星际飞船原型通过低温压力测试

星际飞船原型通过低温压力测试

SpaceX founder Elon Musk said a prototype for the company’s planned Starship launch vehicle passed a cryogenic proof test Sunday night in South Texas, clearing the way for teams to install a Raptor engine this week for a test-firing.

SpaceX创始人埃隆·马斯克(Elon Musk)说，该公司计划中的星际飞船运载火箭的一个原型，周日晚在得克萨斯州南部通过了低温试验，为各小组在本周安装Raptor发动机进行测试点火扫清了道路。

The Starship test vehicle, designated SN4, was loaded with super-cold liquid nitrogen Sunday night in a “proof test” that damaged or destroyed previous Starship prototypes.

周日晚上，命名为SN4的飞船测试车在“验证测试”中装载了超冷液氮，该测试损坏或摧毁了以前的飞船原型。

The cryogenic testing Sunday night occurred a day after SpaceX performed a pressure test of the Starship SN4 vehicle at ambient temperatures.

星期天晚上的低温测试发生在SpaceX在环境温度下对星际飞船SN4飞行器进行压力测试的第二天。

Made of stainless steel, the Starship test model will next receive a methane-fueled Raptor engine in preparation for a test-firing “hopefully later this week,” Musk tweeted.

马斯克在推特上说，这架由不锈钢制成的星际飞船测试模型下一步将搭载一台甲烷燃料的猛禽发动机，为“有望在本周晚些时候”的试射做准备。

Cryogenic pressure testing on three earlier models of SpaceX’s Starship resulted in explosive ruptures that left behind crumpled wreckage at the company’s manufacturing and test site at Boca Chica, Texas. Musk said SpaceX engineers are technicians have introduced improved manufacturing and weld techniques on new Starship vehicles.

在SpaceX的三个早期型号的星际飞船上进行低温压力测试，导致爆炸性破裂，在该公司位于德克萨斯州博卡奇卡的制造和测试地点留下了皱巴巴的残骸。马斯克说，SpaceX的工程师是技术人员，他们在新的星际飞船飞行器上引入了改进的制造和焊接技术。

He tweeted that SpaceX is also switching to a new stainless steel alloy with “high ductility” at cryogenic temperatures, along with “geometric changes.”

他在推特上说，SpaceX也正在转向一种新的不锈钢合金，这种合金在低温下具有“高延展性”，同时还具有“几何变化”。

The Starship is the upper stage of of SpaceX’s next-generation reusable launch and space transportation system. Coupled with a massive booster named the Super Heavy, the Starship could haul more than 100 metric tons, or 220,000 pounds, of cargo to low Earth orbit, according to SpaceX.

星际飞船是SpaceX下一代可重复使用的发射和空间运输系统的上层。根据SpaceX的说法，加上一个叫做“超重型”的巨大助推器，这艘星际飞船可以将超过100公吨(约合22万磅)的货物运送到近地轨道。

“Starship has the capability to transport satellites, payloads, crew, and cargo to a variety of orbits and Earth, lunar, or Martian landing sites,” SpaceX wrote in a Starship user’s guide released last month.

SpaceX在上个月发布的《星际飞船用户指南》中写道：“星际飞船能够将卫星、有效载荷、机组人员和货物运送到各种轨道以及地球、月球或火星的着陆地点。”。