星際飛船原型通過低溫壓力測試

星際飛船原型通過低溫壓力測試

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創(chuàng)始人埃隆·馬斯克(Elon Musk)說，該公司計劃中的星際飛船運載火箭的一個原型，周日晚在得克薩斯州南部通過了低溫試驗，為各小組在本周安裝Raptor發(fā)動機進行測試點火掃清了道路。

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，命名為SN4的飛船測試車在“驗證測試”中裝載了超冷液氮，該測試損壞或摧毀了以前的飛船原型。

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

星期天晚上的低溫測試發(fā)生在SpaceX在環(huán)境溫度下對星際飛船SN4飛行器進行壓力測試的第二天。

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.

馬斯克在推特上說，這架由不銹鋼制成的星際飛船測試模型下一步將搭載一臺甲烷燃料的猛禽發(fā)動機，為“有望在本周晚些時候”的試射做準備。

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的三個早期型號的星際飛船上進行低溫壓力測試，導致爆炸性破裂，在該公司位于德克薩斯州博卡奇卡的制造和測試地點留下了皺巴巴的殘骸。馬斯克說，SpaceX的工程師是技術人員，他們在新的星際飛船飛行器上引入了改進的制造和焊接技術。

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

他在推特上說，SpaceX也正在轉向一種新的不銹鋼合金，這種合金在低溫下具有“高延展性”，同時還具有“幾何變化”。

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.

星際飛船是SpaceX下一代可重復使用的發(fā)射和空間運輸系統(tǒng)的上層。根據(jù)SpaceX的說法，加上一個叫做“超重型”的巨大助推器，這艘星際飛船可以將超過100公噸(約合22萬磅)的貨物運送到近地軌道。

“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在上個月發(fā)布的《星際飛船用戶指南》中寫道：“星際飛船能夠將衛(wèi)星、有效載荷、機組人員和貨物運送到各種軌道以及地球、月球或火星的著陸地點。”。