• For the upcoming flight, SpaceX is focused on demonstrating its ability to reuse Starship.

  對於即將到來的飛行，SpaceX 的重點是展示其重複利用 Starship 的能力。

• Regulatory approval for upcoming flight depends on FAA determining that public safety was not impacted during last flight.

  即將到來的航班的監管批准取決於美國聯邦航空局確定公共安全在上次飛行期間沒有受到影響。

Elon Musk‘s rocket manufacturing company, SpaceX, is preparing to launch its Starship again, possibly as soon as June 5.

馬斯克 (Elon Musk) 的火箭製造公司 SpaceX 正準備再次發射其星際飛船，最快可能在 6 月 5 日發射。

What Happened: SpaceX has yet to receive regulatory approval for Starship’s fourth flight test. However, if approved, the Starship could launch on June 5, with the launch window opening as early as 7 a.m. CT, the company announced on Friday.

發生了什麼事：Starship 的第四次飛行測試尚未獲得監管部門的批准。然而，該公司週五宣布，如果獲得批准，星艦可能會在 6 月 5 日發射，發射窗口最早將於中部時間上午 7 點開放。

Starship is touted as the world's most powerful launch vehicle, standing 121 meters tall and weighing approximately 5,000 tonnes. It consists of two stages: the Starship spacecraft and the Super Heavy rocket.

Starship 被譽為世界上最強大的運載火箭，高 121 米，重約 5,000 噸。它由兩個等級組成：星艦飛船和超重型火箭。

For the upcoming test, the company aims to achieve a soft splashdown of the Super Heavy booster in the Gulf of Mexico and a controlled re-entry and splashdown of the Starship in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX has implemented both software and hardware upgrades to Starship since its last flight test to meet these objectives.

對於即將到來的測試，該公司的目標是實現超重型助推器在墨西哥灣的軟濺落以及星艦在印度洋的受控重返和濺落。自上次飛行測試以來，SpaceX 已對 Starship 進行了軟體和硬體升級，以實現這些目標。

“The fourth flight test turns our focus from achieving orbit to demonstrating the ability to return and reuse Starship and Super Heavy,” the company stated.

該公司表示：“第四次飛行測試將我們的重點從進入軌道轉向展示返回和再利用星艦和超重型的能力。”

The Federal Aviation Administration must determine there was no impact on public safety during the last flight test before issuing a license modification for the next flight, according to SpaceX.

SpaceX 表示，美國聯邦航空管理局必須確定上一次飛行測試對公共安全沒有影響，然後才能為下一次飛行頒發許可證修改。

Musk on Rocket Reusability: Addressing the difficulty of achieving reusability in space travel, Musk said on Saturday, “There is a reason it hasn't been solved, despite countries/companies pouring about a trillion dollars cumulatively into rocket development over 80 years.”

馬斯克談火箭可重複使用性：在解決太空旅行中實現可重複使用性的困難時，馬斯克週六表示，「儘管各國/公司在80 年來累計投入了約一萬億美元用於火箭開發，但這個問題仍未解決是有原因的。

However, SpaceX considers reusable rockets essential to its mission, seeing them as crucial for reducing the cost of space access. A rapidly reusable space launch vehicle can lower the cost of traveling to space by a hundredfold, as a significant portion of launch costs is the expense of building the rocket, the company explains.

然而，SpaceX 認為可重複使用的火箭對其任務至關重要，認為它們對於降低進入太空的成本至關重要。該公司解釋說，快速可重複使用的太空運載火箭可以將太空旅行的成本降低一百倍，因為發射成本的很大一部分是建造火箭的費用。

Why It Matters: During Starship’s previous flight test on March 14, the spacecraft lost contact and broke apart while re-entering the atmosphere instead of splashing down in the Indian Ocean as planned. The booster also lost contact before achieving a soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. The entire flight lasted about an hour.

重要性：在 3 月 14 日 Starship 進行的上一次飛行測試中，飛船在重新進入大氣層時失去了聯繫並解體，而不是按計劃墜入印度洋。助推器在墨西哥灣軟濺落之前也失去了接觸。整個飛行持續了大約一個小時。

SpaceX launched the Starship twice last year — first in April and then in November.

SpaceX 去年兩次發射了 Starship——第一次是在 4 月，第二次是在 11 月。

NASA is currently relying on the success of Starship to land humans back on the moon as part of its Artemis program. The last crewed lunar mission occurred in 1972 with Apollo 17. Since then, no crew has traveled beyond low-Earth orbit.

作為阿爾忒彌斯計畫的一部分，美國太空總署目前正在依靠星際飛船的成功將人類送回月球。最後一次載人登月任務發生在 1972 年的阿波羅 17 號任務中。