Richard Branson's Small-Satellite Launch Venture Fails First Test
Richard Branson's Small-Satellite Launch Venture Fails First Test
DJ Richard Branson's Small-Satellite Launch Venture Fails First Test
DJ理查德·布蘭森的小衞星發射企業未能通過首次測試
By Andy Pasztor
安迪·帕斯托(Andy Pasztor)著
A company founded by entrepreneur Richard Branson to launch small satellites botched its initial demonstration flight, as a rocket released from a specially outfitted jumbo jet failed to reach low-earth orbit.
企業家理查德·布蘭森(Richard Branson)創立的一家發射小型衞星的公司在最初的演示飛行中搞砸了，因為從一架特別配備的大型噴氣式飛機上釋放的火箭未能到達近地軌道。
Virgin Orbit's long-anticipated debut mission kicked off over Southern California in perfect weather when a converted Boeing Co. 747 jet, named "Cosmic Girl," climbed to 35,000 feet, a slender, 70-foot rocket slung under its left wing. Everything proceeded as planned with the red-nosed booster dropping away from the plane on command. But within seconds, its main liquid-fueled engine, capable of generating more than 70,000 pounds of thrust, ran into a problem and wasn't successful in carrying the test payload to its destination.
維珍軌道公司期待已久的首次飛行任務在天氣良好的情況下在南加州上空拉開帷幕，一架改裝後的波音公司747噴氣式飛機名為“宇宙女孩”，攀升至3.5萬英尺的高度，左翼下懸掛着一枚細長的70英尺長的火箭。一切都按計劃進行，紅鼻子助推器在指揮下從飛機上掉了下來。但在幾秒鐘內，其主要液體燃料發動機，能夠產生超過7萬磅的推力，遇到了問題，未能成功地將測試有效載荷運送到目的地。
In follow-up messages on Twitter, the company said the main engine roared to life, but "an anomaly then occurred early" in the booster's trajectory, and the mission safely terminated. "Our goals today were to work through the process of conducting a launch, learn as much as we could, and achieve ignition," the company said. "We hoped we could have done more, but we accomplished those key objectives today."
在推特上的後續消息中，該公司表示，主引擎轟鳴着復活了，但助推器的軌跡“很早就發生了異常”，任務安全終止。該公司表示：“我們今天的目標是完成發射過程，儘可能多地學習，並實現點火。”“我們希望我們能做得更多，但我們今天實現了這些關鍵目標。”
Virgin Orbit officials had tamped down expectations, reminding reporters during a prelaunch teleconference on Saturday that on average one out of two launches of a new rocket design fail. The flight on Monday had been delayed from last year for some rocket modifications.
維珍軌道的官員降低了預期，在週六的發射前電話會議上提醒記者，新火箭設計平均每兩次發射中就有一次失敗。由於一些火箭改裝，週一的飛行比去年推遲了。
A successful flight would have provided a jolt of good news for the global space industry; several startup rocket ventures have lately stumbled or failed partly as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Some companies have been forced to shutter facilities, and interest in prospective launch contracts has slumped, while investments from many entrepreneurs and venture funds have dried up.
一次成功的飛行將為全球航天業帶來一連串的好消息；最近，幾家火箭初創企業都遭遇了挫折或失敗，部分原因是冠狀病毒大流行。一些公司被迫關閉設施，對未來發射合同的興趣大幅下降，而許多企業家和風險基金的投資已經枯竭。
The failed launch also amounted to a personal setback for Mr. Branson, the high-profile British billionaire. Despite severe strains on his world-wide business empire because of the pandemic, he has continued to support and closely follow progress of the fledgling launch venture, of which he is a partial owner.
對於備受矚目的英國億萬富翁布蘭森來説，這次發射失敗也相當於他個人的挫折。儘管大流行給他的全球商業帝國帶來了嚴重的壓力，但他繼續支持並密切關注這家羽翼未豐的發射企業的進展，他是該企業的部分所有者。
Virgin Orbit, which started building rockets in Long Beach, Calif., a few years ago and has about 500 employees, stands out from other fledgling launch providers partly because of its novel operating concept. The use of an airborne platform is intended to provide maximum flexibility as far as the time and location of launches. Customers are supposed to be able to set up satellite delivery to specific orbits, something that typically can't be arranged when small spacecraft piggyback rides on larger rockets boosting larger satellites.
維珍軌道(Virgin Orbit)幾年前開始在加州長灘製造火箭，擁有約500名員工。該公司從其他羽翼未豐的發射供應商中脱穎而出，部分原因是其新穎的運營理念。使用機載平台的目的是在發射的時間和地點方面提供最大的靈活性。客户應該能夠將衞星交付到特定的軌道，當小航天器搭載着更大的火箭推動更大的衞星時，這通常是不能安排的。
Mr. Branson wasn't at the Mojave Air and Space Port when the four-engine jumbo jet lifted off. But on Saturday Dan Hart, Virgin Orbit's CEO, joked that he hadn't heard from his boss for some 40 minutes. Mr. Branson "has guided and mentored us through the years," Mr. Hart said, and was "always available for a phone call."
