SpaceX test-fired one of the engines it will need to—eventually, some day, fingers crossed—send passengers to space aboard its aptly named Starship space ship.
近期,SpaceX测试了它们日后会用到的一个引擎。终有一天——让我们双手祈祷,乘客们会乘坐名为Starship的太空船上的太空。
The test fire of the so-called Starhopper engine took place on Wednesday at its Boca Chica, Texas, test facility. The test was a tethered hop that let the engine do a “static fire” while connected to the ground so engineering teams could monitor it.
周三,相关人士在德克萨斯州Boca Chica的测试设施进行了所谓的Starhopper发动机的测试。测试可以看作是一次“系绳跳”,让发动机在连接到地面时进行“静态点火”,以便工程团队可以对其进行监控。
Musk later tweeted “all systems green” which we’re guessing means that the test was successful.
马斯克后来发了推文“所有系统都蓄势待发”,外界猜测这意味着测试成功了。
Starhopper is one of the engines that will hopefully help propel SpaceX’s new 100-person spacecraft, called Starship to the Moon and beyond. The Starhopper is powered by Raptor engines, which run on liquid methane and liquid oxygen, and will fly no higher than 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) in the air, according to documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission.
Starhopper是有望帮助推动SpaceX的新型100人宇宙飞船的发动机之一,这艘宇宙飞船被称为星舰之星(Moonhip)。根据向联邦通信委员会提交的文件,Starhopper由Raptor发动机提供动力,该发动机使用液态甲烷和液态氧,并且可以在不超过5,000米(16,400英尺)的低空飞行。
As Musk tweeted last month, one engine allows for short hops, while three are required for suborbital flights. SpaceX is expected to add two more Raptor engines to Starhopper in the coming months, leading to bigger and more dramatic launches.
正如马斯克上个月发推文的那样,一个引擎允许短跳,而三个是亚轨道飞行所需。 SpaceX预计将在未来几个月内向Starhopper增加两个Raptor引擎,从而实现更大,更宏大的着陆。
While the new Starhopper technology can launch crafts into suborbital space, to get all the way to the stars, SpaceX is counting on its massive booster, the Super Heavy, to propel its spaceship to the moon and Mars, at least in theory.
虽然新的Starhopper技术可以将工艺品发射到亚轨道空间,但SpaceX正在依靠其巨大的助推器Super Heavy,以便将太空船推向月球和火星,至少在理论上是如此。