SpaceX火箭测试中爆炸

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•马斯克(Elon Musk)改革太空发射业务模式的努力昨日遭受严重挫折，SpaceX公司一枚无人驾驶的猎鹰9号(Falcon 9)火箭连同一枚卫星在佛罗里达州一个发射台爆炸被毁。

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.

发生在卡纳维拉尔角(Cape Canaveral)的这起事件，标志着SpaceX公司在一年多一点的时间里第二次损失一枚火箭。该公司设备的运作成本比主要竞争对手“联合发射联盟”(United Launch Alliance)便宜得多;这两家公司竞逐受人艳羡的美国政府业务。

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.

此次发生爆炸之前，去年6月28日SpaceX一枚火箭在向国际空间站(International Space Station)运输货物途中解体。身为SpaceX和电动汽车公司特斯拉(Tesla)创始人的马斯克在那次事故后承认，SpaceX公司在安全问题上变得“自满”，他承诺会认真吸取事故教训。

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.

在爆炸中被毁的Amos-6号卫星，原本要用在Facebook向非洲地区提供宽带上网服务的计划中。SES是Amos-6本来要加入的卫星网络的运营商。该公司在今年4月宣布与这家社交网络达成协议。Facebook创始人马克•扎克伯格(Mark Zuckerberg)表示，他对这一损失“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.

据SpaceX公司称，这枚火箭按原定计划不会在明日之前发射，但当时在进行点火测试。多个社交媒体用户报告在当地时间上午9点过后听到一声巨大的爆炸，并张贴出被毁的发射台升起滚滚浓烟的照片。

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，点火测试准备期间，发射台出现一个“异常”，导致运载火箭连同它原定要为一家商业客户发射的以色列Amos-6号卫星被毁。“按照标准程序，发射台上无人在场，没有人受伤，”该公司称。

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公司在上一次失败后被迫暂停发射六个月。这一次如果出现类似的暂停，将令人质疑SpaceX在今年首次发射猎鹰重型(Falcon Heavy)火箭的计划，这种火箭配备三级推进器，将让该公司能够发射重得多的卫星。