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Alibaba?is Launching a Space Station for its 11.11 Shopping Festival
阿里巴巴即將為雙十一購物節(jié)發(fā)射一個空間站

Space: the final frontier… for brands and shopping?! Seems to be the way things are going.?
太空已經成為品牌和購物服務的最前沿地帶了嗎？！貌似是這樣的。

Alibaba has decided to launch its own satellite and a mini-space station to mark the Tmall and Taobao-led festival of consumerism that is 11.11, also known as “Singles’ Day”.
阿里巴巴已經決定要為天貓和淘寶發(fā)起的雙十一購物節(jié)——也稱“光棍節(jié)”——發(fā)射自己的衛(wèi)星和一個迷你空間站。

The small scale space station will be called Candy Tin and the satellite will be named Tmall International according to reports.?
據報道這個小型空間站叫作“糖果罐號”，衛(wèi)星叫作“天貓國際號”。

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China Daily?stated that, “The purpose is to enhance user experience during the 24-hour shopping extravaganza” — that, and to generate headlines and media coverage like this, we expect.

《中國日報》稱：“這一活動的目的在于提升這一24小時購物狂歡中的用戶體驗”，我們預計會產生類似的大標題和媒體報道。

CD went on to say that, “Space technology will better serve the integration of online and offline shopping interactions during the festival.”?

《中國日報》繼續(xù)闡明：“空間技術將在購物節(jié)期間更好地服務于網絡一體化和離線購物互動?！?/div>

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Offline?shopping interactions… in space?
在太空進行離線購物互動？

It’s not clear quite what Alibaba’s involvement with the development and production of this “space technology” has been exactly, but launching objects into the stratosphere seems like the natural next step after having Pharrell Williams and Luis Figo appear at a promotional gala last year.
還不清楚阿里巴巴為何研發(fā)和生產這一“空間技術”，但在去年雙十一晚會邀請過Pharrell Williams（美國說唱歌手）和Luis Figo（退役足球明星）之后，向太空發(fā)射衛(wèi)星似乎是很自然的一步。

For the uninitiated, Singles’ Day was once a delightfully cynical push back against the saccharine romanticism and pressure to couple up that pervades most areas of Chinese society.?
對別人來說，曾經“光棍節(jié)”是一個對大把撒狗糧的浪漫主義和中國社會普遍的催婚壓力進行冷嘲熱諷的反擊的愉快節(jié)日。

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In?the last decade, it’s become a more corporately cynical way to get people to fill the void in their lives by buying stuff, with first Taobao and Tmall, and now a whole host of online shopping platforms, offering an array of deals. What started out as a one day thing has also widened to take over almost an entire month, with “pre-deals” already underway on a number of sites this year.
過去的十年中它卻演變成了一個全民通過買東西填補生活空虛的方式。最初是淘寶和天貓，現在整個線上購物平臺都搞促銷活動。最初只持續(xù)一天的活動現在延長到幾乎整個月，今年許多網站已經開始“預售”。

Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall brands still pretty much “own” 11.11 though, and its they who’ll be throwing another star-studded gala on the day this year to encourage online shoppers to open their digital wallets.?
然而阿里巴巴的淘寶和天貓仍然在很大程度上“控制”著雙十一，也正是它們將要在今年的這一天再次舉辦一個眾星云集的晚會以鼓勵線上消費者打開數字錢包。

The company’s aim this year — the tenth anniversary of the sales event — will be to top the 25 billion USD they raked in through Singles’Day promotions in 2017.
該公司今年雙十一活動十周年的目標是要超越2017年“光棍節(jié)”促銷所創(chuàng)下的250億美元的銷售額。

In fact, Alibaba is not so alone in China when it comes to the matter of commercial exploration into the space.
其實，阿里巴巴并非中國唯一一個對太空進行商業(yè)探索的公司。

Quietly observing Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launch from afar were a whole host of Chinese companies.?
大批中國公司都曾靜靜地看著杰夫·貝索斯（亞馬遜CEO）的藍色起源公司發(fā)射火箭。

As the country’s private space industry expands, and the likes of Bezos and Elon Musk continue to play rockets, an increasing number of firms are jostling for the mantle of “China’s Blue Origin” or “China’s SpaceX”.
隨著中國私人太空產業(yè)的擴大以及貝索斯和伊隆·馬斯克（特斯拉CEO兼董事會主席）對持續(xù)發(fā)射火箭的熱愛，越來越多的公司爭相要創(chuàng)建“中國的藍色起源”或“中國的太空探索技術公司”。

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China’s?moves in space exploration have been dominated by the State since the launch of the country’s first manned space flight in 2003, but in recent years more independent actors have come into play.
中國探索太空的行動從2003年本國首次載人航天飛行器的發(fā)射開始就一直被國家掌控，但近些年出現了越來越多獨立行動。

Not long ago, Beijing-based OneSpace won the race to become the first private Chinese company to successfully launch a rocket, sending their OS-X to a reported altitude of 24 miles; next year, the company plans to make 10 launches.
在不太久的過去，北京的零壹空間公司勝出成為中國第一家成功發(fā)射火箭的私營公司，所發(fā)射的OS-X火箭據報道高度達到24英里。該公司計劃明年要進行10次發(fā)射。

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（翻譯：?菲菲）