合號TMA-16太空船後補太空人。自2001年以來，這家公司透過私人出資，已安排五位不同的太空遊客上太空軌道飛行。
In her backup role, Barrett's participation with the mission should cost less. She had worked for several years with Space Adventures on a program that provides teachers the opportunity to experience zero gravity for short periods of time on parabolic jet flights that follow a pattern of steep ascents and descents. The program is meant to inspire teachers and their students "to think about how math and science are involved in spaceflight," she said.
由於是後補，巴瑞特參加這次任務代價較低。過去幾年來，她和太空冒險公司合作推動一項計畫，提供教師機會去體驗短期拋物線噴射飛行零重力實驗，主要依循陡升倏降的飛行模式。她說，這項計畫意在激發教師和學生「思考數理和科學在太空飛行中扮演的角色。」
Barrett said the spot on the Soyuz crew "came up very suddenly" in April, after a previously assigned cosmonaut was scratched from the flight. "They called and asked if I would be interested." By mid-May, Barrett was at Star City, training alongside the primary crew member she would replace, if need be -- Canadian billionaire Guy LalibertZ. LalibertZ, who is founder of the famed circus troupe Cirque du Soleil, is planning to transmit messages from space that promote the goals of his One Drop Foundation. The foundation has joined forced with local partners in Nicaragua and Honduras to promote sustainable development and increase access to safe water.
巴瑞特表示，聯合號太空人的缺4月間「突然從天而降」，因為原本指派的太空人被刷掉了。「他們來電問我，是否有意願參加。」五月中旬，巴瑞特已經到星城，和必要時她將取而代之的正取太空人、加拿大億萬富豪太陽馬戲團創辦人拉利伯特一起受訓。拉利伯特計畫從太空中傳回信息，以推廣他旗下「一滴水基金會」成立的宗旨，該基金會和尼加拉瓜及宏都拉斯當地合夥人同心協力，提倡永續發展及推廣飲用水安全。
If all goes as planned, LalibertZ -- or Barrett -- will ascend to the International Space Station and then will return to earth after a stay in orbit of about 12 days. Barrett said she shares LalibertZ's concern about potable water, and also is excited about the many scientific experiments that are under way on the space station.
如果一切按計畫進行，拉利伯特或巴瑞特將可登上國際太空站，並在軌道飛行約12天後重返地球。巴瑞特說，她和拉利伯特同樣關切飲用水安全，並對即將在太空站所進行的諸多科學計畫倍感興奮。
But, for now, she's focused on absorbing the nuts and bolts of the Soyuz mission. "I'm learning every element of the communications systems, the life support systems, the oxygen system and the parachute system," Barrett said. "We're in class 12 hours a day, and there's homework after that." Her preparation will last through the day of the launch. "It's intensive. It's a very compressed schedule," she said, noting most professional astronauts undergo decades of training before they have a chance to fly on a mission. "The whole thing is a challenge," one she is enjoying.
但目前她的重心放在吸收聯合號太空任務的一切基礎細節。巴瑞特說：「我正在學習溝通系統、維生系統、氧氣系統和降落傘系統的每個環節，我們每天上12小時課，之後還有家庭作業。」她這項準備訓練將持續到發射那天為止。「訓練十分密集，課程排得超緊，」她說，並稱大部分專業太空人要接受數十年訓練，才有機會出一趟任務。「整件事是一大挑戰，」但她樂在其中。
The first hurdle for Barrett was to pass several batteries of physical and medical tests. Psychological testing also was involved. Emerging from the tests with a greenlight to proceed, Barrett was relieved.
巴瑞特第一個關卡是通過連串體能和醫學檢測，另外還要接受心理測驗。當檢查過關可以繼續進行訓練時，巴瑞特總算鬆了口氣。
After successful completion of the program, Barrett will be certified as a ‘fully trained cosmonaut’ and will be named to an official space mission crew. This is a distinction that less than 1,000 people have ever had.
在成功完成受訓後，巴瑞特將是檢定合格「接受完整訓練的太空人」，並將被提名為正式太空任務組員。能享有這項殊榮的不到1000人。
If she doesn't go on the September flight, it's unlikely Barrett will get another shot at space anytime soon. She said the next privately funded mission through Space Adventures isn't expected until 2012, at which time she believes her current training will be "stale." What won't become stale is her enthusiasm for international space programs. As a result of her training, she said, "I am seriously hooked on the spaceflight bug. It's an infectious process." It's her goal to spread that infection to others, especially young audiences, including Girl Scouts, as well as teachers.
如果九月不能升空，巴瑞特短期內不太可能再上太空。她表示，下次透過太空冒險公司安排的私人贊助太空任務要等2012年，屆時她相信，她目前的訓練已經「過時」，不會過時的是她對國際太空計畫的熱情。受訓結果，她說，「我已經迷上太空飛行，這是有傳染性的。」她的目標是要把這股感染力傳給別人，尤其是年輕人，包括女童軍和老師。
Photo shows Barbara Barrett attending a training session in Star City space center outside Moscow Aug. 5, 2009.
圖中（路透）巴瑞特8月5日正在莫斯科郊外的星城太空中心接受訓練。