當這架四引擎大型噴氣式客機起飛時，布蘭森並不在莫哈韋航空航天港(Mojave Air And Space Port)。但上週六，維珍軌道公司(Virgin Orbit)首席執行官丹·哈特開玩笑説，他已經大約40分鐘沒有收到老闆的消息了。哈特説，布蘭森先生“這些年來一直指導和指導我們”，而且“隨時可以打電話”。
Even with a picture-perfect launch, prospects for the company's growth over the next few years would have seemed limited. Mr. Hart told reporters current plans call for ramping up commercial operations slowly, with two to four launches likely for all of 2021. Virgin Orbit initially marketed a price of $12 million for a launch, versus roughly five times that much for larger rockets, such as the Falcon 9 marketed by Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX.
即使有一次完美的發佈，該公司在未來幾年的增長前景似乎也是有限的。哈特告訴記者，目前的計劃要求緩慢擴大商業運營，2021年全年可能會有兩到四次發射。維珍軌道(Virgin Orbit)最初的發射價格為1200萬美元，而更大的火箭(如埃隆·馬斯克(Elon Musk)的太空探索技術公司(Space Explore Technologies Corp.，簡稱SpaceX)銷售的獵鷹9號(Falcon 9))的價格大約是這個價格的五倍。
In the wake of the failure, Mr. Musk commented on the disappointment. "Sorry to hear that. Orbit is hard," he said in a message on Twitter. "Took us four attempts with Falcon 1," he wrote, referring to the rocket that SpaceX flew before the Falcon 9.
在失敗之後，馬斯克對這種失望發表了評論。他在推特上的一條消息中説：“很遺憾聽到這個消息。軌道很難。”“我們用獵鷹1號進行了四次嘗試，”他寫道，他指的是SpaceX在獵鷹9號之前發射的火箭。
Virgin Orbit aims to loft into low-Earth orbit satellites weighing several hundred pounds, versus spacecraft weighing thousands of pounds for SpaceX and European competitor Arianespace SA.
維珍軌道的目標是進入重達數百磅的低地球軌道衞星，而SpaceX和歐洲競爭對手阿麗亞娜空間公司(Arianespace SA)的航天器重達數千磅。
Over the last two years, the U.S. has captured roughly 60% of the global market for launching such larger commercial satellites -- some rivaling the size of a pickup truck or van -- into higher orbits. Virgin Orbit is targeting civil, military and commercial customers at the lower end of the market and, according to Mr. Hart, already has several hundred million dollars in contracts.
在過去的兩年裏，美國已經佔領了大約60%的全球市場份額，因為美國將這種更大的商業衞星發射到了更高的軌道上，其中一些衞星的大小與皮卡或麪包車的大小不相上下。據哈特説，維珍軌道公司的目標客户是低端市場的民用、軍用和商業客户，目前已經有數億美元的合同。
Advances in satellite design and fabrication have resulted in steadily smaller and more capable satellites. But a number of analysts anticipate commercial customer demand will support only two or three small-satellite launch systems in coming years, and U.S. military needs are still unclear.
衞星設計和製造的進步導致衞星越來越小，功能越來越強。但一些分析師預計，未來幾年商業客户的需求將只支持兩三個小衞星發射系統，美國的軍事需求仍不清楚。
Other companies pursuing small-satellite launches include Rocket Lab, a U.S.-New Zealand company that has a flight-proven booster; Blue Origin Federation LLC, established by Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos; and Relativity Space, which aims to manufacture a rocket mostly from 3D-printed parts.
其他尋求發射小衞星的公司包括美國-新西蘭公司Rocket Lab，它有一個經過飛行驗證的助推器；Blue Origin Federation LLC，由亞馬遜公司(Amazon.com Inc.)成立。創始人傑夫·貝佐斯(Jeff Bezos)；以及旨在主要用3D打印部件製造火箭的相對論空間公司(Relative Space)。
Virgin Orbit, which already has plans to perform launches from Guam, seeks to exploit the small-satellite market partly because it won't have to build or maintain any launchpads. If demand surges and it has finished rockets in the factory ready to go, the company envisions being able to swiftly ramp up its launch tempo by scheduling more frequent flights of the carrier aircraft.
維珍軌道公司已經計劃在關島進行發射，該公司尋求開拓小衞星市場，部分原因是它將不必建造或維護任何發射台。如果需求激增，而且它已經在工廠完成了隨時可以發射的火箭，該公司設想能夠通過安排更頻繁的運載機飛行來迅速加快發射速度。
Write to Andy Pasztor at andy.pasztor@wsj.com
寫信給Andy Pasztor，電子郵件為andy.pasztor@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
(完)道瓊斯通訊社
May 25, 2020 18:39 ET (22:39 GMT)
2020年5月25日美國東部時間18：39(格林尼治標準時間22：39)
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