With 2023 about to come to an end, SpaceX's self-set goal of becoming the first company in the world to launch 100 rocket missions in a calendar year has become trickier. The firm's Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida late night yesterday. It marked SpaceX's 89th operational and non-operational launch for 2023, leaving the firm with four weeks and two days to launch 11 more missions and complete a century. SpaceX's chief Elon Musk had shared the goal of launching its rockets 100 times in 2023 earlier this year, and the count also includes Starship launches.

随着 2023 年即将结束，SpaceX 自己设定的成为全球第一家在一年内发射 100 次火箭任务的公司的目标变得更加棘手。该公司的猎鹰 9 号火箭昨天深夜从佛罗里达州卡纳维拉尔角太空部队站升空。这标志着 SpaceX 在 2023 年进行了第 89 次运营和非运营发射，该公司还有四个星期零两天的时间再发射 11 次任务，完成一个世纪的任务。今年早些时候，SpaceX 首席执行官埃隆·马斯克 (Elon Musk) 曾分享过在 2023 年发射 100 次火箭的目标，其中还包括 Starship 发射。

SpaceX Launches And Lands Rocket 17 Times For Starlink Launch

The Falcon 9 that took off from Florida yesterday became the third rocket in SpaceX's fleet and the world to launch and land 17 successful times. SpaceX has gradually increased the number of times that it can reuse the Falcon 9 and, over the course of its life, also introduced a variety of key upgrades to the rocket.

SpaceX 为星链发射发射并着陆火箭 17 次 昨天从佛罗里达州起飞的猎鹰 9 号成为 SpaceX 机队和全球第三枚成功发射和着陆 17 次的火箭。 SpaceX 逐渐增加了猎鹰 9 号的重复使用次数，并在其生命周期内对火箭进行了各种关键升级。

While the Falcon 9 first stage is rapidly reusable, it was initially designed to launch NASA missions to the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS is located in low Earth orbit (LEO), and these parameters limit the Falcon 9's ability to launch payloads to what are dubbed in the industry and academia as 'high energy' orbits. These orbits are higher in altitude, requiring the Falcon 9 to travel farther than most missions to ensure that the second stage has enough juice to reach them.

虽然猎鹰 9 号第一级可快速重复使用，但它最初设计用于向国际空间站 (ISS) 发射 NASA 任务。国际空间站位于近地轨道 (LEO)，这些参数限制了猎鹰 9 号将有效载荷发射到行业和学术界所谓的“高能”轨道的能力。这些轨道的高度较高，要求猎鹰 9 号的飞行距离比大多数任务更远，以确保第二级有足够的能量到达这些轨道。

Several of SpaceX's Falcon 9 upgrades have focused on expanding its use to these orbits. For instance, one change that SpaceX has made over the years is a new coating on the second stage to regulate its fuel temperature. Other upgrades have focused on the second stage's tanks and ignition fluids to increase the distance at which it can travel.

SpaceX 的猎鹰 9 号升级项目的重点是扩大其在这些轨道上的用途。例如，SpaceX 多年来所做的一项改变是在第二级上采用了新涂层来调节燃料温度。其他升级主要集中在第二级的油箱和点火液上，以增加其行驶距离。

To date, the Falcon 9 has flown 83 times this year. Along with it, SpaceX has also stepped up the pace with the Falcon Heavy, as its largest operational rocket has flown four times this year, bringing up the successful launch tally to 87. At the same time, SpaceX has also launched Starship twice from its facilities in Boca Chica, Texas, increasing the 2023 launch count to 89.

迄今为止，猎鹰 9 号今年已飞行 83 次。与此同时，SpaceX 还加快了猎鹰重型火箭的步伐，其最大的运营火箭今年已发射四次，使成功发射次数达到 87 次。同时，SpaceX 还两次发射了星际飞船 (Starship)。德克萨斯州博卡奇卡的设施，将 2023 年的发射数量增加到 89 个。

This leaves 11 rocket launches remaining before 2023 ends, making it unlikely that SpaceX will meet Musk's goal of launching 100 rockets in a year. However, 87 successful launches are no small feat since it is still the highest number for any private company or a government organization. To understand the scale of SpaceX's operations, the firm ended up beating China when it came to operational rocket launches in Q3.

这使得 2023 年底前还剩下 11 次火箭发射，这使得 SpaceX 不太可能实现马斯克一年内发射 100 枚火箭的目标。然而，87 次成功发射并非易事，因为它仍然是私人公司或政府组织中发射次数最多的。为了了解 SpaceX 的运营规模，该公司最终在第三季度的火箭发射次数方面击败了中国。

However, as 2024 beckons, the rocket industry is bracing itself for a new era. New rockets from the United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin are nearing their final stages, and ULA's Vulcan is slated to fly its first mission with new engines from Blue Origin in December. These rockets are larger and more powerful than the Falcon 9, with the Vulcan's Centaur upper stage designed to cover more high-energy orbits. SpaceX's Starship though is still the most powerful rocket, and once it becomes operational, the launch services industry will have to deal with a rocket that might not need stage separation at all for some missions.a

然而，随着 2024 年的到来，火箭行业正在准备迎接一个新时代。联合发射联盟和蓝色起源的新型火箭已接近最后阶段，ULA 的火神号计划于 12 月使用蓝色起源的新发动机执行首次任务。这些火箭比猎鹰 9 号更大、更强大，火神半人马座上级设计用于覆盖更多高能轨道。不过，SpaceX 的 Starship 仍然是最强大的火箭，一旦投入运营，发射服务行业将不得不处理可能根本不需要级分离来执行某些任务的火箭。