馬斯克計(jì)劃將互聯(lián)網(wǎng)衛(wèi)星總數(shù)超40,000顆

SpaceX on Saturday fired up the rocket that will ferry the company's next batch of Starlink satellites into space.

周六SpaceX公司發(fā)射的火箭將把該公司的下一批互聯(lián)網(wǎng)衛(wèi)星送入太空。

The company conducted a static-fire test on Saturday (Jan. 4) of a Falcon 9 rocket at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the company said on Twitter. That rocket is expected to send 60 Starlink internet satellites into space no earlier than Monday (Jan. 6), marking the first launch of the year from Florida's Space Coast.

該公司在推特上說，周六(1月4日)進(jìn)行了“獵鷹”9火箭靜態(tài)點(diǎn)火測(cè)試，測(cè)試地點(diǎn)位于佛羅里達(dá)州卡納維拉爾角空軍基地40號(hào)航天發(fā)射復(fù)合體。這枚火箭預(yù)計(jì)最早會(huì)在周一(1月6日)將60顆互聯(lián)網(wǎng)衛(wèi)星送入太空，在佛羅里達(dá)州的太空海岸進(jìn)行本年度第一次發(fā)射。

The Falcon 9 rocket out of its hangar on Friday (Jan. 3) and went vertical on the launch pad in advance of the planned test-firing of its nine first stage engines on Saturday. The two-stage rocket is scheduled for liftoff Monday at 9:19 p.m. EST (0219 GMT Tuesday).

“獵鷹”9火箭周五(1月3日)離開飛機(jī)庫，在周六九個(gè)一級(jí)引擎點(diǎn)火測(cè)試的計(jì)劃時(shí)間之前提前豎立在發(fā)射臺(tái)上。二級(jí)火箭預(yù)計(jì)于美國(guó)東部時(shí)間星期一晚上9:19(格林尼治標(biāo)準(zhǔn)時(shí)間周二2:19)升空。

But before it can launch, SpaceX put the vehicle through a routine launch rehearsal. The brief test, known as a static-fire test, is a standard part of prelaunch procedures and one of the last major milestones before liftoff. During the test, teams loaded the Falcon’s super-chilled propellants — kerosene and liquid oxygen — into the rocket before igniting the first stage’s nine Merlin 1D engines.

但發(fā)射之前，SpaceX公司讓飛行器進(jìn)行例行發(fā)射演習(xí)。這個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的測(cè)試被稱為靜態(tài)點(diǎn)火測(cè)試，是發(fā)射前的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)程序，也是升空前最后階段的關(guān)鍵部分。團(tuán)隊(duì)在測(cè)試時(shí)會(huì)將“獵鷹”的超冷推進(jìn)劑——煤油和液態(tài)氧注入火箭，然后點(diǎn)燃第一級(jí)的九個(gè)“梅林1D”發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)。

The engines briefly fired at 12 p.m. EST (1700 GMT), generating more than 1 million pounds of thrust while the booster remained firmly on the ground. Engineers reviewed the data before deciding to proceed with the Falcon 9’s planned launch attempt Monday evening.

這些發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)在美國(guó)東部時(shí)間中午12點(diǎn)(格林尼治標(biāo)準(zhǔn)時(shí)間17點(diǎn))的短暫發(fā)射會(huì)產(chǎn)生超過100萬磅的推力，而助推器則穩(wěn)穩(wěn)地留在地面上。工程師檢查了數(shù)據(jù)，然后決定將“獵鷹”9火箭的計(jì)劃發(fā)射時(shí)間定于周一晚上。

"Static fire complete — targeting Monday, January 6 at 9:19 p.m. EST for launch of 60 Starlink satellites from Pad 40 in Florida," SpaceX wrote on Twitter shortly after the test.

SpaceX在測(cè)試后立刻在推特上寫道：“靜態(tài)點(diǎn)火測(cè)試完成，下一步是在美國(guó)東部時(shí)間周一(1月6日)晚上9:19在佛羅里達(dá)州40號(hào)發(fā)射臺(tái)發(fā)射60顆互聯(lián)網(wǎng)衛(wèi)星。”

The company launched its first group of 60 in May of last year, followed by an additional 60 in November, and plans for its burgeoning constellation to eventually be more than 40,000 satellites strong. Monday’s launch will bring the current number of satellites up to nearly 180, making Musk’s constellation the largest in orbit.

去年五月份該公司發(fā)射了第一批60顆衛(wèi)星，接著又在11月份發(fā)射了60顆，計(jì)劃使新興衛(wèi)星互聯(lián)網(wǎng)星座的衛(wèi)星總數(shù)最終超過40,000顆。周一的發(fā)射行動(dòng)會(huì)使目前的衛(wèi)星總數(shù)達(dá)到近180顆，馬斯克的“星座計(jì)劃”成為了軌道上最大的衛(wèi)星項(xiàng)目。