The Falcon Heavy for the USSF 52 mission to launch the U.S. military’s X-37B spaceplane inside the hangar at launch complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Image: SpaceX.

执行 USSF 52 任务的猎鹰重型火箭在肯尼迪航天中心 39A 发射场的机库内发射美国军方的 X-37B 太空飞机。图片：SpaceX。

Following two Falcon 9 launches from both California and Florida, SpaceX closed out the first weekend of December with a Falcon Heavy static fire test. The ignition of the 27 Merlin engines came a week ahead of the planned launch of a national security mission that has been on the books for half a decade.

继加州和佛罗里达州两次发射 Falcon 9 号火箭后，SpaceX 在 12 月的第一个周末进行了 Falcon Heavy 静态点火测试。 27 台 Merlin 发动机的点火时间比计划启动的国家安全任务提前一周，该任务已经记录了五年。

The U.S. Space Systems Command said the USSF-52 mission is targeting liftoff no earlier than Sunday, Dec. 10. The launch window has not been announced publicly. It will be the first time the Falcon Heavy has conducted a launch for the U.S. military’s secretive X-37B spaceplane project. It will be the eighth Falcon Heavy launch to date and the seventh mission for the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle.

美国太空系统司令部表示，USSF-52 任务的目标是不早于 12 月 10 日星期日升空。发射窗口尚未公开宣布。这将是猎鹰重型火箭首次为美国军方秘密的 X-37B 太空飞机项目进行发射。这将是迄今为止猎鹰重型火箭的第八次发射，也是 X-37B 轨道测试飞行器的第七次任务。

U.S. Space Systems Command noted that this will be the fifth mission in 2023 for the Assured Access to Space (AATS) Directorate:

美国太空系统司令部指出，这将是太空保障 (AATS) 理事会 2023 年的第五次任务：

• USSF-67 – Jan. 15 (Falcon Heavy, SpaceX)

  USSF-67 – 1 月 15 日（猎鹰重型火箭、SpaceX）

• GPS III-6 – Jan. 18 (Falcon 9, SpaceX)

  GPS III-6 – 1 月 18 日（猎鹰 9 号，SpaceX）

• NROL-68 – June 21 (Delta 4 Heavy, ULA)

  NROL-68 – 6 月 21 日（Delta 4 Heavy，ULA）

• NROL-107 – Sept. 10 (Atlas 5, ULA)

  NROL-107 – 九月10（阿特拉斯 5、ULA）

• USSF-52 – NET Dec. 10 (Falcon Heavy, SpaceX)

  USSF-52 – NET 12 月 10 日（Falcon Heavy、SpaceX）

“Our national security space launches transport our most important capabilities into orbit,” said Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, Program Executive Officer for AATS and Commander, Space Launch Delta 45, in a statement. “We partner closely with our launch service providers, and the entire team is focused on executing a successful mission.”

“我们的国家安全太空发射将我们最重要的能力送入轨道，”准将说。 AATS 项目执行官兼 Delta 45 航天发射指挥官 Kristin Panzenhagen 将军在一份声明中表示。 “我们与发射服务提供商密切合作，整个团队都专注于执行成功的任务。”

The launch contract was awarded to SpaceX as part of the Phase 1A National Security Space Launch (NSSL) procurement. The launch contract with SpaceX for this mission is valued at about $155 million according to SSC and will feature side boosters that are flying for their fifth time.

作为 1A 阶段国家安全太空发射 (NSSL) 采购的一部分，该发射合同被授予 SpaceX。据 SSC 称，此次任务与 SpaceX 的发射合同价值约 1.55 亿美元，其中将采用侧助推器，这是第五次飞行。

“We benefit greatly from our partnerships with other government agencies and from commercially derived developments,” said Dr. Walt Lauderdale, Mission Director and lead for Falcon Systems and Operations at SSC, in a statement. “When we look at the upswing in the launch tempo, adapting to change is our standard operating procedure that gives us the capacity and throughput we will need to support future national security space requirements.”

“我们从与其他政府机构的合作伙伴关系以及商业衍生的开发中受益匪浅，”SSC 任务总监兼猎鹰系统和运营负责人 Walt Lauderdale 博士在一份声明中表示。 “当我们看到发射节奏的上升时，适应变化是我们的标准操作程序，它为我们提供了支持未来国家安全太空需求所需的容量和吞吐量。”

After the boosters are recovered, SpaceX and NASA officials said they will be used for a sixth and final time to launch NASA’s Europa Clipper mission to the moon of Jupiter in October 2024.

助推器回收后，SpaceX 和 NASA 官员表示，它们将第六次也是最后一次用于在 2024 年 10 月发射 NASA 的欧罗巴快艇任务前往木星卫星。

Following the Falcon Heavy launch mid-month, the pad at LC-39A will be converted back to a Falcon 9 configuration in preparation for the launch of a Nova-C lunar lander as part of the Intuitive Machines and NASA mission, IM-1 heading to the Moon’s South Pole.

本月中旬猎鹰重型火箭发射后，LC-39A 的发射台将转换回猎鹰 9 号配置，为 Nova-C 月球着陆器的发射做准备，作为直观机器和 NASA 任务 IM-1 的一部分到月球的南极。