现场报道：SpaceX 第二次发射猎鹰重型火箭和 X-37B 军用航天飞机

For the second time this month, SpaceX is gearing up to launch the X-37B military spaceplane onboard its Falcon Heavy rocket. Liftoff of the USSF-52 mission from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is set for 8:07 p.m. EST (0107 UTC) on Thursday at the opening of a ten-minute launch window.

本月，SpaceX 准备第二次利用其猎鹰重型火箭发射 X-37B 军用航天飞机。 USSF-52 任务定于晚上 8 点 07 分从 NASA 肯尼迪航天中心升空。美国东部时间 (0107 UTC) 周四，十分钟发射窗口开启。

The launch attempt comes after SpaceX and the U.S. Space Force had to delayed the mission from Dec. 11 due to “a ground side issue”. The Falcon Heavy was returned to its hangar on Dec. 14 with SpaceX no longer sayingthe vehicle remained ‘healthy’ in its social media posts.

此次发射尝试是在 SpaceX 和美国太空部队因“地面问题”而不得不推迟 12 月 11 日的发射任务之后进行的。猎鹰重型火箭于 12 月 14 日返回机库，SpaceX 在其社交媒体帖子中不再表示该飞行器仍然“健康”。

SpaceX didn’t elaborate on the reason or reasons for the delay, but multiple sources tells Spaceflight Now that at least one engine had to be replaced on the Falcon Heavy rocket. A second static fire test was deemed unnecessary, which allowed SpaceX to get in another launch attempt before the end of the year and reschedule the mission for Dec. 28.

SpaceX 没有详细说明延迟的原因，但多个消息来源告诉 Spaceflight Now，猎鹰重型火箭至少需要更换一台发动机。第二次静态点火测试被认为是不必要的，这使得 SpaceX 在年底前进行了另一次发射尝试，并将任务重新安排在 12 月 28 日。

Onboard the three-core rocket is the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV). This will be the seventh launch in the program’s history since 2010 and the fourth flight of Vehicle 2 the second of two craft in the OTV fleet.

三核火箭上搭载的是 X-37B 轨道测试飞行器 (OTV)。这将是该计划自 2010 年以来的第七次发射，也是 OTV 机队两架飞机中的第二架“Vehicle 2”的第四次飞行。

Spaceflight Now will have live coverage of the launch from the Kennedy Space Center starting about 1.5 hours ahead of liftoff.

Spaceflight Now 将于发射前约 1.5 小时开始对肯尼迪航天中心的发射进行现场报道。

The Falcon Heavy rocket for this mission rolled back out to the pad at Launch Complex 39A Wednesday morning. It will mark the second time SpaceX will launch the X-37B after previously giving it a ride on a Falcon 9 on the fifth OTV mission in September 2017.

周三早上，执行本次任务的猎鹰重型火箭滚回 39A 号发射场的发射台。这将标志着 SpaceX 继 2017 年 9 月在第五次 OTV 任务中使用猎鹰 9 号搭载 X-37B 后，第二次发射 X-37B。

All other previous mission were launched using United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 501 rocket from neighboring pad 41.

之前的所有其他任务都是使用联合发射联盟的 Atlas 5 501 火箭从邻近的 41 号发射台发射的。

More information about the X-37B and the importance of the mission for both SpaceX and the U.S. Space Force can be found here.

有关 X-37B 以及该任务对 SpaceX 和美国太空军的重要性的更多信息，请访问此处。

About 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the two Falcon Heavy side boosters, tail numbers B1064 and B1065, will return to Landing Zone 1 and 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Those watching the launch in person may hear a pair of sonic booms as they reenter the atmosphere.

升空后约 8.5 分钟，两个猎鹰重型侧面助推器（尾号 B1064 和 B1065）将返回卡纳维拉尔角太空部队站的着陆区 1 和 2。那些亲自观看发射的人在重新进入大气层时可能会听到两声音爆。

These boosters are making their fifth flight to date after launching the USSF-44, USSF-67, Jupiter-3 and Psyche missions previously. They will be launched one more time in October 2024 to launch NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft to the Jovian moon of the same name.

继之前发射 USSF-44、USSF-67、Jupiter-3 和 Psyche 任务之后，这些助推器将进行迄今为止的第五次飞行。它们将于 2024 年 10 月再次发射，将 NASA 的欧罗巴快艇飞船发射到同名的木星卫星。

Planting the seeds of progress

While the payloads on board the spaceplane are mostly undisclosed, the mission will be another opportunity for NASA to learn about the impacts of long-duration spaceflight for humans.

播下进步的种子虽然航天飞机上的有效载荷大多未公开，但这次任务将是美国宇航局了解长期航天飞行对人类影响的另一个机会。

No astronauts will be onboard the flight, but NASA is sending up a sequel to its RAD-SEED 1 and RAD-SEED 2 experiments.

飞行中不会有宇航员，但 NASA 正在发送 RAD-SEED 1 和 RAD-SEED 2 实验的续集。

“For this mission, we will send new types of seeds mainly for leafy greens,” said a NASA spokesperson in a statement. “We are also sending different varieties of the same type of seeds, aiming to evaluate the differences between/among these varieties in response to the space environment.”

美国宇航局发言人在一份声明中表示：“对于这次任务，我们将发送主要用于绿叶蔬菜的新型种子。” “我们还发送了同一类型的不同品种的种子，旨在评估这些品种之间对太空环境的反应差异。”

Example of viable plant seeds under germination test. Image: NASA

发芽测试中可行的植物种子的示例。图片：美国宇航局

The new varieties of seeds include cauliflower, amara, scarlet frill and garnet giant. They are also sending up two varieties of each of the following: radish, pac choi, peppers and brachypodium.

种子新品种包括花椰菜、阿马拉、猩红色褶边和石榴石巨种。他们还提供了以下每种产品的两个品种：萝卜、小白菜、辣椒和短柄草。

Along with eight varieties of Arabidopsis, here are the other seeds that will be onboard the X-37B:

除了八个拟南芥品种外，以下是 X-37B 上将搭载的其他种子：