VOA科学技术2023 SpaceX重型火箭测试给发射台造成巨大损坏（在线收听）

Last week's flight test of SpaceX's Starship spacecraft caused major damage to the launch structure in the state of Texas.

上周SpaceX星舰飞船的飞行测试对德克萨斯州的发射机构造成了严重损坏。

The day after the test, SpaceX chief Elon Musk said on Twitter the damage to the launch area was greater than expected.

测试后的第二天，SpaceX公司首席执行官马斯克在推特上表示，发射区所遭受的破坏高于预期。

Musk explained that the company had started work three months before on a large water-cooled steel plate to be placed underneath the concrete launch pad. The structure is meant to protect the concrete pad, the rocket's support structure, from being damaged from the heat and force of the rocket's engines.

马斯克解释说，该公司在3个月前就着手准备在混凝土发射台下方铺设一块巨大的水冷钢板。该结构旨在保护混凝土底座，也就是火箭的支撑机构，使其免遭火箭发动机热量和动力的损坏。

But Musk added that the steel plate would not have been ready before the launch date on April 20. He said SpaceX "wrongly thought" the concrete launch pad would survive the liftoff because it had survived an earlier test.

但是马斯克补充说，在4月20日发射日期之前，钢板并没有到位。他说，SpaceX公司错误地认为混凝土发射台能够顶住此次发射，因为它在早些时候的测试中完好无损。

He suggested that the steel plate could be ready for a new launch attempt "in 1 to 2 months." But it is currently not clear when the next Starship test will be approved. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said it will have to carry out an investigation of the launch site damage before it can approve a new test.

他表示，这块钢板可以为一到两个月内的下次发射尝试做好准备。但是目前尚不清楚下次星舰测试何时会获得批准。美国联邦航空管理局表示，在批准新的测试之前，必须对发射场地的损坏进行调查。

Pictures published on social media have shown large pieces of concrete being pushed deeply into the ground. Video of the launch showed pieces of debris being thrown up to 420 meters away. The launch also reportedly created several large craters around the area.

社交媒体上发布的图片显示，大块混凝土被深深地推入地下。发射视频显示，碎片被抛到420米开外。据报道，这次发射还在周边地区形成了几个大坑。

The test involved SpaceX's Super Heavy rocket, which carries the Starship capsule on top. The capsule is designed to carry astronauts and supplies to the moon and possibly to Mars. The Super Heavy rocket is powered by 33 engines and is by far more powerful than any rockets built by the American space agency NASA.

此次测试涉及到SpaceX公司的超重型火箭，其顶部携带了星际太空舱。该太空舱的设计目的是将宇航员和物资运送到月球，甚至可能运送到火星。这款超重型火箭由33个发动机提供动力，其推力远远超过了美国宇航局制造的任何火箭。

The two-part rocket ship successfully launched from the SpaceX launch center, called Starbase, in Boca Chica, Texas. But it exploded minutes later and crashed into the sea.

这艘由两部分结构组成的火箭飞船从位于德克萨斯州博卡奇卡的SpaceX发射中心成功发射。但是火箭发生了爆炸，并坠入大海。

SpaceX had hoped that, after separating, the spacecraft would continue flying and attempt to circle the world before crashing into the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii. But even with the explosion, the company has described the flight test as a success because the huge rocket was able to get off the ground.

SpaceX公司曾希望在火箭分离后，飞船能够继续飞行，并在坠入夏威夷附近的太平洋之前，尝试绕地球一圈。但是即使发生了爆炸，该公司也称此次飞行测试获得成功，因为这枚巨大的火箭能够离开地面。

Other launch sites in the United States use long diverters in the ground to guide fire away from the rockets. The diverters are designed to limit damage from launches. The launch area that SpaceX uses at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida has diverters.

美国的其它发射场利用地面上长长的导流槽来引导火焰远离火箭。导流槽的设计目的是限制发射造成的损坏。SpaceX公司在美国宇航局佛罗里达州肯尼迪航天中心使用的发射区就有导流槽。

Without diverters, debris thrown into the air during liftoff could strike the rocket itself and nearby areas, engineers say.

工程师表示，如果没有导流槽，发射过程中抛向空中的碎片可能会撞击火箭本身以及附近地区。

Phil Metzger is a planetary scientist at the University of Central Florida who has studied the effects of rocket launches and landings. He said on Twitter, "Launch & landing pads are touchy. Any little thing that goes wrong can cause a zipper effect that creates a giant problem."

菲尔·梅茨格是佛罗里达大学的行星科学家，他研究了火箭发射和着陆的影响。他在推特上说：“发射台和着陆台很敏感。任何一个小问题都可能导致拉链效应，从而造成巨大的问题。”

Metzger said such difficulties can result because the energy used to push the rocket into space needs to be absorbed on the ground.

梅茨格说，之所以会出现这样的困难，是因为用于将火箭推入太空的能量需要地面吸收。

Observers say the incident demonstrates a certain rocket development culture at SpaceX. That culture favors more tests and failures of new vehicles to provide data to improve future designs.

观察人士表示，这一事件表明了SpaceX公司的某种火箭开发文化。这种文化倾向于对新设备进行更多的测试和故障收集，以提供数据用于改进未来的测试。

Tom Marotta advises other space companies on launch rules. He told Reuters news agency the FAA oversees launch safety and carries out technical investigations into rocket failures. He said the agency will need to approve changes to Starship's launch area before any new launch attempts.

汤姆·马洛塔为其它航天公司提供发射规则方面的建议。他对路透社表示，美国联邦航空管理局负责监督发射安全，并对火箭故障进行技术调查。他说，该机构需要在任何新发射尝试之前批准对星舰发射区进行改进。

Marotta added that "the bigger challenge" for SpaceX will be getting the FAA to examine its steel plate in order to approve another launch test in the coming months.

马洛塔还说，SpaceX公司面临的更大挑战将是让美国联邦航空管理局检查其钢板，以便批准未来几个月内的另一次发射测试。

The FAA has confirmed that no injuries resulted from the launch test, the French news agency AFP reported. But it has also said that no new tests will be approved if there is a threat to public safety.

据法新社报道，美国联邦航空管理局证实这次发射测试没有造成人员受伤。但是它也表示，如果公共安全受到威胁，它将不会批准新的测试。

Olivier de Weck is a professor of astronautics and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He told AFP he agrees with SpaceX that the test was "more a success than a failure."

奥利维尔·德韦克是麻省理工学院的航天与工程教授。他同意SpaceX公司的说法，即这次测试“成功大于失败”。

He said the reason the company has made such great progress in recent years "is because they are willing to take risks and break things." De Weck added, "But they learn from it, and improve very, very quickly."

他说，该公司近年来之所以取得如此大的进步，“是因为他们愿意冒险并打破现状”。德韦克补充道，“但他们从中吸取了教训，并迅速改进。”