A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a European Commission Galileo satellite lifts off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Image credit: SpaceX via X)

SpaceX tied its rocket-reuse record on Saturday night (April 27).

2024 年 4 月 27 日星期六，搭载欧盟委员会伽利略卫星的 SpaceX 猎鹰 9 号火箭从位于佛罗里达州的 NASA 肯尼迪航天中心升空。（图片来源：SpaceX via X）SpaceX 于星期六晚上（4 月 27 日）追平了火箭重复使用记录。 。

It w the 20th launch for this Falcon 9's first stage, according to a om NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida at 8:34 p.m. EDT (0034 GMT on April 28).

据美国宇航局佛罗里达州肯尼迪航天中心 (KSC) 的消息，这是猎鹰 9 号第一阶段的第 20 次发射，时间为晚上 8 点 34 分。美国东部时间（4 月 28 日格林尼治标准时间 0034）。

It was the 20th launch for this Falcon 9's first stage, according to a SpaceX mission description. That tied a mark set earlier this month by a different Falcon 9 booster, on a launch of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites.

根据 SpaceX 的任务描述，这是猎鹰 9 号第一级的第 20 次发射。这追平了本月早些时候 SpaceX 星链互联网卫星发射时另一枚猎鹰 9 号助推器创下的纪录。

The launch added to the Galileo constellation, Europe's equivalent of the United States' Global Positioning System (GPS). Twenty-eight Galileo satellites have launched to date, all of them atop Russian-built Soyuz rockets or Europe's Ariane 5.

这次发射增加了伽利略星座，欧洲相当于美国的全球定位系统（GPS）。迄今为止，已发射 28 颗伽利略卫星，全部搭载在俄罗斯制造的联盟号火箭或欧洲的阿丽亚娜 5 号火箭上。

But the Ariane 5 retired last summer without a ready successor, and Europe cut most of its space ties with Russia following the latter's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. So, late last year, the European Space Agency inked a deal with SpaceX to launch up to four Galileo craft over two launches in 2024. Saturday's mission was presumably the first of those two liftoffs.

但阿丽亚娜 5 号去年夏天退役，没有现成的继任者，而在俄罗斯于 2022 年 2 月入侵乌克兰后，欧洲切断了与俄罗斯的大部分太空联系。因此，去年年底，欧洲航天局与 SpaceX 签署了一项发射火箭的协议到 2024 年，将有两次发射发射四架伽利略飞船。周六的任务可能是这两次发射中的第一次。

The Galileo satellites reside in medium Earth orbit, 14,430 miles (23,222 kilometers) above our planet, which means there was no rocket stage landing tonight — a rarity these days for a SpaceX flight.

伽利略卫星位于中地球轨道上，距地球上方 14,430 英里（23,222 公里），这意味着今晚没有火箭级着陆——这对于 SpaceX 的飞行来说是罕见的。

"Due to the additional performance required to deliver the payload to medium Earth orbit, this mission marks the 20th and final launch for this Falcon 9 first stage booster," SpaceX wrote in the mission description.

SpaceX 在任务描述中写道：“由于将有效载荷运送到中地球轨道所需的额外性能，这次任务标志着猎鹰 9 号第一级助推器的第 20 次也是最后一次发射。”

The Falcon 9 stage that already has 20 launches under its belt, by contrast, landed safely after its record flight on April 12. Starlink satellites fly in low Earth orbit, so the booster had enough fuel left over to return to Earth.

相比之下，已经进行了 20 次发射的猎鹰 9 号火箭在 4 月 12 日创纪录的飞行后安全着陆。星链卫星在低地球轨道上飞行，因此助推器有足够的剩余燃料返回地球。

Saturday's launch began a busy weekend for SpaceX; the company also plans to launch yet another Starlink batch on Sunday evening (April 28) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which is next door to KSC.

周六的发射开启了 SpaceX 忙碌的周末。该公司还计划于周日晚上（4 月 28 日）从堪萨斯太空中心隔壁的卡纳维拉尔角太空部队站发射另一批星链卫星。

And the weekend is part of a very busy year. SpaceX has already launched 41 orbital missions in 2024, 28 of which have been devoted to building out the Starlink megaconstellation.

周末是非常忙碌的一年的一部分。 SpaceX 已在 2024 年发射了 41 项轨道任务，其中 28 项致力于建设星链巨型星座。