SpaceX獵鷹重型火箭首飛成功！馬斯克的特斯拉跑車上太空了
US entrepreneur Elon Musk has launched his new rocket, the Falcon Heavy, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
美國企業家埃隆-馬斯克在佛羅里達州肯尼迪航天中心成功發射了最新的獵鷹重型火箭。
The mammoth vehicle - the most powerful since the shuttle system - lifted clear of its pad without incident to soar high over the Atlantic Ocean.
獵鷹重型火箭是目前運力最強的火箭。火箭成功發射升空，飛向大西洋上空。
It was billed as a risky test flight in advance of the lift-off.
在升空之前，這被認爲是一次冒險的試飛。
SpaceX公司CEO馬斯克在首秀前接受採訪時表示，只要不炸燬發射平臺，他就認爲獵鷹重型火箭的首秀是成功的。
Speaking to reporters ahead of the Cape Canaveral launch, he said: "It’ll be a really huge downer if it blows up. I would consider it a win if it just clears the pad and doesn’t blow the pad to smithereens. That’s four million pounds of TNT equivalent so there’s probably not going to be much left if that thing lets loose on the pad."
他在發射前接受記者採訪時說：“如果發射時發生爆炸，那將非常令人沮喪。只要不把發射平臺炸成一片廢墟，我就認爲獲得了成功。那可相當於400萬磅（約合181萬公斤）TNT爆炸當量，所以如果真的炸燬發射平臺，將會片瓦不留。”
The SpaceX CEO said the challenges of developing the new rocket meant the chances of a successful first outing might be only 50-50.
埃隆-馬斯克表示，開發新型火箭所面臨的挑戰，意味着首次試飛成功的機會可能只有50%。
With this debut, the Falcon Heavy aims to become the most capable launch vehicle available.
首飛成功後，獵鷹重型火箭將成爲現役運力最強的運載火箭。
It is designed to deliver a maximum payload to low-Earth orbit of 64 tonnes - the equivalent of putting five London double-decker buses in space.
獵鷹重型火箭設計的近地軌道最大裝載量是64噸，相當於將五輛倫敦雙層巴士送往太空。
Such performance is slightly more than double that of the world's next most powerful rocket, the Delta IV Heavy - but at one third of the cost, says Mr Musk.
馬斯克表示，上述性能是德爾塔IV重型運載火箭運力的兩倍還多一點，但花費僅相當於前者的三分之一。德爾塔IV重型運載火箭的運力在世界排名第二。
公開資料顯示，獵鷹重型火箭向國際空間站、神舟飛船等飛行器所在的近地軌道的發射能力飆升到了63.8噸，約是獵鷹9號火箭全推力版的3倍、航天飛機的2倍。同時，其向通信衛星使用的地球同步轉移軌道發射載荷的能力提高到26.7噸，向火星發射載荷的能力爲16.8噸，向太陽系邊緣的冥王星發射載荷的能力也有3.5噸。
For this experimental and uncertain mission, however, he decided on a much smaller and whimsical payload - his old cherry-red Tesla sports car.
雖然這次試驗性試飛結果充滿不確定性，但馬斯克還是決定把他使用多年的桃紅色特斯拉跑車送上太空。把身材嬌小的跑車送往太空，也是有點讓人咋舌。
A space-suited mannequin was strapped in the driver's seat, and the radio set to play David Bowie's classic hit Space Oddity on a loop.
一位身穿太空服的假宇航員繫着安全帶坐在駕駛位上，駕駛室還循環播放着大衛-鮑伊的經典名曲《太空怪人》。
If all phases of the flight are successful, the Tesla and its passenger will be despatched into an elliptical orbit around the Sun that reaches out as far as the Planet Mars.
如果飛行的所有階段都獲得成功，特斯拉和它的乘客將被髮送到圍繞太陽運轉的橢圓軌道，最終抵達火星。
按照馬斯克的說法，這輛跑車將飛往火星軌道，最遠時距離地球大約4億公里，相對於地球的速度將近11公里/秒。
The car will take at least six months to travel the 200 million miles to Mars.
跑車將用至少半年的時間飛行2億英里（約合3.2億公里）抵達火星。
Mr Musk later tweeted a picture of his old Tesla car orbiting over Australia.
隨後，馬斯克在推特上發佈了一張特斯拉跑車飛過澳大利亞的圖片。
Thousands of people gathered in Florida to watch the launch. Among the online spectators was British Astronaut Tim Peake, who described the feat as "simply awesome".
數千人聚集在佛羅里達觀看了這次發射。還有一些人在網上觀看，其中就有英國宇航員提姆-皮克，他稱這次發射成功“太驚人了”。
Simply awesome - congratulations @SpaceX on a phenomenal technical s like the dawn of a new era of space exploration.
— Tim Peake (@astro_timpeake) February 6, 2018
太令人驚歎了。祝賀SpaceX取得了非凡的科技成就，開啓了太空探索的新紀元。
—提姆-皮克 2018年2月6日
埃隆•馬斯克去年2月曾宣佈，有兩名太空遊客已經向SpaceX付費，計劃2018年繞月環遊。
嘿，我們離載人登陸火星越來越近了。攢夠錢，你就能搭着SpaceX的飛船，去太空旅遊了！
