馬斯克計劃將互聯(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)進行了“獵鷹”9火箭靜態(tài)點火測試，測試地點位于佛羅里達(dá)州卡納維拉爾角空軍基地40號航天發(fā)射復(fù)合體。這枚火箭預(yù)計最早會在周一(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)離開飛機庫，在周六九個一級引擎點火測試的計劃時間之前提前豎立在發(fā)射臺上。二級火箭預(yù)計于美國東部時間星期一晚上9:19(格林尼治標(biāo)準(zhǔn)時間周二2:19)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公司讓飛行器進行例行發(fā)射演習(xí)。這個簡單的測試被稱為靜態(tài)點火測試，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。團隊在測試時會將“獵鷹”的超冷推進劑——煤油和液態(tài)氧注入火箭，然后點燃第一級的九個“梅林1D”發(fā)動機。

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)動機在美國東部時間中午12點(格林尼治標(biāo)準(zhǔn)時間17點)的短暫發(fā)射會產(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火箭的計劃發(fā)射時間定于周一晚上。

"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在測試后立刻在推特上寫道：“靜態(tài)點火測試完成，下一步是在美國東部時間周一(1月6日)晚上9:19在佛羅里達(dá)州40號發(fā)射臺發(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)射行動會使目前的衛(wèi)星總數(shù)達(dá)到近180顆，馬斯克的“星座計劃”成為了軌道上最大的衛(wèi)星項目。