美私企成功發射首個商業飛船

中國日報網 2012-05-24 08:59

The test flight of the Dragon space capsule, which launched atop SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket at 3:44 am (0744 GMT), aims to show that industry can restore US access to the ISS after NASA retired its space shuttle fleet last year.

Get Flash Player

Opening a new era in private space flight, the US company SpaceX on Tuesday became the first commercial outfit to launch its own craft toward the International Space Station.

The test flight of the Dragon space capsule, which launched atop SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket at 3:44 am (0744 GMT), aims to show that industry can restore US access to the ISS after NASA retired its space shuttle fleet last year.

The mission is set to include a fly-by and berthing with the station in the next three days, before the capsule returns to Earth at the end of this month.

Shortly after liftoff, the cargo-carrying spacecraft entered orbit and live video images showed mission control staff at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California jumping from their seats, hugging and clapping.

SpaceX chief executive officer and Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk said watching the rocket rise from the launch pad was an "extremely intense moment."

"Every bit of adrenaline in my body released at that point," he told reporters after the flawless launch, which followed an attempt on Saturday that was scrubbed at the last second when computers detected high pressure in the central engine of the Falcon 9.

SpaceX engineers discovered the root cause was a faulty check valve and repaired it the same day.

No humans are traveling aboard the Dragon, but six astronauts are already at the $100-billion space lab to help the capsule latch on, to unload supplies and then restock the capsule with cargo to take back to Earth.

Also aboard were the ashes of hundreds of space enthusiasts including James Doohan who played "Scotty" on Star Trek, according to TrekNews.net, a go-to source for fans of the cult series.

"Dad, may the stars rise to meet you," tweeted Doohan's son Chris. "May the solar wind always be at your back."

SpaceX, owned by 40-year-old Musk, a billionaire who also co-founded PayPal, is the first of several US competitors to try sending spacecraft to the ISS with the goal of restoring US access to space for human travelers by 2015.

"We are really at the dawn of a new era of space exploration, one where there is a much bigger role for commercial space companies," Musk said, likening the space effort to the expansion of the Internet in the mid 1990s.

(Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

點擊查看更多雙語新聞

(Agencies)

本周二，美國SpaceX公司成為首個向國際空間站發射自己的飛船的商業組織，開啟了私營太空飛行的新紀元。

進行試飛的“龍”飛船于當地時間凌晨3點44分（格林尼治標準時間7點44分）搭乘SpaceX公司的獵鷹9號火箭起飛。此次試飛是為了顯示企業有能力恢復美國和國際空間站的聯系。美國宇航局的航天飛機已于去年退役。

這次飛行任務將包括飛近國際空間站并在空間站停泊三天，然后在本月底返回地球。

在飛船起飛后不久，這架載重飛船就進入了軌道。據實時錄像顯示，加州霍桑市SpaceX總部的任務監控人員從椅子上跳起來，相互擁抱、鼓掌。

SpaceX公司的首席執行官、網絡企業家艾龍?馬斯克說，觀看火箭從發射臺升空是“萬分緊張的一刻”。

在發射完美結束后，他告訴記者說：“在那一刻我身體里的每一滴腎上腺素都釋放出來了。”上周六也進行過一次嘗試，但在最后一刻計算機檢測出獵鷹9號火箭的中置發動機壓力過高，于是取消了發射計劃。

SpaceX公司的工程師們發現，問題根源是止回閥出了毛病，他們當天便將其修好了。

沒有人乘坐“龍”飛船出行，但造價達1000億美元的太空實驗室中已經有六名宇航員，他們會幫忙接收飛船、卸下供給物，并將要帶回地球的東西裝進太空船。

據TrekNews.net網站稱，在太空船上的還有數百名太空迷的骨灰，包括在電影《星際迷航》中扮演Scotty的詹姆斯?杜漢。這個網站是《星級迷航》系列影迷們必去的網站。