星舰发射毁坏发射台，马斯克正试图避免
上周日下午，SpaceX在得克萨斯州启动了最新星舰助推器的发动机，同时在运载火箭的发射台上测试了新喷水系统。
SpaceX称，点火测试仅持续了2.74秒，四个发动机提前关闭。发动机启动时，喷水系统的水从星舰发射架下向上喷射。SpaceX简要提供了测试现场的直播，测试地点在公司位于德克萨斯州博卡奇卡的发射场“星际基地”(Starbase)。
本次点火是SpaceX为大型外太空星舰火箭系统下次发射做准备的重要测试。4月该公司首次试射星舰，结果未能到达太空，飞船失控时SpaceX被迫将其摧毁。
新喷水系统主要目的是降低发射过程中火箭发动机点火造成的严重影响。为顺利进入太空，星舰安装了庞大的超重型助推器，基座有33台猛禽发动机，所有发动机将在升空时同时点火。
更多相关内容：马斯克表示，SpaceX星舰大修后机会大增
星舰首次试飞中SpaceX发现，同时点燃多台猛禽发动机的力量对发射台造成了巨大破坏。尽管刚开始只有30台猛禽发动机点火，发射台下仍然出现了SpaceX首席执行官埃隆·马斯克所谓的“岩石飓风”。大块混凝土和碎片溅向数千英尺高的空中，不仅损坏了发射台，也导致四周遍布垃圾。
为防止再次爆炸，SpaceX的工程师们在星舰发射台下方安装了钢板，以转移猛禽发动机产生的巨大热量和力道。上周日的测试则显示SpaceX首次尝试在发动机点火同时测试喷水系统。
更多相关内容：SpaceX认定钢板可防止发射台爆炸
SpaceX并未迅速澄清点火测试是否成功，不过点火后直播主持人约翰·因斯普鲁克表示，星舰“发射台看起来状态不错。运载火箭也不错”。
SpaceX尚未确定星舰第二次试飞日期。4月底，马斯克曾在推特（Twitter）上一次音频讨论中预测称，六到八周后星舰就能准备好试飞。（财富中文网）
译者：夏林
上周日下午，SpaceX在得克萨斯州启动了最新星舰助推器的发动机，同时在运载火箭的发射台上测试了新喷水系统。
SpaceX称，点火测试仅持续了2.74秒，四个发动机提前关闭。发动机启动时，喷水系统的水从星舰发射架下向上喷射。SpaceX简要提供了测试现场的直播，测试地点在公司位于德克萨斯州博卡奇卡的发射场“星际基地”(Starbase)。
本次点火是SpaceX为大型外太空星舰火箭系统下次发射做准备的重要测试。4月该公司首次试射星舰，结果未能到达太空，飞船失控时SpaceX被迫将其摧毁。
新喷水系统主要目的是降低发射过程中火箭发动机点火造成的严重影响。为顺利进入太空，星舰安装了庞大的超重型助推器，基座有33台猛禽发动机，所有发动机将在升空时同时点火。
更多相关内容：马斯克表示，SpaceX星舰大修后机会大增
星舰首次试飞中SpaceX发现，同时点燃多台猛禽发动机的力量对发射台造成了巨大破坏。尽管刚开始只有30台猛禽发动机点火，发射台下仍然出现了SpaceX首席执行官埃隆·马斯克所谓的“岩石飓风”。大块混凝土和碎片溅向数千英尺高的空中，不仅损坏了发射台，也导致四周遍布垃圾。
为防止再次爆炸，SpaceX的工程师们在星舰发射台下方安装了钢板，以转移猛禽发动机产生的巨大热量和力道。上周日的测试则显示SpaceX首次尝试在发动机点火同时测试喷水系统。
更多相关内容：SpaceX认定钢板可防止发射台爆炸
SpaceX并未迅速澄清点火测试是否成功，不过点火后直播主持人约翰·因斯普鲁克表示，星舰“发射台看起来状态不错。运载火箭也不错”。
SpaceX尚未确定星舰第二次试飞日期。4月底，马斯克曾在推特（Twitter）上一次音频讨论中预测称，六到八周后星舰就能准备好试飞。（财富中文网）
译者：夏林
SpaceX fired up the engines on its latest Starship booster Sunday afternoon in Texas, while simultaneously testing a new water deluge system on the vehicle’s launchpad.
The ignition test lasted just 2.74 seconds, according to SpaceX, and four of the vehicle’s engines shut down early. As the engines fired, water from the deluge system sprayed upward from underneath Starship’s launch mount. SpaceX briefly provided a livestream view of the test, which took place at the company’s Starbase launch facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
The ignition served as an important testing milestone for SpaceX as it prepares for the next launch of its massive, deep-space Starship rocket system. The company performed the first test launch of Starship in April. During that flight, Starship failed to reach space, and SpaceX was forced to purposely destroy the vehicle when it started tumbling out of control.
The new water deluge system is designed to dampen the powerful effects caused by igniting the rocket’s engines during launch. Starship’s massive Super Heavy booster, needed to propel the vehicle into space, has 33 Raptor engines at its base — all of which are meant to fire simultaneously at liftoff.
Read more: SpaceX Starship Has Much Better Chance After Overhaul, Musk Says
The force of igniting so many Raptor engines at once proved to be quite damaging to the launchpad, as SpaceX learned during the first test flight of Starship. Though only 30 Raptor engines were initially ignited, they still caused what SpaceX CEO Elon Musk called a “rock tornado” underneath the launchpad. The launch sent chunks of concrete and debris thousands of feet into the air, damaging the pad and littering the nearby landscape.
To prevent another explosive event, SpaceX’s engineers have been installing steel plates underneath Starship’s launchpad, meant to deflect the immense heat and forces caused by the Raptor engines. Sunday’s test marked the first time that SpaceX attempted to test the deluge system while igniting the engines.
Read more: SpaceX Bets Steel Plates Will Keep Launchpad From Blowing Up
SpaceX didn’t immediately clarify if the ignition test was considered a success, however the host of the livestream, John Insprucker, said after the firing that Starship’s “pad looks good. The launch vehicle looks good.”
The company hasn’t yet set a launch date for Starship’s second test flight. In late April, Musk predicted during a Twitter audio discussion that Starship would be ready to fly again in six to eight weeks.
