With 2023 about to come to an end, SpaceX's self-set goal of becoming the first company in the world to launch 100 rocket missions in a calendar year has become trickier. The firm's Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida late night yesterday. It marked SpaceX's 89th operational and non-operational launch for 2023, leaving the firm with four weeks and two days to launch 11 more missions and complete a century. SpaceX's chief Elon Musk had shared the goal of launching its rockets 100 times in 2023 earlier this year, and the count also includes Starship launches.

隨著 2023 年即將結束，SpaceX 自己設定的成為全球第一家在一年內發射 100 次火箭任務的公司的目標變得更加棘手。該公司的獵鷹 9 號火箭昨天深夜從佛羅裡達州卡納維爾角太空部隊站升空。這標誌著 SpaceX 在 2023 年進行了第 89 次營運和非營運發射，該公司還有四週零兩天的時間再發射 11 次任務，完成一個世紀的任務。今年早些時候，SpaceX 執行長 Elon Musk 曾分享在 2023 年發射 100 次火箭的目標，其中還包括 Starship 發射。

SpaceX Launches And Lands Rocket 17 Times For Starlink Launch

The Falcon 9 that took off from Florida yesterday became the third rocket in SpaceX's fleet and the world to launch and land 17 successful times. SpaceX has gradually increased the number of times that it can reuse the Falcon 9 and, over the course of its life, also introduced a variety of key upgrades to the rocket.

SpaceX 為星鏈發射發射並著陸火箭 17 次 昨天從佛羅裡達州起飛的獵鷹 9 號成為 SpaceX 機隊和全球第三枚成功發射和著陸 17 次的火箭。 SpaceX 逐漸增加了獵鷹 9 號的重複使用次數，並在其生命週期中對火箭進行了各種關鍵升級。

While the Falcon 9 first stage is rapidly reusable, it was initially designed to launch NASA missions to the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS is located in low Earth orbit (LEO), and these parameters limit the Falcon 9's ability to launch payloads to what are dubbed in the industry and academia as 'high energy' orbits. These orbits are higher in altitude, requiring the Falcon 9 to travel farther than most missions to ensure that the second stage has enough juice to reach them.

雖然獵鷹 9 號第一級可快速重複使用，但它最初是設計用於向國際太空站 (ISS) 發射 NASA 任務。國際太空站位於近地軌道 (LEO)，這些參數限制了獵鷹 9 號將有效載荷發射到產業和學術界所謂的「高能量」軌道的能力。這些軌道的高度較高，要求獵鷹 9 號的飛行距離比大多數任務更遠，以確保第二級有足夠的能量到達這些軌道。

Several of SpaceX's Falcon 9 upgrades have focused on expanding its use to these orbits. For instance, one change that SpaceX has made over the years is a new coating on the second stage to regulate its fuel temperature. Other upgrades have focused on the second stage's tanks and ignition fluids to increase the distance at which it can travel.

SpaceX 的獵鷹 9 號升級項目的重點是擴大其在這些軌道上的用途。例如，SpaceX 多年來所做的一項改變是在第二級上採用了新塗層來調節燃料溫度。其他升級主要集中在第二級的油箱和點火液上，以增加其行駛距離。

To date, the Falcon 9 has flown 83 times this year. Along with it, SpaceX has also stepped up the pace with the Falcon Heavy, as its largest operational rocket has flown four times this year, bringing up the successful launch tally to 87. At the same time, SpaceX has also launched Starship twice from its facilities in Boca Chica, Texas, increasing the 2023 launch count to 89.

迄今為止，獵鷹 9 號今年已飛行 83 次。同時，SpaceX 也加快了獵鷹重型火箭的步伐，其最大的營運火箭今年已發射四次，使成功發射次數達到 87 次。同時，SpaceX 還兩次發射了星際飛船 (Starship)。德克薩斯州博卡奇卡的設施，將2023 年的發射數量增加到89 個。

This leaves 11 rocket launches remaining before 2023 ends, making it unlikely that SpaceX will meet Musk's goal of launching 100 rockets in a year. However, 87 successful launches are no small feat since it is still the highest number for any private company or a government organization. To understand the scale of SpaceX's operations, the firm ended up beating China when it came to operational rocket launches in Q3.

這使得 2023 年底前還剩下 11 次火箭發射，這使得 SpaceX 不太可能實現馬斯克一年內發射 100 枚火箭的目標。然而，87 次成功發射並非易事，因為它仍然是私人公司或政府組織中發射次數最多的。為了了解 SpaceX 的營運規模，該公司最終在第三季的火箭發射次數方面擊敗了中國。

However, as 2024 beckons, the rocket industry is bracing itself for a new era. New rockets from the United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin are nearing their final stages, and ULA's Vulcan is slated to fly its first mission with new engines from Blue Origin in December. These rockets are larger and more powerful than the Falcon 9, with the Vulcan's Centaur upper stage designed to cover more high-energy orbits. SpaceX's Starship though is still the most powerful rocket, and once it becomes operational, the launch services industry will have to deal with a rocket that might not need stage separation at all for some missions.a

然而，隨著 2024 年的到來，火箭業正在準備迎接一個新時代。聯合發射聯盟和藍色起源的新型火箭已接近最後階段，ULA 的火神號計劃於 12 月使用藍色起源的新發動機執行首次任務。這些火箭比獵鷹 9 號更大、更強大，火神半人馬座上級設計用於覆蓋更多高能量軌道。不過，SpaceX 的 Starship 仍然是最強大的火箭，一旦投入運營，發射服務業將不得不處理可能根本不需要級分離來執行某些任務的火箭。