SpaceX conducts a fueling test with its Starship vehicle on May 28, 2024. The company received an FAA launch license for a June 6 test flight. (Image credit: SpaceX via X)

SpaceX's next Starship megarocket officially has a license to fly. 

2024 年 5 月 28 日，SpaceX 對其 Starship 飛行器進行了加油測試。 （圖片來源：SpaceX via X）SpaceX 的下一個 Starship 巨型火箭正式獲得飛行許可證。 

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Tuesday (June 4) issued a launch license to SpaceX for its Starship Flight 4 test mission, which is currently scheduled to lift off no earlier than Thursday, June 6, from the company's Starbase facility near Boca Chica Beach in South Texas. 

美國聯邦航空管理局(FAA) 週二（6 月4 日）向SpaceX 頒發了星際飛船4 號測試任務的發射許可證，該任務目前計劃不早於6 月6 日星期四從該公司位於博卡奇卡附近的Starbase 設施升空德州南部的海灘。 

"The FAA has approved a license authorization for SpaceX Starship Flight 4," FAA officials wrote in a statement. "SpaceX met all safety and other licensing requirements for this test flight."

FAA 官員在一份聲明中寫道：“FAA 已批准 SpaceX Starship Flight 4 的許可授權。” “SpaceX 滿足了本次試飛的所有安全和其他許可要求。”

As its name suggests, SpaceX's Starship Flight 4 mission is the fourth test flight of the company's Starship and Super Heavy launch vehicle. When fully assembled, they stand nearly 400 feet tall and are the world's largest and most powerful rocket. SpaceX has designed Starship as a fully reusable ultra-heavy lift launch system for missions to the moon, Mars and beyond. NASA's Artemis program, for one, has selected Starship as the lander to carry Artemis 3 astronauts to the south pole of the moon in 2026.

顧名思義，SpaceX 的 Starship Flight 4 任務是該公司 Starship 和 Super Heavy 運載火箭的第四次試飛。完全組裝後，它們高近 400 英尺，是世界上最大、最強大的火箭。 SpaceX 將 Starship 設計為完全可重複使用的超重型升空發射系統，用於執行月球、火星及其他地方的任務。例如，美國太空總署的阿爾忒彌斯計劃選擇 Starship 作為登陸器，於 2026 年將阿爾忒彌斯 3 號太空人運送到月球南極。

But before Starship can fly to the moon, SpaceX has to prove the shiny, stainless steel rocket can reach orbit. 

但在 Starship 飛向月球之前，SpaceX 必須證明閃亮的不鏽鋼火箭能夠到達軌道。 

The company has flown three test flights to date: A failed debut in April 2023 that destroyed SpaceX's launch pad as well as the rocket; a second flight in November of that year that also failed to reach space; and the latest Starship Flight 3 launch on March 18 of this year, which reached space for the first time before the vehicle and its Super Heavy booster were lost prior to reaching their final splashdown targets.

迄今為止，該公司已進行了三次試飛：2023 年 4 月的首次試飛失敗，摧毀了 SpaceX 的發射台和火箭；同年 11 月的第二次飛行也未能抵達太空；今年 3 月 18 日最新的 Starship Flight 3 發射，在飛行器及其超重型助推器在達到最終濺落目標之前丟失之前首次進入太空。

After each Starship launch test, the FAA conducted time-consuming failure investigations and made recommendations that SpaceX had to address before each subsequent launch attempt. For Starship Flight 4, SpaceX and the FAA have agreed on a different approach. 

每次 Starship 發射測試後，FAA 都會進行耗時的故障調查，並提出 SpaceX 在每次後續發射嘗試之前必須解決的建議。對於 Starship Flight 4，SpaceX 和 FAA 已就不同的方法達成協議。 

"As part of its request for license modification, SpaceX proposed three scenarios involving the Starship entry that would not require an investigation in the event of the loss of the vehicle. The FAA approved the scenarios as test induced damage exceptions after evaluating them as part of the flight safety and flight hazard analyses and confirming they met public safety requirements," FAA officials said in the statement. "If a different anomaly occurs with the Starship vehicle an investigation may be warranted as well as if an anomaly occurs with the Super Heavy booster rocket."

「作為許可證修改請求的一部分，SpaceX 提出了三種涉及星艦進入的場景，在車輛遺失的情況下不需要進行調查。美國聯邦航空管理局(FAA) 在對這些場景進行評估後，將其批准為測試引起的損壞例外情況。 “如果星艦飛行器出現不同的異常情況，以及超重型助推火箭出現異常情況，則可能需要進行調查。”

That agreement suggests SpaceX has identified three likely ways in which its Starship or Super Heavy could fail (such as loss during reentry) that the company and FAA agreed wouldn't need a lengthy investigation. The three scenarios did not appear to be detailed in the FAA's 6-page launch license.

該協議表明 SpaceX 已經確定了其 Starship 或 Super Heavy 可能發生故障的三種可能方式（例如再入過程中的損失），該公司和 FAA 同意不需要進行長時間的調查。美國聯邦航空管理局 (FAA) 長達 6 頁的啟動許可證似乎並未詳細說明這三種情況。

For Flight 4, SpaceX aims to fly its Starship and Super Heavy booster on a similar trajectory as its Flight 3 test, a mission that would launch the Starship vehicle up to orbital velocity, then reenter the craft over the Indian Ocean. The Super Heavy booster, meanwhile, is expected to return toward South Texas and make a controlled "landing" in the Gulf of Mexico.

對於 Flight 4，SpaceX 的目標是按照與 Flight 3 測試類似的軌跡飛行其 Starship 和超重型助推器，該任務將把 Starship 飛行器發射到軌道速度，然後在印度洋上空重新進入飛行器。同時，超重型助推器預計將返回德克薩斯州南部，並在墨西哥灣進行受控「著陸」。

"The fourth flight test turns our focus from achieving orbit to demonstrating the ability to return and reuse Starship and Super Heavy," SpaceX wrote in a mission overview." The primary objectives will be executing a landing burn and soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico with the Super Heavy booster, and achieving a controlled entry of Starship."

SpaceX 在任務概述中寫道：「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重複使用星艦和超重型的能力。」主要目標將是在墨西哥灣執行著陸燃燒和軟濺落借助超重型助推器，實現星艦的受控進入。

In recent weeks, SpaceX has performed a series of fueling tests for both the Flight 4 Starship and its Super Heavy booster. Both vehicles apparently passed with flying colors. 

最近幾週，SpaceX 為 Flight 4 Starship 及其超重型助推器進行了一系列加油測試。兩輛車顯然都出色地通過了測試。 

"Starship is ready to fly," SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday (June 3). 

SpaceX 執行長 Elon Musk 週一（6 月 3 日）在 X（前身為 Twitter）上寫道：“星艦已準備好起飛。”