A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with the German military's SARah-2 mission launches from Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force base on Sunday, Dec. 24, 2023. (Image credit: SpaceX (via X))

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off with two radar reconnaissance satellites for the German military on Sunday morning (Dec. 24).

2023 年12 月24 日星期日，搭載德國軍方SARah-2 任務的SpaceX 獵鷹9 號火箭從范登堡太空部隊基地的Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) 發射升空。（圖片來源：SpaceX（via X））週日上午（12 月 24 日），獵鷹 9 號火箭搭載兩顆德國軍方雷達偵察衛星升空。

The Falcon 9 rocket launched the SARah-2 mission to low Earth orbit (LEO) from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base at 8:11 a.m. EST (1311 GMT; 5:11 a.m. local California time). The flight had originally been slated for Saturday (Dec. 23) but was pushed back a day to allow for additional preflight checks.

美國東部時間上午8 點11 分（格林尼治標準時間1311；加州當地時間凌晨5 點11 分），獵鷹9 號火箭從加州范登堡太空部隊基地向近地軌道(LEO) 發射了SARah- 2 任務。該航班原定於週六（12 月 23 日）起飛，但被推遲一天以進行額外的飛行前檢查。

The SARah-2 mission sent two synthetic aperture radar (the "SAR" in "SARah-2") reconnaissance satellites aloft for the German military.

SARah-2 任務向德國軍方發射了兩顆合成孔徑雷達（「SARah-2」中的「SAR」）偵察衛星。

"The satellites will continue the replacement process of the aging SAR-Lupe constellation," EverydayAstronaut.com wrote in a mission description. 

EverydayAstronaut.com 在任務描述中寫道：“這些衛星將繼續替換老化的 SAR-Lupe 星座。”

"SARah 2 and SARah 3 are two 'reflector antenna' satellites, meaning they will consequently fly in formation with SARah 1 to increase the resolution of the constellation," the outlet added.

該媒體補充說：“SARah 2 和 SARah 3 是兩顆‘反射天線’衛星，這意味著它們將與 SARah 1 編隊飛行，以提高星座的分辨率。”

SARah-2 was the eighth liftoff for this particular Falcon 9's first stage, according to SpaceX. The booster came back for its eighth landing as well, touching down at Vandenberg about eight minutes after launch.

據 SpaceX 稱，SARah-2 是獵鷹 9 號第一級的第八次升空。助推器也返回進行第八次著陸，在發射後約八分鐘降落在范登堡。

SARah 2 and SARah 3, meanwhile, were set to deploy into LEO from the Falcon 9's upper stage about 20 minutes and 25 minutes after liftoff, respectively.

同時，SARah 2 和 SARah 3 計畫分別在升空後約 20 分鐘和 25 分鐘從獵鷹 9 號的上級部署到近地軌道。

Sunday's launch continued a very busy 2023 for SpaceX. The company has launched 94 orbital missions so far this year, as well as two test flights of its giant Starship rocket that didn't make it to orbit.

週日的發射繼續了 SpaceX 非常忙碌的 2023 年。今年到目前為止，該公司已發射了 94 次軌道任務，以及兩次未能進入軌道的巨型星艦火箭試飛。

And there will be more SpaceX action before the calendar turns. For example, the company's powerful Falcon Heavy rocket is scheduled to launch the U.S. Space Force's X-37B space plane to orbit on Dec. 28.

在日曆轉動之前，SpaceX 還將採取更多行動。例如，該公司強大的獵鷹重型火箭計劃於 12 月 28 日將美國太空軍的 X-37B 太空飛機送入軌道。