After SpaceX shipped its IFT-4 booster to the launch pad and static fired a new Starship for the first time earlier this week, Elon Musk has confirmed the fourth Starship test flight's delay on X. After the previous Starship test took place in March, SpaceX was quick to give a launch date, which would have meant a rapid drop in the turnaround time for the world's largest rocket since IFT-2 flew after a considerable delay. IFT-2 was followed by the third test four months later, and a May launch would have cut this time in half.

本週早些時候，SpaceX 將其IFT-4 助推器運送到發射台並首次靜態發射了一艘新的Starship 後，埃隆·馬斯克(Elon Musk) 確認了第四次Starship 測試飛行在X上的延遲。時間將迅速縮短。 IFT-2 四個月後進行了第三次測試，如果 5 月發射的話，這次測試的時間會減少一半。

Starship IFT-4 Can Take Place In June Says Musk As SpaceX Picks Up The Pace In Starbase

Musk's comments came after he shared an image of two upper stage Starships at SpaceX's Texas facilities. While the next Starship test flight might take place in three months instead of two, for the first time since it started the integrated test flight campaign, SpaceX has now started to focus on simultaneously maintaining multiple rockets.

馬斯克表示，隨著 SpaceX 加快 Starbase 的步伐，星際飛船 IFT-4 可能會在 6 月發射 馬斯克在分享了 SpaceX 德克薩斯州設施中兩艘上層星際飛船的圖片後發表了此番言論。雖然下一次星際飛船試飛可能會在三個月內進行，而不是兩個月，但這是自開始綜合試飛活動以來的第一次，SpaceX 現在開始專注於同時維護多枚火箭。

The two ships could support SpaceX's fourth and fifth Starship tests, and allow it to gather more data about its rockets. The success of the Falcon 9 program is partly due to the hundreds of landings that have enabled SpaceX to gather copious amounts of data, and despite rapid progress with building test prototypes, SpaceX still has several key objectives it must meet in 2024 with the rocket.

這兩艘船可以支援 SpaceX 的第四次和第五次星際飛船測試，並允許其收集更多有關火箭的數據。 Falcon 9 計畫的成功部分歸功於數百次著陸，使 SpaceX 能夠收集大量數據，儘管在建造測試原型方面取得了快速進展，但 SpaceX 仍然有幾個關鍵目標必須在 2024 年透過火箭實現。

The Starship Super Heavy uses 33 rocket engines for liftoff, and during landing, the rocket has to orient itself properly or risk crashing. While the rocket exploded before stage separation during the first test flight, in IFT-2, the booster managed to jettison away from the second stage but exploded after engine reignition.

超級重型星艦使用 33 個火箭引擎進行升空，在著陸過程中，火箭必須正確定位，否則就有墜毀的風險。雖然火箭在第一次試飛期間在級分離之前爆炸，但在 IFT-2 中，助推器成功地從第二級中脫離，但在發動機重新點火後爆炸。

The Starship Super Heavy booster starts to reignite its center core Raptor engines after successful stage separation in IFT-2. Image; SpaceX/X

在 IFT-2 成功實現級分離後，星艦超重型助推器開始重新點燃其中心核心猛禽引擎。圖像; SpaceX/X

The third flight added progress in March. After stage separation, not only did the second stage Starship coast sufficiently to allow for some fireworks during atmospheric reentry, but the first stage almost looked ready to crash vertically and mimic a 'tower catch.' However, just as it reached the water, the final set of engine burns needed for a controlled landing failed to meet the landing requirement. This led to a loss of vehicle, and the focus of the rest of the test shifted to the upper stage Starship spacecraft. For IFT-2's loss of booster, SpaceX had pinned the failure on a blocked liquid oxygen filter.

三月的第三次飛行又取得了進展。級分離後，第二級星艦不僅充分滑行以允許在大氣層再入期間進行一些煙火表演，而且第一級看起來幾乎準備好垂直墜毀並模仿“塔式捕獲”。然而，就在它到達水面時，受控著陸所需的最後一組發動機燃燒未能滿足著陸要求。這導致了飛行器的損失，其餘測試的重點轉移到了上級星艦飛船上。對於 IFT-2 失去助推器的問題，SpaceX 將故障歸咎於液態氧過濾器阻塞。

Yet, while the booster was lost in IFT-3, the ship stole the show later during the day. Visuals of its atmospheric reentry awed viewers, and perhaps tellingly, Musk's latest Starship tweet also shows the second stage ship with its heat shield on display.

然而，雖然助推器在 IFT-3 中丟失，但這艘船在當天晚些時候搶盡了風頭。它重返大氣層的視覺效果讓觀眾驚嘆不已，也許很能說明問題的是，馬斯克最新的星艦推文也展示了帶有隔熱罩的第二級飛船。

Heat shields rank high in complexity among the thousands of components engineers design and manufacture as part of building a rocket. SpaceX manufactures heat shield tiles and then assembles them onto the ship. Musk went on to add that when Starship IFT-4 flies next month, SpaceX will try to get the ship past the point of "max heating."

作為建造火​​箭的一部分，工程師設計和製造了數千個組件，隔熱罩的複雜性名列前茅。 SpaceX 生產隔熱板，然後將它們組裝到船上。馬斯克接著補充說，當星艦 IFT-4 下個月首飛時，SpaceX 將嘗試讓太空船突破「最大加熱點」。

Apart from the two Starships, the third rocket in the picture might fly soon as well. This is because its inter-stage stage separation ring is also visible. SpaceX upgrades its Starship rockets on the go, allowing rockets for flights down the road to feature improvements not present in the ones partaking in the current test flight.

除了兩艘星艦之外，圖中的第三艘火箭也可能很快就會升空。這是因為它的級間級分離環也是可見的。 SpaceX 隨時升級其 Starship 火箭，使後續飛行的火箭能夠實現目前試飛火箭所沒有的改進。

A test flight in June would also mean that SpaceX tests the full Starship stack twice during the first half of a year for the first time. Apart from the ship's performance, the booster should also provide great visuals, particularly during the landing phase of the test.

6 月的試飛也意味著 SpaceX 首次在上半年對整個 Starship 堆疊進行了兩次測試。除了船舶的性能之外，助推器還應該提供出色的視覺效果，特別是在測試的著陸階段。