全球最大雙機身飛機亮相美國 一次可發射3枚火箭

GIGANTIC

身形巨大

The Stratolaunch aircraft is enormous, with a wingspan totaling 385 feet (117 meters), longer than the wingspan of any other aircraft and greater than the length of an American football field.

平流層發射飛機身形巨大，翼展總長爲117米，超過所有飛機的翼展，比一個美式足球場還要長。

Among commonly seen aircraft, the double-decker Airbus A380's wings span 262 feet (nearly 80 meters).

在常見的飛機中，雙層客機空客A380的翼展近80米。

WEIGHT AND POWER

重量和動力

The Stratolaunch aircraft weighs 500,000 pounds (226,799 kilograms) empty, can carry 250,000 pounds (113,399 kilograms) of fuel, and with payload can take off at a maximum weight of 1.3 million pounds (589,676 kilograms).

平流層發射飛機淨重約227噸，可搭載約113噸燃料，最大有效載荷近590噸。

It is powered by six engines of the same type used by Boeing 747s.

它由6臺波音747所用的同款發動機提供動力。

AIR LAUNCH

空中發射

On launch missions, Stratolaunch will carry as many as three rockets attached to the center of the wing between the two fuselages. The rockets will be released, ignite their engines and carry small satellites weighing up to 1,000 pounds (453.6 kilograms) to low Earth orbit.

在執行發射任務時，平流層發射飛機可在雙機身中間、機翼中心位置搭載多達3枚火箭。飛機可以讓火箭點火、發射，將其攜帶的重達454公斤的小型衛星送入近地軌道。

According to Stratolaunch, the advantages of its system include being able to use numerous airports and avoid the limitations of fixed launch sites which can be impacted by weather, air traffic and ship traffic on ocean ranges.

據平流層發射系統公司介紹，這套系統的優勢在於能適應衆多機場，固定發射場所可能會受到天氣、空中交通狀況以及海上船運狀況的影響，而平流層發射系統能避免這些限制。

HISTORY

歷史回顧

Airborne launches date back decades, most famously to the X-15 program of the 1950s and '60s, when manned rocket planes were carried aloft under the wing of a B-52 bomber and released on hypersonic research flights.

機載發射可以追溯至幾十年前，最著名的是上世紀50、60年代的X-15計劃，當時一架B-52轟炸機的機翼下搭載了載人火箭飛機，並在超音速飛行的測試研究飛行器上發射。

In the 1990s, Orbital Sciences Corp. (now Orbital ATK) began releasing rockets from the belly of a converted L-1011 airliner to put small satellites into low Earth orbit.

上世紀90年代，軌道科學公司（現爲軌道ATK公司）從一架改裝的L-1011客機的機身下發射火箭，將小型衛星送入近地軌道。

More recently, Paul Allen, the Microsoft co-founder, funded development of the Burt Rutan-designed SpaceShipOne, the first privately developed manned spacecraft.

再之後，微軟公司的聯合創始人保羅?艾倫投資研發了伯特?魯坦設計的“太空飛船一號”。這是第一架私人研發的載人航天器。

Suspended between the twin-fuselages of a special jet, SpaceShipOne was carried to high altitude and released. It reached space on three suborbital flights in 2004.

“太空飛船一號”由一架特製的雙機身噴氣飛機懸掛在機身中間，將其載入高空併發射。2004年，“太空飛船一號”經過3次亞軌道飛行進入太空。

The same launch concept is being used for SpaceShipTwo, the passenger-carrying craft being developed for Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space tourism enterprise.

“太空飛船二號”應用了相同的概念，這架載人飛行器是爲理查德?布蘭森爵士的維珍銀河太空旅遊公司研發的。

WHAT'S NEXT

下一步會怎樣

Initial testing will focus on filling the six fuel tanks to ensure they are properly sealed and that related mechanisms are operating properly.

首輪測試將對機上的6個油箱進行加油測試，檢查其密封是否完好，以及相關機械的運行是否正常。

The aircraft will then be taken back inside the hangar for weight and balance testing. Ground testing will lead to flight operations and the first launch demonstration, which is expected in 2019.

隨後，飛機將被拖回機庫進行重量和平衡性測試，並有望在2019年進行陸地測試，進行飛行操作和首次發射展示。