SpaceX is inching closer to another Starship launch. And its third mission may be its most ambitious yet.

SpaceX 距离另一次星舰发射又近了一步。它的第三个任务可能是迄今为止最雄心勃勃的。

Rocket launches can be thrilling to watch, but the last two SpaceX Starship launches offered a little more than viewers bargained for: both spaceships exploded after takeoff. Still, the company considered the missions successful, thanks to the data and information it was able to collect. And it's not stopping. SpaceX on Tuesday announced plans to launch its third Starship mission on March 14, pending US regulatory approval. 

火箭发射看起来很激动人心，但 SpaceX 星际飞船的最后两次发射却超出了观众的预期：两艘宇宙飞船在起飞后都爆炸了。尽管如此，该公司仍然认为任务是成功的，这要归功于它能够收集到的数据和信息。而且它并没有停止。 SpaceX 周二宣布计划于 3 月 14 日发射第三次 Starship 任务，目前正在等待美国监管部门的批准。

The mission will stream live on X, the social media platform owned by SpaceX owner Elon Musk. You'll have to be up early to watch, as the streaming is scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. ET, about 30 minutes before scheduled liftoff. In a mission description on its website, however, SpaceX said the mission timing was "likely to change," telling viewers to keep checking back.

此次任务将在 SpaceX 所有者埃隆·马斯克 (Elon Musk) 旗下的社交媒体平台 X 上进行直播。您必须早起观看，因为直播预计于东部时间上午 7:30 开始，比预定起飞时间大约 30 分钟。然而，SpaceX 在其网站上的任务描述中表示，任务时间“可能会改变”，并告诉观众要继续查看。

Starship is arguably the most ambitious effort for Musk, who runs the satellite-based internet company Starlink, along with EV maker Tesla, X and the neurotechnology company Neuralink. The Starship missions are critical to SpaceX's -- and Musk's -- goal of getting to and eventually settling the moon and Mars. 

Starship 可以说是马斯克最雄心勃勃的努力，他与电动汽车制造商特斯拉、X 和神经技术公司 Neuralink 一起运营着卫星互联网公司 Starlink。星舰任务对于 SpaceX 和马斯克实现并最终定居月球和火星的目标至关重要。

Now, as SpaceX looks ahead to this mission, it has much more to accomplish. And with a new flight trajectory and hopes of even greater data insights, the space company's third mission may prove to be its most important yet.

现在，当 SpaceX 展望这一任务时，它还有很多事情要做。凭借新的飞行轨迹和获得更多数据洞察的希望，这家航天公司的第三次任务可能被证明是迄今为止最重要的任务。

What to expect from the Starship mission

SpaceX's third Starship mission is designed to test whether the spacecraft can complete certain tasks. After liftoff, the company will attempt to open Starship's payload door and transfer its propellant from one part of the starship to the other. For the first time, SpaceX will also attempt to relight its Raptor engine while in space, a test that could be critical for future missions as it eventually tries to propel Starship through space.

星际飞船任务的预期 SpaceX 的第三次星际飞船任务旨在测试航天器是否能够完成某些任务。升空后，该公司将尝试打开星舰的有效载荷门，并将推进剂从星舰的一个部分转移到另一部分。 SpaceX 还将首次尝试在太空中重新点燃猛禽发动机，这项测试对于未来的任务可能至关重要，因为它最终会尝试推动星际飞船穿越太空。

Starship is taking a different flight path this time around, and will attempt to land safely in the Indian Ocean instead of the Pacific Ocean. In a statement, SpaceX said that the new flight path is designed to maximize "public safety," but the company didn't discuss how. 

这次星舰将采取不同的飞行路线，并将尝试安全降落在印度洋而不是太平洋。 SpaceX 在一份声明中表示，新的飞行路线旨在最大限度地提高“公共安全”，但该公司没有讨论如何实现。

The new flight path will also pave the way for SpaceX to try "in-space engine burns," a reference to the company attempting to reignite the Raptor engine in space.

新的飞行路线也将为 SpaceX 尝试“太空发动机燃烧”铺平道路，指的是该公司试图在太空中重新点燃猛禽发动机。

This mission is slated to last for an hour and 15 minutes. Previous missions, if completed, would have lasted 90 minutes.

此次任务预计持续一小时十五分钟。之前的任务如果完成的话将持续 90 分钟。

What happened in the previous missions?

