Liftoff occurred at 6:40 p.m. ET today (April 18).

升空發生在下午 6 點 40 分。美國東部時間今日（4 月 18 日）。

SpaceX launched its 40th mission of the year this evening (April 18).

今晚（4 月 18 日），SpaceX 發射了今年的第 40 次任務。

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 of the company's Starlink internet satellites lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida today at 6:40 p.m. EDT (2240 GMT).

今天下午 6:40，一枚搭載 23 顆該公司 Starlink 網路衛星的獵鷹 9 號火箭從佛羅裡達州卡納維爾角太空部隊站升空。美國東部時間（2240 GMT）。

The Falcon 9's first stage came back to Earth about 8.5 minutes after launch as planned, making a vertical landing on the SpaceX droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

獵鷹 9 號的第一級按計劃在發射後約 8.5 分鐘返回地球，並垂直降落在駐紮在大西洋的 SpaceX 無人機飛船 A Shortfall of Gravitas 上。

It was the seventh launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description. Two of the rocket's previous six flights sent astronauts to the International Space Station — the private Ax-2 and Ax-3 missions, which launched in May 2023 and January of this year, respectively. 

根據 SpaceX 的任務描述，這是該特殊助推器的第七次發射和著陸。火箭之前的六次飛行中有兩次將太空人送往國際太空站——私人 Ax-2 和 Ax-3 任務，分別於 2023 年 5 月和今年 1 月發射。

The Falcon 9's upper stage, meanwhile, will continue hauling the 23 Starlink satellites toward low Earth orbit this evening, ultimately deploying them there about 65 minutes after liftoff.

同時，今晚獵鷹 9 號的上級將繼續將 23 顆星鏈衛星拖向近地軌道，最終在升空後約 65 分鐘將它們部署到那裡。

Twenty-seven of the 40 orbital missions that SpaceX has launched so far in 2024 have been devoted to building out the Starlink megaconstellation. That network is already huge: It currently consists of more than 5,760 operational satellites, according to astrophysicist and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell.

迄今為止，SpaceX 在 2024 年發射的 40 次軌道任務中有 27 次致力於建造星鏈巨型星座。該網路已經非常龐大：據天文物理學家兼衛星追蹤器喬納森·麥克道爾 (Jonathan McDowell) 稱，該網路目前由超過 5,760 顆運行衛星組成。

The 40-launch tally does not include the March 14 liftoff of SpaceX's Starship megarocket, which the company is developing to take people and cargo to the moon, Mars and beyond. Starship reached orbital velocity during that mission, which was the vehicle's third test flight overall. 

40 次發射的統計數據不包括 3 月 14 日發射的 SpaceX 星艦巨型火箭，該公司正在開發該火箭，旨在將人員和貨物送往月球、火星及更遠的地方。星艦在那次任務中達到了軌道速度，這是該飛行器的第三次試飛。

Editor's note: This story was updated at 7:26 pm ET on April 18 with news of successful launch and rocket landing.

編者註：本文於美國東部時間 4 月 18 日晚上 7:26 更新，發布了成功發射和火箭著陸的消息。