SpaceX火箭測試中爆炸

Elon Musk’s bid to transform the business of space launch suffered a severe setback yesterday when a SpaceX pilotless Falcon 9 rocket and a satellite were destroyed in an explosion on a launch pad in Florida.

埃隆•馬斯克(Elon Musk)改革太空發(fā)射業(yè)務(wù)模式的努力昨日遭受嚴重挫折，SpaceX公司一枚無人駕駛的獵鷹9號(Falcon 9)火箭連同一枚衛(wèi)星在佛羅里達州一個發(fā)射臺爆炸被毀。

The incident at Cape Canaveral marked the second time in little more than a year that SpaceX has lost one of its rockets. The company’s equipment is far cheaper to operate than those of United Launch Alliance, its main rival for prestigious US government business.

發(fā)生在卡納維拉爾角(Cape Canaveral)的這起事件，標志著SpaceX公司在一年多一點的時間里第二次損失一枚火箭。該公司設(shè)備的運作成本比主要競爭對手“聯(lián)合發(fā)射聯(lián)盟”(United Launch Alliance)便宜得多;這兩家公司競逐受人艷羨的美國政府業(yè)務(wù)。

The explosion followed the mid-flight break-up on June 28 last year of a cargo flight bound for the International Space Station. Mr Musk, founder of SpaceX and Tesla, the electric car company, said after that incident that SpaceX had become “complacent” about safety and pledged to learn from the incident.

此次發(fā)生爆炸之前，去年6月28日SpaceX一枚火箭在向國際空間站(International Space Station)運輸貨物途中解體。身為SpaceX和電動汽車公司特斯拉(Tesla)創(chuàng)始人的馬斯克在那次事故后承認，SpaceX公司在安全問題上變得“自滿”，他承諾會認真吸取事故教訓。

The Amos-6 satellite destroyed in the latest explosion was due to be used in Facebook’s effort to offer broadband internet in areas of Africa currently not well served. SES, operator of the satellite network that the Amos-6 was due to join, announced the deal with the social network in April. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder, said that he was “deeply disappointed” by the loss.

在爆炸中被毀的Amos-6號衛(wèi)星，原本要用在Facebook向非洲地區(qū)提供寬帶上網(wǎng)服務(wù)的計劃中。SES是Amos-6本來要加入的衛(wèi)星網(wǎng)絡(luò)的運營商。該公司在今年4月宣布與這家社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)達成協(xié)議。Facebook創(chuàng)始人馬克•扎克伯格(Mark Zuckerberg)表示，他對這一損失“深感失望”。

The rocket was not due to be launched before tomorrow but had been undergoing a test firing, according to SpaceX. Multiple social media users reported a loud explosion just after 9am local time and posted pictures of smoke billowing from the devastated launch pad.

據(jù)SpaceX公司稱，這枚火箭按原定計劃不會在明日之前發(fā)射，但當時在進行點火測試。多個社交媒體用戶報告在當?shù)貢r間上午9點過后聽到一聲巨大的爆炸，并張貼出被毀的發(fā)射臺升起滾滾濃煙的照片。

SpaceX said that during preparations for a test firing there had been an “anomaly” on the launch pad resulting in the loss of the vehicle and the Israeli Amos-6 satellite that it had been due to launch for a commercial customer. “Per standard procedure, the pad was clear and there were no injuries,” the company added.

SpaceX表示，點火測試準備期間，發(fā)射臺出現(xiàn)一個“異常”，導致運載火箭連同它原定要為一家商業(yè)客戶發(fā)射的以色列Amos-6號衛(wèi)星被毀。“按照標準程序，發(fā)射臺上無人在場，沒有人受傷，”該公司稱。

SpaceX was forced to halt launches for six months after the previous failure . A similar delay now would call into question SpaceX’s plans to hold the inaugural launch this year of its Falcon Heavy, a three-booster rocket that would allow the company to launch far heavier satellites.

SpaceX公司在上一次失敗后被迫暫停發(fā)射六個月。這一次如果出現(xiàn)類似的暫停，將令人質(zhì)疑SpaceX在今年首次發(fā)射獵鷹重型(Falcon Heavy)火箭的計劃，這種火箭配備三級推進器，將讓該公司能夠發(fā)射重得多的衛(wèi)星。