Preparations are underway for a third attempted launch of the enormous Starship rocket after the first two test flights both ended in explosions

在前兩次試飛均以爆炸告終後，巨型星艦火箭的第三次發射準備工作正在進行中

SpaceX is getting ready to launch its huge Starship rocket for the third time. But the exact launch date won’t be announced until the US government’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) finishes investigating why the last launch – in November 2023 – failed to reach orbit.

SpaceX 正準備第三次發射其巨大的星艦火箭。但具體的發射日期要等到美國政府聯邦航空管理局 (FAA) 完成對上次發射（2023 年 11 月）為何未能進入軌道的調查後才會公佈。

The Starship rocket’s first test launch in April 2023 saw it spin out of control because of problems with several of its engines. Those faults activated an automated flight termination system designed to safely blow up the rocket. It failed to do so, and the rocket continued to tumble before disintegrating. It did not make it to space.

星艦火箭於 2023 年 4 月首次試射，由於幾個引擎出現問題，它失去了控制。這些故障啟動了自動飛行終止系統，該系統旨在安全地炸毀火箭。但它沒能做到這一點，火箭繼續翻滾，然後解體。它沒有成功進入太空。

The incident damaged the launchpad and blasted debris across huge swathes of the surrounding area. After repairs and updates were made to the launch facility and the FAA certified enough had been done to prevent similar damage from occurring again, SpaceX initiated its second Starship test launch in November 2023.

這次事件損壞了發射台，並將碎片炸到了周圍大片地區。在對發射設施進行了維修和更新，美國聯邦航空局 (FAA) 認證已完成足夠工作以防止類似損壞再次發生後，SpaceX 於 2023 年 11 月啟動了第二次星艦測試發射。

That one didn’t go well, either. For a few minutes everything seemed fine. The rocket made it to space – but then the engines started failing and it blew up. Now, SpaceX has to build a new rocket, and the FAA has to give it a licence to fly it.

那件事也不順利。有幾分鐘，一切似乎都很好。火箭成功進入太空，但隨後引擎開始出現故障，火箭爆炸了。現在，SpaceX 必須建造一枚新火箭，美國聯邦航空局必須向其頒發飛行許可證。

“We’re expecting that licence to come in February. So it’s looking like [flight] three will occur in February of this year,” SpaceX official Jessica Jensen said in a press conference on 9 January.

「我們預計許可證將於二月發放。因此，看起來第三次飛行將在今年 2 月進行。」SpaceX 官員 Jessica Jensen 在 1 月 9 日的新聞發布會上表示。

Eventually, Starship is intended to ferry astronauts to and from the surface of the moon. NASA selected it as the vehicle for its Artemis III and IV missions, planned for 2026 and 2028. The enormous rocket could even carry astronauts to Mars as soon as 2029, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said. But before it can do any of that, Starship will have to make it to space without exploding or falling apart, making its third flight a crucial test.

最終，星艦旨在運送太空人往返月球表面。 NASA 選擇它作為計劃於2026 年和2028 年執行阿耳忒彌斯III 和IV 任務的運載工具。SpaceX 執行長馬斯克表示，這枚巨大的火箭甚至可以最快在2029 年將太空員送上火星。但在做到這一切之前，星艦必須在不爆炸或解體的情況下進入太空，這使得它的第三次飛行成為至關重要的考驗。