VOA科学技术2023 太空探索技术公司超重型火箭升空后爆炸

A SpaceX rocket successfully launched with the company's Starship spacecraft Thursday, but the two-part system exploded minutes later and crashed into the sea.

周四，美国太空探索技术公司的一枚火箭搭载该公司的星舰飞船成功发射，但是几分钟之后，这个由两部分组成的系统发生爆炸并坠入大海。

It was the first test flight for SpaceX's latest Super Heavy rocket, which carries a large space capsule on top, called Starship. The capsule is designed to one day carry astronauts and supplies to the moon and possibly Mars.

这是太空探索技术公司最新的超重型火箭的首次试飞，其顶部搭载了一个名为星舰的大型太空舱。该太空舱旨在有朝一日将宇航员和物资送上月球，甚至是火星。

No astronauts were on board for the test flight.

没有宇航员登舰参与这次试飞。

The liftoff happened Thursday morning at a SpaceX launch center in the southern Texas town of Boca Chica.

这次发射于周四上午在德克萨斯州南部博卡奇卡镇的太空探索技术公司发射中心进行。

SpaceX officials have described the two-part rocket ship – which stands 120 meters high – as the largest and most powerful space vehicle ever built. The vehicle is by far more powerful than any rockets built by the American space agency NASA.

太空探索技术公司官员称，这枚火箭由两部分组成，高120米，是有史以来建造的最大、最强的空间飞行器。该火箭比美国宇航局建造的任何火箭都要强大得多。

The flight plan had called for the Super Heavy to separate from Starship minutes after the launch. But instead, the rocket began to tumble and then exploded four minutes into the flight. The combined vehicle then fell into the Atlantic Ocean's Gulf¹ of Mexico. The spacecraft reached an altitude of nearly 32 kilometers before exploding.

飞行计划要求超重型火箭在发射几分钟后与星舰分离。但是与之相反，火箭开始翻滚，然后在飞行4分钟后爆炸。随后，该组合装置坠入大西洋的墨西哥湾。飞船在爆炸前达到了将近32公里的高度。

The Super Heavy rocket is designed to be reusable. But for the test flight, no landings of the rocket or spacecraft were planned.

该超重型火箭被设计成可重复使用。但是这次试飞的火箭与飞船都没有计划着陆。

Images appeared to show that several of the 33 main engines were not firing as the rocket climbed from the launch site. There was no immediate² comment from SpaceX on any engine failures.

图像显示，当火箭从发射场爬升时，33台主发动机中有几台没有启动。太空探索技术公司没有立即对发动机故障发表任何评论。

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.

太空探索技术公司曾希望在分离后，飞船能够继续飞行，并在坠入夏威夷附近的太平洋前绕地球飞行一周。

Even though the vehicle exploded soon after launching, SpaceX officials on the ground celebrated³ the fact that the rocket was able to get off the ground. The company declared the event a successful test flight.

尽管该运载火箭在发射后不久爆炸，但是太空探索技术公司的地面官员还是庆祝了火箭能够离开地面。该公司宣布这次试飞圆满成功。

John Insprucker is one of the leaders of SpaceX's engineering team. He said during a live webcast of the launch that the test flight would provide a wealth of important data as the company prepares for additional flight tests.

约翰·因斯普鲁克是太空探索技术公司工程团队的领导者之一。他在这次发射的网络直播中表示，这次试飞将在该公司准备其它飞行测试时提供大量重要数据。

Elon Musk⁴, the founder⁵ and chief executive of SpaceX, said on Twitter the next Starship test launch would be "in a few months." He tweeted: "Congrats @SpaceX team on an exciting test launch of Starship! Learned a lot for next test launch..."

太空探索技术公司创始人兼首席执行官埃隆·马斯克在推特上表示，下一次星舰试射将在几个月后举行。他在推文中表示：“祝贺太空探索技术公司团队对星舰进行了激动人心的测试发射！为下一次测试发射学到了很多东西。”

Musk, who bought Twitter last year for $44 billion, also heads electric carmaker Tesla.

马斯克去年以440亿美元收购了推特，同时他也是电动汽车制造商特斯拉的负责人。

In the weeks leading up to the flight, Musk predicted a 50-50 chance that the spacecraft would reach orbit. But he had also said he was "guaranteeing excitement" for the launch.

在试飞前的几周，马斯克预测飞船进入轨道的可能性是50%。但他也曾表示，他保证会对这次发射感到兴奋。

SpaceX's Insprucker told webcast watchers after the launch, "You never know exactly what's going to happen." He then added, "But as we promised, excitement is guaranteed and Starship gave us a rather spectacular end."

太空探索技术公司的因斯普鲁克在发射后告诉网络直播观众，“你永远不知道会发生什么。”他接着补充道：“但正如我们承诺的那样，保证会让人们兴奋，星舰给了我们一个相当壮观的结局。”

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

3 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

4 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

5 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。