SpaceX's Starship rocket as it rises to the skies during IFT-4. Image: SpaceX/X

SpaceX 的星艦火箭在 IFT-4 期間升入天空。圖：SpaceX/X

In a live stream on X this weekend, Elon Musk continued to share details for SpaceX's fourth Starship test flight and future missions. Starship is the world's largest rocket, and its full stack lifted off for the fourth time in Texas last week. This was the fourth Starship test flight, and it was also the most successful test to date since both the booster and the upper stage spacecraft were able to softly splashdown in the ocean. According to Musk, ahead of flight five, SpaceX will add beefier heat shield tiles on the rocket, and the next flight could take place as soon as next month.

在本週末的 X 直播中，馬斯克繼續分享 SpaceX 第四艘星艦試飛和未來任務的細節。星艦是世界上最大的火箭，其全組火箭上週在德克薩斯州第四次升空。這是星艦的第四次試飛，也是迄今為止最成功的一次測試，因為助推器和上級飛船都能夠在海洋中輕輕濺落。據馬斯克稱，在第五次飛行之前，SpaceX 將在火箭上添加更堅固的隔熱瓦，最快可能在下個月進行下一次。

SpaceX Is Adding Beefier Heat Shield Tiles On Starship Ahead Of Flight 5 Says Musk

The fourth Starship test flight was the second such launch in 2024, and it sped up the turnaround time between launches. SpaceX had to deal with the devastating impact of the first test on the launch pad last year, which resulted in a detailed regulatory process that delayed the second flight. Now, with these hurdles behind it, the firm can rapidly conduct test flights to test its technologies and gather data.

馬斯克表示，SpaceX 將在第5 次飛行之前在星艦上添加更堅固的隔熱板第四次星艦測試飛行是2024 年的第二次此類發射，它加快了發射之間的周轉時間。 SpaceX 不得不應對去年發射台上第一次測試的毀滅性影響，這導致了詳細的監管流程，導致第二次飛行延遲。現在，克服了這些障礙，該公司可以快速進行試飛來測試其技術並收集數據。

Consequently, Musk believes that the fifth Starship test flight will take place in a month. Speaking with viewers on an X livestream, the executive shared that the "next launch, Starship launch is probably in about a month." A key reason behind this long timeline is Starship's heat shield. As is the case with other spacecraft, Starship's heat shield is one of its most complex components. SpaceX uses thousands of tiles to build the heat shield. According to Musk, before the next flight SpaceX will upgrade the rocket's heat shield tiles.

因此，馬斯克相信第五次星艦試飛將在一個月內進行。這位高管在 X 直播中與觀眾交談時表示，“下一次發射，Starship 可能會在一個月左右發射。”這麼長的時間背後的關鍵原因是星艦的隔熱罩。與其他太空船一樣，星艦的隔熱罩是其最複雜的部件之一。 SpaceX 使用數千塊瓷磚來建造隔熱罩。據馬斯克透露，在下次飛行之前，SpaceX 將升級火箭的隔熱板。

One regular problem that Starship has faced throughout its testing history is the heat shield tiles falling off. These tiles come loose during flight and while the rocket is on the ground. Musk shared that SpaceX plans to add an additional layer under the tiles to keep the ship safe during re entry in case its tiles fall off.

Starship 在整個測試過程中遇到的一個常見問題是隔熱板脫落。這些瓷磚在飛行過程中和火箭在地面上時會鬆動。馬斯克透露，SpaceX 計劃在瓷磚下方添加一層額外的層，以確保飛船在重返過程中的安全，以防瓷磚脫落。

The Super Heavy as it descends to the water for its soft splashdown. Image: SpaceX/X

超級重型飛機下降到水中進行輕柔的濺落。圖：SpaceX/X

"We have to take, we're gonna replace the whole heat shield on the ship. So the new heat shield tile is about twice as strong as the ones that were on the last flight," shared Musk. "So, um, and we wanna put an. .an ablative secondary structure, like basically ablative protection behind the tiles so that if a tile cracks or come loose, it doesn't cook the rocket," he added.

「我們必須採取行動，我們將更換船上的整個隔熱板。因此，新的隔熱板瓦的強度大約是上次飛行中的隔熱板的兩倍，」馬斯克分享道。 「所以，嗯，我們想放置一個……燒蝕的二級結構，就像在瓷磚後面提供基本的燒蝕保護，這樣如果瓷磚破裂或鬆動，它就不會煮火箭，」他補充道。

The new tiles are "about twice as strong, or hopefully half as likely to crack or come off," and SpaceX tested the secondary ablative material in the fourth flight in the areas where the heat shield tiles were deliberately removed. This material is "like a silicone, felt ablative," which is not "good for reuse" but keeps the ship and its inhabitants safe in case the tiles fall off during or before reentry.

新瓷磚的強度“大約是原來的兩倍，或者說破裂或脫落的可能性是一半”，SpaceX 在第四次飛行中在故意移除隔熱板瓷磚的區域測試了二次燒蝕材料。這種材料“像矽膠一樣，感覺會燒蝕”，不“適合重複使用”，但可以保證飛船及其居民的安全，以防瓷磚在重返大氣層期間或之前脫落。

According to Musk, his plans to build a self sustaining city on Mars need to get to a point were "if the ships from Earth stop coming for any reason, that the Mars city does not die out." As for the first flight to Mars, "within three years" is a reasonable estimate.

根據馬斯克的說法，他在火星上建造一座自給自足的城市的計劃需要達到一個目標：“如果來自地球的船隻因任何原因停止到來，火星城市不會消失。”至於首次飛往火星，「三年內」是一個合理的估計。

Since Earth and Mars only align every two years, a viable option could be to "send a few ships on the first Mars rendezvous" to "confirm that they can land well, and then crank it up from there, then, you know go to I don't know twenty or thirty ships in the second rendezvous, a hundred on the third and try to get to a thousand ships going to Mars every rendezvous, every two years as quickly as possible," speculated Musk.

由於地球和火星每兩年才對齊一次，一個可行的選擇可能是“在第一次火星交會時派遣幾艘飛船”，以“確認它們可以很好地著陸，然後從那裡開始加速，然後，你知道去我不知道第二次會合時有二十艘或三十艘飛船，第三次會合時有一百艘，並試圖盡快讓每兩年一次有一千艘飛船前往火星，」馬斯克推測道。

As for the fifth flight, Musk reiterated that SpaceX plans to catch the booster with the launch tower. "I think Mechazilla's got a decent chance of catching the rocket, probably I don't know 50% chance," he said. Elaborating on the booster's return profile, he revealed that when "the booster will come back, it will have an impact point that's out to sea. So it'll have to steer itself towards the tower with the catch arms, and, uh, if anything is, if the booster detects that anything's wrong, it'll suicide itself into the ocean. If things are looking good, it'll steer over to the tower and the arms should be able to grab it."

至於第五次飛行，馬斯克重申，SpaceX 計劃用發射塔接住助推器。 「我認為 Mechazilla 有很大的機會抓住火箭，可能我不知道 50% 的機會，」他說。在詳細闡述助推器的返回輪廓時，他透露，當「助推器返回時，它將有一個出海的撞擊點。因此，它必須用捕獲臂將自己轉向塔，而且，呃，如果無論如何，如果助推器發現有什麼問題，它就會自殺到海裡，如果情況看起來不錯，它就會轉向塔，手臂應該能夠抓住它。