SpaceX will try catching Starship and its booster for first time, Musk says

SpaceX will try catching Starship and its booster for first time, Musk says. If successful, it would be the first time in history an orbital launch vehicle has been fully recovered.

马斯克表示，SpaceX 将首次尝试回收星舰及其助推器。如果成功，这将是历史上首次实现轨道运载火箭的完全回收。

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the company would attempt to catch Starship and its booster next month, with the goal of recovering the entire orbital launch system for the first time. If successful, Musk said, the attempt would mark the first time in history an orbital launch vehicle has been fully recovered.

SpaceX 首席执行官埃隆·马斯克表示，该公司将于下个月尝试捕捉星舰及其助推器，目标是首次回收整个轨道发射系统。马斯克称，如果成功，这将标志着历史上首次实现轨道运载火箭的完全回收。

“This is a profound technology milestone in the history of civilization consciousness,” he said during the company’s third quarter earnings report Tuesday. But he also allowed for the possibility of a failure. “Success is not guaranteed on these first flights, but I’d say it’s more likely than not that this succeeds next flight,” Musk said. “And if not, we have a steady stream of Starship flight attempts through the end of this year and then accelerating next year.”

“这是文明意识史上一个深远的技术里程碑，”他在周二的公司第三季度财报会议上说道。但他同时也承认了失败的可能性。“这些首飞并不保证成功，但我认为下次飞行成功的可能性很大，”马斯克说。“如果失败了，我们今年年底前还有一系列星舰飞行尝试，明年还会加快进度。”

Starship is a two-stage system, composed of the Super Heavy booster (first stage) and the Starship spacecraft (second stage). It stands approximately 120 meters (around 400 feet) tall with a 9-meter diameter, and is powered by SpaceX’s Raptor engines burning liquid methane and liquid oxygen. Starship, which was first introduced in 2018, was designed to return to the launch site, where launch towers with mechanical “chopstick” arms catch the vehicle mid-air.

星舰是一个两级系统，由超重型助推器（第一级）和星舰航天器（第二级）组成。它高约 120 米（约 400 英尺），直径 9 米，由 SpaceX 的猛禽发动机提供动力，使用液态甲烷和液氧作为燃料。星舰于 2018 年首次推出，其设计目的是返回发射场，由带有机械“筷子”臂的发射塔在半空中捕捉飞行器。

Last month’s Starship launch represented two firsts for its next gen rocket: send the spacecraft into Earth orbit, and insert a few dozen of SpaceX’s larger and more capable V3 satellites into the Starlink constellation for the first time. Still, the launch wasn’t without its snafus: one Raptor engine shut down prematurely during ascent, prompting mission control to adapt and complete the climb on remaining. Because of the issue, SpaceX cut the planned 10-hour, 6-orbit mission short after about 3 hours and 2 Earth orbits.

上个月的星舰发射为该下一代火箭创造了两个“首次”：将航天器送入地球轨道，并首次将数十颗 SpaceX 更大、能力更强的 V3 卫星送入星链星座。不过，发射并非没有小插曲：一台猛禽发动机在上升过程中提前关闭，促使任务控制中心做出调整，依靠剩余发动机完成了爬升。由于这个问题，SpaceX 将原定 10 小时、绕地 6 圈的任务在约 3 小时和绕地 2 圈后提前结束。

The Super Heavy booster splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico, while the Starship upper stage executed a de-orbit burn and ended with a fiery vertical splashdown in the Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii. Neither piece was recovered.

超重型助推器坠入墨西哥湾，而星舰上面级执行了离轨点火，最终在夏威夷北部的太平洋上空垂直溅落。两部分均未被回收。