A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a European Commission Galileo satellite lifts off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Image credit: SpaceX via X)

SpaceX tied its rocket-reuse record on Saturday night (April 27).

2024 年4 月27 日星期六，搭載歐盟委員會伽利略衛星的SpaceX 獵鷹9 號火箭從佛羅裡達州的NASA 甘迺迪太空中心升空。追平了火箭重複使用記錄。

It w the 20th launch for this Falcon 9's first stage, according to a om NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida at 8:34 p.m. EDT (0034 GMT on April 28).

根據美國太空總署佛羅裡達州肯尼迪太空中心 (KSC) 的消息，這是獵鷹 9 號第一階段的第 20 次發射，時間為晚上 8 點 34 分。美國東部時間（4 月 28 日格林尼治標準時間 0034）。

It was the 20th launch for this Falcon 9's first stage, according to a SpaceX mission description. That tied a mark set earlier this month by a different Falcon 9 booster, on a launch of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites.

根據 SpaceX 的任務描述，這是獵鷹 9 號第一級的第 20 次發射。這追平了本月稍早 SpaceX 星鍊網路衛星發射時另一枚獵鷹 9 號助推器創下的紀錄。

The launch added to the Galileo constellation, Europe's equivalent of the United States' Global Positioning System (GPS). Twenty-eight Galileo satellites have launched to date, all of them atop Russian-built Soyuz rockets or Europe's Ariane 5.

這次發射增加了伽利略星座，歐洲相當於美國的全球定位系統（GPS）。迄今為止，已發射 28 顆伽利略衛星，全部搭載在俄羅斯製造的聯盟號火箭或歐洲的阿麗亞娜 5 號火箭上。

But the Ariane 5 retired last summer without a ready successor, and Europe cut most of its space ties with Russia following the latter's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. So, late last year, the European Space Agency inked a deal with SpaceX to launch up to four Galileo craft over two launches in 2024. Saturday's mission was presumably the first of those two liftoffs.

但阿麗亞娜5 號去年夏天退役，沒有現成的繼任者，而在俄羅斯於2022 年2 月入侵烏克蘭後，歐洲切斷了與俄羅斯的大部分太空聯繫。簽署了一項發射火箭的協議到 2024 年，將有兩次發射發射四架伽利略飛船。

The Galileo satellites reside in medium Earth orbit, 14,430 miles (23,222 kilometers) above our planet, which means there was no rocket stage landing tonight — a rarity these days for a SpaceX flight.

伽利略衛星位於中地球軌道上，距離地球上方 14,430 英里（23,222 公里），這意味著今晚沒有火箭級著陸——這對於 SpaceX 的飛行來說是罕見的。

"Due to the additional performance required to deliver the payload to medium Earth orbit, this mission marks the 20th and final launch for this Falcon 9 first stage booster," SpaceX wrote in the mission description.

SpaceX 在任務描述中寫道：“由於將有效載荷運送到中地球軌道所需的額外性能，這次任務標誌著獵鷹 9 號第一級助推器的第 20 次也是最後一次發射。”

The Falcon 9 stage that already has 20 launches under its belt, by contrast, landed safely after its record flight on April 12. Starlink satellites fly in low Earth orbit, so the booster had enough fuel left over to return to Earth.

相比之下，已經進行了20 次發射的獵鷹9 號火箭在4 月12 日創紀錄的飛行後安全著陸。地球。

Saturday's launch began a busy weekend for SpaceX; the company also plans to launch yet another Starlink batch on Sunday evening (April 28) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which is next door to KSC.

週六的發射開啟了 SpaceX 忙碌的周末。該公司還計劃於週日晚上（4 月 28 日）從堪薩斯太空中心隔壁的卡納維拉爾角太空部隊站發射另一批星鏈衛星。

And the weekend is part of a very busy year. SpaceX has already launched 41 orbital missions in 2024, 28 of which have been devoted to building out the Starlink megaconstellation.

週末是非常忙碌的一年的一部分。 SpaceX 已在 2024 年發射了 41 項軌道任務，其中 28 項致力於建造星鏈巨型星座。