SpaceX conducts a fueling test with its Starship vehicle on May 28, 2024. (Image credit: SpaceX via X)

SpaceX has fueled up its Starship megarocket again, ramping up preparations for the huge vehicle's upcoming test flight.

SpaceX 於 2024 年 5 月 28 日對其 Starship 飛行器進行了加油測試。

The operation, known as a wet dress rehearsal (WDR), occurred on Tuesday (May 28) at SpaceX's Starbase site in South Texas. The company pumped huge quantities of liquid oxygen and liquid methane into Starship's first and second stages, which are known, respectively, as Super Heavy and Starship (or just "Ship" for short).

這項行動被稱為濕裝彩排 (WDR)，於週二（5 月 28 日）在德克薩斯州南部的 SpaceX Starbase 基地進行。該公司將大量液態氧和液態甲烷泵入「星際飛船」的第一級和第二級，分別稱為「超重型」和「星際飛船」（或簡稱「太空船」）。

"Starship and Super Heavy loaded with more than 10 million pounds of propellant in a rehearsal ahead of Flight 4. Launch is targeted as early as June 5, pending regulatory approval," SpaceX said today (May 29) in an X post, which also shared photos of the procedure.

SpaceX 今天（5 月29 日）在X 帖子中表示：「在4 號航班之前的彩排中，星際飛船和超重型裝載了超過1000 萬磅的推進劑。發射預計最早於6 月5 日進行，尚待監管部門批准。

It was the second WDR for this Starship vehicle, following one that occurred on May 20.

這是繼 5 月 20 日發生的一次之後，這艘 Starship 飛行器的第二次 WDR。

The tests are part of prelaunch prep for Starship's fourth-ever flight, which, as SpaceX noted in the X post, could launch as soon as June 5. (The company still needs approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration for a proposed modification to its Starship launch license, to be clear.)

這些測試是Starship 有史以來第四次飛行的發射前準備工作的一部分，正如SpaceX 在X 帖子中指出的那樣，這次飛行最早可能於6 月5 日發射。局的批准才能對其擬議的修改進行批准）需要明確的是，星艦發射許可證。

The first three Starship test flights took place in April 2023, November 2023 and March 14 of this year. The vehicle has performed better on each successive flight. Starship's two stages failed to separate on the debut mission, for example, which ended just four minutes after launch. But flight 3 lasted nearly 50 minutes, concluding when Ship broke apart during its reentry to Earth's atmosphere.

前三次星艦試飛分別於2023年4月、2023年11月及今年3月14日進行。該飛行器在每次連續飛行中都表現得更好。例如，星艦的兩個階段在首次任務中未能分離，發射後僅四分鐘就結束了。但第 3 次飛行持續了近 50 分鐘，最終太空船在重返地球大氣層時解體。

Flight 4's primary goal "is getting through max reentry heating," SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said in a May 20 X post.

SpaceX 創辦人兼執行長 Elon Musk 在 5 月 20 日的貼文中表示，Flight 4 的主要目標「是透過最大的再入加熱」。

When fully stacked, Starship stands nearly 400 feet (122 meters) tall. It's the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built, and it's designed to be fully and rapidly reusable. 

完全堆疊後，Starship 高度接近 400 英尺（122 公尺）。它是有史以來最大、最強大的火箭，其設計目的是完全、快速地可重複使用。 

SpaceX thinks Starship could transform spaceflight, making Mars settlements and other ambitious exploration feats economically feasible. NASA is a believer in the vehicle, choosing it to be the first crewed lunar lander for its Artemis moon program. 

SpaceX 認為 Starship 可以改變航太方式，使火星定居點和其他雄心勃勃的探索壯舉在經濟上變得可行。美國國家航空暨太空總署 (NASA) 非常相信這輛車，選擇它作為阿耳忒彌斯登月計畫的首個載人月球登陸器。 

Starship is currently scheduled to land NASA astronauts on the moon in late 2025 on the Artemis 3 mission, though the vehicle will need to ace quite a few test flights before people climb aboard.

Starship 目前計劃於 2025 年底將 NASA 太空人送上月球，執行阿耳忒彌斯 3 號任務，不過在人們登上月球之前，該飛行器還需要進行多次試飛。