Liftoff occurred at 6:40 p.m. ET today (April 18).

升空发生在下午 6 点 40 分。美国东部时间今日（4 月 18 日）。

SpaceX launched its 40th mission of the year this evening (April 18).

今晚（4 月 18 日），SpaceX 发射了今年的第 40 次任务。

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 of the company's Starlink internet satellites lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida today at 6:40 p.m. EDT (2240 GMT).

今天下午 6:40，一枚搭载 23 颗该公司 Starlink 互联网卫星的猎鹰 9 号火箭从佛罗里达州卡纳维拉尔角太空部队站升空。美国东部时间（2240 GMT）。

The Falcon 9's first stage came back to Earth about 8.5 minutes after launch as planned, making a vertical landing on the SpaceX droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

猎鹰 9 号的第一级按计划在发射后约 8.5 分钟返回地球，并垂直降落在驻扎在大西洋的 SpaceX 无人机飞船 A Shortfall of Gravitas 上。

It was the seventh launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description. Two of the rocket's previous six flights sent astronauts to the International Space Station — the private Ax-2 and Ax-3 missions, which launched in May 2023 and January of this year, respectively. 

根据 SpaceX 的任务描述，这是该特殊助推器的第七次发射和着陆。火箭之前的六次飞行中有两次将宇航员送往国际空间站——私人 Ax-2 和 Ax-3 任务，分别于 2023 年 5 月和今年 1 月发射。

The Falcon 9's upper stage, meanwhile, will continue hauling the 23 Starlink satellites toward low Earth orbit this evening, ultimately deploying them there about 65 minutes after liftoff.

与此同时，今晚猎鹰 9 号的上级将继续将 23 颗星链卫星拖向近地轨道，最终在升空后约 65 分钟将它们部署到那里。

Twenty-seven of the 40 orbital missions that SpaceX has launched so far in 2024 have been devoted to building out the Starlink megaconstellation. That network is already huge: It currently consists of more than 5,760 operational satellites, according to astrophysicist and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell.

迄今为止，SpaceX 在 2024 年发射的 40 次轨道任务中有 27 次致力于建设星链巨型星座。该网络已经非常庞大：据天体物理学家兼卫星跟踪器乔纳森·麦克道尔 (Jonathan McDowell) 称，该网络目前由超过 5,760 颗运行卫星组成。

The 40-launch tally does not include the March 14 liftoff of SpaceX's Starship megarocket, which the company is developing to take people and cargo to the moon, Mars and beyond. Starship reached orbital velocity during that mission, which was the vehicle's third test flight overall. 

40 次发射的统计不包括 3 月 14 日发射的 SpaceX 星舰巨型火箭，该公司正在开发该火箭，旨在将人员和货物送往月球、火星及更远的地方。星舰在那次任务中达到了轨道速度，这是该飞行器的第三次试飞。

Editor's note: This story was updated at 7:26 pm ET on April 18 with news of successful launch and rocket landing.

编者注：本文于美国东部时间 4 月 18 日晚上 7:26 更新，发布了成功发射和火箭着陆的消息。