After SpaceX shipped its IFT-4 booster to the launch pad and static fired a new Starship for the first time earlier this week, Elon Musk has confirmed the fourth Starship test flight's delay on X. After the previous Starship test took place in March, SpaceX was quick to give a launch date, which would have meant a rapid drop in the turnaround time for the world's largest rocket since IFT-2 flew after a considerable delay. IFT-2 was followed by the third test four months later, and a May launch would have cut this time in half.

本周早些时候，SpaceX 将其 IFT-4 助推器运送到发射台并首次静态发射了一艘新的 Starship 后，埃隆·马斯克 (Elon Musk) 确认了第四次 Starship 测试飞行在 X 上的延迟。继 3 月份进行了上一次 Starship 测试后，SpaceX很快就给出了发射日期，这意味着自 IFT-2 发射以来世界上最大的火箭在经历了相当长的延迟后，其周转时间将迅速缩短。 IFT-2 四个月后进行了第三次测试，如果 5 月份发射的话，这次测试的时间会减少一半。

Starship IFT-4 Can Take Place In June Says Musk As SpaceX Picks Up The Pace In Starbase

Musk's comments came after he shared an image of two upper stage Starships at SpaceX's Texas facilities. While the next Starship test flight might take place in three months instead of two, for the first time since it started the integrated test flight campaign, SpaceX has now started to focus on simultaneously maintaining multiple rockets.

马斯克表示，随着 SpaceX 加快 Starbase 的步伐，星际飞船 IFT-4 可能会在 6 月发射 马斯克在分享了 SpaceX 德克萨斯州设施中两艘上层星际飞船的图片后发表了此番言论。虽然下一次星际飞船试飞可能会在三个月内进行，而不是两个月，但这是自开始综合试飞活动以来的第一次，SpaceX 现在开始专注于同时维护多枚火箭。

The two ships could support SpaceX's fourth and fifth Starship tests, and allow it to gather more data about its rockets. The success of the Falcon 9 program is partly due to the hundreds of landings that have enabled SpaceX to gather copious amounts of data, and despite rapid progress with building test prototypes, SpaceX still has several key objectives it must meet in 2024 with the rocket.

这两艘船可以支持 SpaceX 的第四次和第五次星际飞船测试，并允许其收集更多有关火箭的数据。 Falcon 9 计划的成功部分归功于数百次着陆，使 SpaceX 能够收集大量数据，尽管在建造测试原型方面取得了快速进展，但 SpaceX 仍然有几个关键目标必须在 2024 年通过火箭实现。

The Starship Super Heavy uses 33 rocket engines for liftoff, and during landing, the rocket has to orient itself properly or risk crashing. While the rocket exploded before stage separation during the first test flight, in IFT-2, the booster managed to jettison away from the second stage but exploded after engine reignition.

超级重型星舰使用 33 个火箭发动机进行升空，在着陆过程中，火箭必须正确定位，否则就有坠毁的风险。虽然火箭在第一次试飞期间在级分离之前爆炸，但在 IFT-2 中，助推器成功地从第二级中脱离，但在发动机重新点火后爆炸。

The Starship Super Heavy booster starts to reignite its center core Raptor engines after successful stage separation in IFT-2. Image; SpaceX/X

在 IFT-2 成功实现级分离后，星舰超重型助推器开始重新点燃其中心核心猛禽发动机。图像; SpaceX/X

The third flight added progress in March. After stage separation, not only did the second stage Starship coast sufficiently to allow for some fireworks during atmospheric reentry, but the first stage almost looked ready to crash vertically and mimic a 'tower catch.' However, just as it reached the water, the final set of engine burns needed for a controlled landing failed to meet the landing requirement. This led to a loss of vehicle, and the focus of the rest of the test shifted to the upper stage Starship spacecraft. For IFT-2's loss of booster, SpaceX had pinned the failure on a blocked liquid oxygen filter.

三月份的第三次飞行又取得了进展。级分离后，第二级星舰不仅充分滑行以允许在大气层再入期间进行一些烟花表演，而且第一级看起来几乎准备好垂直坠毁并模仿“塔式捕获”。然而，就在它到达水面时，受控着陆所需的最后一组发动机燃烧未能满足着陆要求。这导致了飞行器的损失，其余测试的重点转移到了上级星舰飞船上。对于 IFT-2 失去助推器的问题，SpaceX 将故障归咎于液氧过滤器堵塞。

Yet, while the booster was lost in IFT-3, the ship stole the show later during the day. Visuals of its atmospheric reentry awed viewers, and perhaps tellingly, Musk's latest Starship tweet also shows the second stage ship with its heat shield on display.

然而，虽然助推器在 IFT-3 中丢失，但这艘船却在当天晚些时候抢尽了风头。它重返大气层的视觉效果让观众惊叹不已，也许很能说明问题的是，马斯克最新的星舰推文还展示了带有隔热罩的第二级飞船。

Heat shields rank high in complexity among the thousands of components engineers design and manufacture as part of building a rocket. SpaceX manufactures heat shield tiles and then assembles them onto the ship. Musk went on to add that when Starship IFT-4 flies next month, SpaceX will try to get the ship past the point of "max heating."

作为建造火箭的一部分，工程师设计和制造了数千个组件，隔热罩的复杂性名列前茅。 SpaceX 生产隔热板，然后将它们组装到船上。马斯克接着补充说，当星舰 IFT-4 下个月首飞时，SpaceX 将尝试让飞船突破“最大加热点”。

Apart from the two Starships, the third rocket in the picture might fly soon as well. This is because its inter-stage stage separation ring is also visible. SpaceX upgrades its Starship rockets on the go, allowing rockets for flights down the road to feature improvements not present in the ones partaking in the current test flight.

除了两艘星舰之外，图中的第三艘火箭也可能很快就会升空。这是因为它的级间级分离环也是可见的。 SpaceX 随时升级其 Starship 火箭，使后续飞行的火箭能够实现当前试飞火箭所没有的改进。

A test flight in June would also mean that SpaceX tests the full Starship stack twice during the first half of a year for the first time. Apart from the ship's performance, the booster should also provide great visuals, particularly during the landing phase of the test.

6 月份的试飞也意味着 SpaceX 首次在上半年对整个 Starship 堆栈进行了两次测试。除了船舶的性能之外，助推器还应该提供出色的视觉效果，特别是在测试的着陆阶段。