A SpaceX rocket successfully launched with the company's Starship spacecraft Thursday, but the two-part system exploded minutes later and crashed into the sea.
周四,太空探索技术公司的一枚火箭搭载该公司的星际飞船成功发射,但这个由两部分组成的系统在几分钟后爆炸,坠入海中。
It was the first test flight for SpaceX's latest Super Heavy rocket, which carries a large space capsule on top, called Starship.
这是太空探索技术公司最新的超重型火箭的首次试飞,该火箭顶部搭载着一个名为星际飞船的大型太空舱。
The capsule is designed to one day carry astronauts and supplies to the moon and possibly Mars.
该太空舱的设计目的是有朝一日将宇航员和物资运送到月球,甚至可能是火星。
No astronauts were on board for the test flight.
这次试飞没有宇航员。
The liftoff happened Thursday morning at a SpaceX launch center in the southern Texas town of Boca Chica.
此次发射于周四上午在得克萨斯州南部小镇博卡奇卡的太空探索技术公司发射中心进行。
SpaceX officials have described the two-part rocket ship – which stands 120 meters high – as the largest and most powerful space vehicle ever built.
太空探索技术公司的官员称,这艘由两部分组成的火箭飞船高达120米,是迄今为止建造的最大、最强大的太空飞行器。
The vehicle is by far more powerful than any rockets built by the American space agency NASA.
到目前为止,这个运载火箭比美国航空航天局制造的任何火箭都要强大得多。
The flight plan had called for the Super Heavy to separate from Starship minutes after the launch.
此次飞行计划原本要求该超重型火箭在发射后几分钟与星际飞船分离。
But instead, the rocket began to tumble and then exploded four minutes into the flight.
但事与愿违,火箭开始坠落,然后在飞行四分钟后爆炸。
The combined vehicle then fell into the Atlantic Ocean's Gulf of Mexico.
随后,这个组合式火箭坠入大西洋的墨西哥湾。
The spacecraft reached an altitude of nearly 32 kilometers before exploding.
该航天器在爆炸前达到了近32公里的高度。
The Super Heavy rocket is designed to be reusable.
该超重型火箭是可重复使用的。
But for the test flight, no landings of the rocket or spacecraft were planned.
但在这次试飞过程中,没有火箭或航天器着陆的计划。
Images appeared to show that several of the 33 main engines were not firing as the rocket climbed from the launch site.
图像似乎显示,当火箭从发射场爬升时,33个主引擎中有几个引擎没有点着火。
There was no immediate comment from SpaceX on any engine failures.
太空探索技术公司没有立即就引擎故障发表评论。
SpaceX had hoped that, after separating, the spacecraft would continue flying and attempt to circle the world before crashing into the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii.
太空探索技术公司曾希望,在分离后,航天器将会继续飞行,并试图在坠入夏威夷附近的太平洋之前绕地球飞行。
Even though the vehicle exploded soon after launching, SpaceX officials on the ground celebrated the fact that the rocket was able to get off the ground.
尽管火箭在发射后不久就爆炸了,但地面上的太空探索技术公司官员对火箭能够离开地面这一事实表示庆祝。
The company declared the event a successful test flight.
该公司宣布这是一次成功的试飞。
John Insprucker is one of the leaders of SpaceX's engineering team.
约翰·英斯普鲁克是太空探索技术公司工程团队的负责人之一。
He said during a live webcast of the launch that the test flight would provide a wealth of important data as the company prepares for additional flight tests.
他在一场火箭发射的网络直播中表示,试飞将会为该公司准备更多飞行测试提供大量重要数据。
Elon Musk, the founder and chief executive of SpaceX, said on Twitter the next Starship test launch would be "in a few months."
太空探索技术公司的创始人兼首席执行官埃隆·马斯克在推特上表示,下一次星际飞船试射将会在“几个月后”进行。
He tweeted: "Congrats @SpaceX team on an exciting test launch of Starship! Learned a lot for next test launch…"
他在推特上写道:“祝贺@太空探索技术公司团队完成了激动人心的星际飞船发射测试!为下一次发射测试学到了很多……”
Musk, who bought Twitter last year for $44 billion, also heads electric carmaker Tesla.
马斯克去年以440亿美元收购了推特,同时他也是电动汽车制造商特斯拉的负责人。
In the weeks leading up to the flight, Musk predicted a 50-50 chance that the spacecraft would reach orbit.
在飞行前的几周里,马斯克曾预测航天器进入轨道的可能性为50%。
But he had also said he was "guaranteeing excitement" for the launch.
但他也曾表示,他“保证此次发射令人兴奋”。
SpaceX's Insprucker told webcast watchers after the launch, "You never know exactly what's going to happen."
太空探索技术公司的英斯普鲁克在发射后对观看网络直播的观众说,“你们永远不会知道到底会发生什么。”
He then added, "But as we promised, excitement is guaranteed and Starship gave us a rather spectacular end."
他接着补充道:“但正如我们承诺的那样,保证此次发射令人兴奋,星际飞船给了我们一个相当壮观的结局。”
I'm Bryan Lynn.
布莱恩·林恩为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译,未经授权请勿转载!