马斯克与他的SpaceX再创历史

美国东部时间5月30日15时22分（北京时间31日3时22分），搭载两名宇航员的美国太空探索技术公司SpaceX“龙”飞船（Crew Dragon）发射成功，乘“猎鹰9号”（Falcon 9）火箭飞往国际空间站。

美国国家航空航天局直播画面显示，发射2分36秒后，火箭一二级成功分离；发射9分34秒后，火箭第一级成功降落在大西洋上的无人回收船上；发射大约12分钟后，飞船与火箭顺利分离，继续飞向国际空间站。

NASA and SpaceX launched Crew Dragon spacecraft from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, carrying two American astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).

The Crew Dragon spacecraft lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 3:22 p.m. Eastern Time, from historic Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Veteran NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley are co-commanders on the mission.

NASA astronauts Robert Behnken (front) and Douglas Hurley depart for Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the United States, May 30, 2020. /NASA

两名美国宇航员道格拉斯•赫尔利（Douglas Hurley）和罗伯特•本肯（Robert Behnken）将他们搭乘的“龙”飞船取名为“奋进”号。

按计划，飞船将在飞行约19小时后，即美东时间31日10时27分（北京时间31日22时27分）与空间站对接。赫尔利和本肯将与空间站的其他宇航员共同进行一系列实验和研究任务。美国国家航空航天局（NASA）尚未公布此次任务期何时结束。

NASA confirmed main engine cutoff and separation of the rocket's first and second stages minutes after the lift-off. Falcon 9's reusable first stage booster has successfully landed on the "Of Course I Still Love You" drone ship off the Florida coast. The Crew Dragon reached Earth orbit about 12 minutes after takeoff, and is making its way to the ISS, according to NASA.

The spacecraft is scheduled to dock to the space station on Sunday at 10:27 a.m. Eastern Time. The spacecraft is designed to do this autonomously, but the two astronauts and the station will be monitoring approach and docking, and can take control of the spacecraft if necessary.

After successfully docking, Behnken and Hurley will be welcomed aboard station and will become members of the Expedition 63 crew. They will perform tests on Crew Dragon in addition to conducting research and other tasks with the space station crew.

The mission will conclude with the Crew Dragon undocking from the station, deorbiting, and returning Behnken and Hurley to Earth with a safe splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean, according to NASA.

The mission duration has not been announced yet. NASA said it will be determined once on station based on the readiness of the next commercial crew launch.

U.S. President Donald Trump (R), U.S. Vice President Mike Pence (C) watch the launch of SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew Dragon spacecraft with two astronauts at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the United States, May 30, 2020. /NASA

这次发射原计划27日进行，后因天气原因推迟至30日。美国总统特朗普和副总统彭斯30日赴肯尼迪航天中心观看了此次“历史性”发射。特朗普随后宣布，“龙”飞船成功抵达近地轨道，两位宇航员平安无恙。

U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence watched the launch at the center.

Screenshot via Twitter

“对于我和所有在Space X的人来说，这将是美梦成真。”Space X创始人埃隆•马斯克（Elon Musk）在发射前向两位宇航员表示。

"This is a dream come true for me and everyone at SpaceX," said Musk, chief engineer at SpaceX.

Screenshot via Twitter

美国国家航空航天局局长吉姆•布里登斯廷（Jim Bridenstine）在社交媒体推特上说：“时隔9年，我们今天首次用美国火箭从美国本土将美国宇航员送入太空。”

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine tweeted, "For the first time in 9 years, we have now launched American astronauts on American rockets from American soil. I'm so proud of the NASA and SpaceX team for making this moment possible."

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew Dragon spacecraft with two astronauts takes off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral of Florida, the United States, May 30, 2020. /Xinhua Photo

这次发射，对于NASA和 SpaceX而言，都颇具意义——这是自2011年以来，美国首次用国产火箭和飞船从本土将宇航员送往空间站；也是历史上首次有人类宇航员坐上商业公司打造的火箭和飞船前往空间站。

自2011年NASA决定其航天飞机退役之后，美国就失去了发射载人火箭的能力，运送宇航员往返国际空间站全部“仰仗”俄罗斯飞船。为改变这一尴尬局面，美国大力发展商业载人航天。

2014年，NASA与SpaceX和波音公司签署了总额68亿美元的合同，目标是尽早用国产飞船向国际空间站运送美国宇航员。此次飞行任务代号为SpaceX Demo-2，属于NASA的“商业载人飞行项目”的一部分。

Screenshot via Twitter

如今，“龙”飞船携两名美国宇航员从9年前美国航天飞机最后一次飞往太空的地方踏上新征程，这是美国恢复载人发射能力、摆脱对俄罗斯飞船依赖的关键一步，同时也为美国国家航空航天局未来探索月球和火星打下基础。

此次任务的成功也标志着商业载人航天将迈入新纪元，“龙”飞船也由此成为首个由私营企业建造并将宇航员送往空间站的载人飞船。这次任务将全面检验该飞船安全运送宇航员往返空间站的能力，包括在轨飞行、与空间站对接和返回地面等各环节的细节。如果任务顺利完成，“龙”飞船有望“锁定”定期运送美国宇航员往返国际空间站的“大单”。

This is SpaceX's final test flight for NASA's Commercial Crew Program and will provide critical data on the performance of the Falcon 9 rocket, Crew Dragon spacecraft, and ground systems, as well as in-orbit, docking and landing operations.

The test flight also will provide valuable data toward certification of SpaceX's crew transportation system for regular flights carrying astronauts to and from the space station.

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