April mission: Forced detonation

The first Starship mission launched in April 2023. Early on in the mission, the two stages of the Starship -- the reusable upper stage, called Starship, and its Super Heavy first-stage booster -- were supposed to separate. Unfortunately, that didn't happen, and for safety reasons, the SpaceX team was forced to detonate the Starship just 4 minutes into the mission.

之前的任务发生了什么？4 月任务：强制爆炸第一个星舰任务于 2023 年 4 月启动。在任务早期，星舰的两个阶段——可重复使用的上级，称为星舰，及其超重型第一级助推器——本来就该分开的。不幸的是，这并没有发生，出于安全原因，SpaceX 团队在执行任务仅 4 分钟后就被迫引爆了星舰。

November mission: Explosion due to liquid oxygen

In November 2023, Starship launched its second mission. That time around, Starship was able to separate its two stages and it reached nominal first-stage engine burn. However, Starship exploded 8 minutes after launch, when it tried to vent its liquid oxygen. Oddly, the explosion may not have needed to happen. Earlier this year, Musk said on a real mission carrying payload -- meaning the materials a spaceship carries to perform its scientific mission -- liquid oxygen wouldn't be onboard.

11 月任务：液氧爆炸 2023 年 11 月，Starship 启动了第二次任务。那一次，星际飞船能够将其两个阶段分开，并达到名义上的第一阶段发动机燃烧。然而，星舰在发射后 8 分钟试图排出液氧时发生爆炸。奇怪的是，爆炸可能并不需要发生。今年早些时候，马斯克表示，在一次携带有效载荷的真实任务中——即宇宙飞船携带执行其科学任务的材料——液氧不会出现在船上。

Third time's the charm?

While both missions technically failed, SpaceX has called them, especially the second mission, successful. And the company cautioned that even if the upcoming third mission goes awry, it's not all bad.

第三次的魅力在于？虽然这两次任务在技术上都失败了，但 SpaceX 称它们，尤其是第二次任务，是成功的。该公司警告说，即使即将到来的第三次任务出现问题，也不全是坏事。

"Starship's second flight test achieved a number of major milestones and provided invaluable data to continue rapidly developing Starship," the company wrote on its site. "Each of these flight tests continue to be just that: a test. They aren't occurring in a lab or on a test stand, but are putting flight hardware in a flight environment to maximize learning."

该公司在其网站上写道：“Starship 的第二次飞行测试实现了许多重大里程碑，并为继续快速开发 Starship 提供了宝贵的数据。” “每一次飞行测试仍然只是一次测试。它们不是在实验室或测试台上进行，而是将飞行硬件放入飞行环境中，以最大限度地提高学习效果。”

When will the Starship mission launch?

Starship's third mission is set to launch on March 14 at 8 a.m. ET. However, in order for that to happen, the weather will need to cooperate and there must be no issues with the Starship in the run-up to launch.

Starship 任务何时启动？Starship 的第三次任务定于美国东部时间 3 月 14 日上午 8 点发射。然而，为了实现这一目标，天气需要配合，并且星舰在发射前必须没有任何问题。

Additionally, SpaceX is able to launch Starship only after receiving a Federal Aviation Administration license, which it has yet to receive. That's likely why SpaceX has said that the timing of the launch is "dynamic and likely to change."

此外，SpaceX 只有在获得美国联邦航空管理局许可后才能发射星际飞船，但目前该公司尚未获得该许可。这可能就是为什么 SpaceX 表示发射时间是“动态的并且可能会改变”。

How to watch Starship mission 3

SpaceX will offer two livestreams for watching the third mission live. 

如何观看 Starship 任务 3SpaceX 将提供两个直播来观看第三次任务的直播。

The first option is the SpaceX third mission landing page, where the SpaceX broadcast team will go live 30 minutes before launch. 

第一个选项是 SpaceX 第三次任务登陆页面，SpaceX 广播团队将在发射前 30 分钟进行直播。

Not surprisingly, given Musk's involvement in both SpaceX and X, the mission will air live on SpaceX's X account. It will go live 30 minutes before launch.

毫不奇怪，考虑到马斯克同时参与了 SpaceX 和 X，这次任务将在 SpaceX 的 X 账户上直播。它将在发布前 30 分钟上线。