But it will provide no other details for fear of tipping off rivals, of whom there are several.
但由于擔心向對手(對手有幾家)泄密,公司并未提供其他細節。
(Though one potential competitor, Facebook, closed its own high altitude-solar-powered-drone operation earlier this year
(雖然今年早些時候,一家潛在競爭者—Facebook關閉了自己的高海拔太陽能無人機項目
with a view to using drones built by others to provide internet access in remote regions.)
Facebook是為了利用其他公司出產的無人機在一些偏遠地區提供互聯網。)
At the opening of the Farnborough factory, in July,
7月,在法恩伯勒工廠開幕時,
the wings of the three Zephyrs then on the production line were carefully covered, in order to avoid prying eyes.
三架當時在產Zephyrs的機翼被小心地遮蓋住,以防偷窺。
Rather than selling the craft outright, Airbus plans to use them to conduct particular jobs for particular customers,
空中客車公司并不打算直接銷售這批航天器,他們計劃使用這些航天器為特定顧客執行特定工作,
says Nigel Chandler, head of sales for the operation.
該項目銷售負責人奈杰爾·錢德勒說到。
A craft thus leased out might engage in Earth-observation tasks such as maritime surveillance or detecting forest fires—
租賃出去的航天器或許會參與地球觀測任務,比如海事監控或探測森林火災—
or it might, by travelling in small circles, act as an internet node or as a platform for mobile telephony.
或是在小范圍內巡查,充當移動通訊的互聯網節點或平臺。

Moreover it could, if required, be moved around in mid mission, for example to act as an observation platform for a disaster area.
此外,如有需要,還可以在任務中端來回移動,例如,充當災區的一個觀察臺。
That would both be much simpler than repositioning a satellite and cheaper to operate.
相比重置衛星來說,這種無人機操作要簡單的多,運行成本也更低。
Airbus will run its Zephyr service from a base at Wyndham, Western Australia, that will open later this year.
空中客車公司將在西澳大利亞州溫德姆的一個基地操作其Zephyr服務,將于今年年底開業。
This is surrounded by a large area of unrestricted airspace and has reliable weather for landings and take-offs
該地四周被一大片無限制空域環繞,著陸和起飛天氣也很適宜
(like landings, these also involve people giving the craft a helping hand).
(比如著陸,這里還有人給航天器搭把手)。
Depending on conditions, a Zephyr on the move can travel between 1,000km and 2,000km a day,
根據天氣狀況而定,一架飛行中的Zephyr一天的飛行路程為1000千米到2000千米,
so in principle only this one base is needed to serve the world.
因此從原則上來講,只需要用這一個基地就能為世界客戶服務。
Airbus will, though, offer a portable ground-station and launching services in other parts of the world,
但為了那些不愿在澳大利亞等待無人機降落的當地客戶,
for those customers who do not wish to wait for a craft to arrive under its own (or, rather, the sun's) power from Australia.
空中客車公司將在世界其他地方建立一個便攜式地面接收站并提供發射服務。
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