第1774期:3D-printed Rocket Fails Minutes after Florida Launch

A rocket made almost entirely of 3D-printed parts started its first flight late Wednesday but failed to reach orbit. The 33-meter-long rocket, called Terran 1, took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The startup company Relativity Space created 85 percent of the rocket using 3D printing technology. Most parts came from the company’s large printing center in Long Beach, California.

一枚几乎完全由 3D 打印部件制成的火箭于周三晚些时候开始了首次飞行，但未能进入轨道。这枚 33 米长的火箭名为 Terran 1，从佛罗里达州卡纳维拉尔角起飞。初创公司 Relativity Space 使用 3D 打印技术制造了 85% 的火箭。大多数零件来自该公司位于加利福尼亚州长滩的大型印刷中心。

Terran 1 took off successfully and stayed in the air for three minutes. The first stage, or lower part, of the rocket launched and separated as planned. The upper stage, however, appeared to ignite and then shut down, sending it crashing into the Atlantic Ocean. Relativity Space had hoped for the rocket to stay in orbit for several days before falling through Earth’s atmosphere and burning up.

人族一号成功起飞，在空中停留了三分钟。火箭的第一级或下部按计划发射和分离。然而，上级似乎点燃然后关闭，使其坠入大西洋。 Relativity Space 希望火箭能在轨道上停留几天，然后坠入地球大气层并燃烧殆尽。

It was the second failed launch by Relativity Space this month. The company called off an attempt 12 days ago just seconds before takeoff. Though the rocket did not reach orbit, the company said it was pleased with the launch.

这是本月 Relativity Space 第二次失败的发射。该公司在 12 天前就在起飞前几秒取消了一次尝试。虽然火箭没有进入轨道，但该公司表示对这次发射感到满意。

Arwa Tizani Kelly works for Relativity Space and discussed the launch. Kelly said that “(first) launches are always exciting and today’s flight was no exception.” Although other space businesses use 3D-printed materials, the pieces make up only a small part of their rockets. Relativity Space was founded in 2015 by two young engineers. The company said it is working to develop larger versions of the rocket that will have even more 3D-printed material.

Arwa Tizani Kelly 在 Relativity Space 工作并讨论了发射事宜。凯利说，“（首次）发射总是令人兴奋，今天的飞行也不例外。”尽管其他太空企业使用 3D 打印材料，但这些部件只占他们火箭的一小部分。 Relativity Space 由两位年轻的工程师于 2015 年创立。该公司表示，它正在努力开发更大版本的火箭，其中将包含更多 3D 打印材料。