玛西娅·邓恩（MARCIA DUNN）佛罗里达州卡纳维拉尔角——美国国家航空航天局（NASA）正在为波音公司陷入困境的载人飞船项目投入额外的支持与资金，旨在尽快解决问题并使其恢复飞行。
MARCIA DUNN CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA is throwing extra support and money behind Boeing’s troubled astronaut capsule to get it fixed and flying again as soon as possible.
波音公司的“星际客机”（Starliner）在2024年出现了一系列问题，导致其两名试飞员在国际空间站滞留了近一年。NASA随后将这次失败的任务重新定性为危及机组人员安全的“A类事故”，这是该机构最严重的事故等级。
Boeing’s Starliner capsule had so many problems in 2024 that its two test pilots were stuck at the International Space Station for nearly a year. NASA later reclassified the botched mission as a crew-endangering “Type A mishap,” its most severe ranking.
NASA局长贾里德·艾萨克曼（Jared Isaacman）周一宣布，波音公司应能在12月前准备好发射一艘经过改进的新型“星际客机”前往空间站，此次任务将仅搭载货物，不载人。由于需要进行耗时数月甚至数年的进一步安全重新设计，宇航员直到2028年之前都不会再次搭乘该飞船。
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced Monday that Boeing should be ready to launch a new and improved Starliner to the space station — with cargo but no crew — by December. Astronauts will not strap in until 2028 because of the need for further safety redesigns that will take months, if not years, to complete.
项目经理达纳·魏格尔（Dana Weigel）强调，在让宇航员重新登机之前，必须确保所有人对“星际客机”的所有问题都已得到解决充满信心。
Manager Dana Weigel stressed that everyone must be confident that all of Starliner’s problems have been resolved before putting astronauts back on board.
“底线是：我们正走在正确的道路上，”将指挥下一次“星际客机”飞行任务的NASA宇航员伍迪·霍伯格（Woody Hoburg）表示。
“Bottom line: We’re on the right path,” said NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg, who will command the next Starliner flight.
霍伯格说，“星际客机”最初的试飞员布奇·威尔莫尔（Butch Wilmore）和苏尼·威廉姆斯（Suni Williams）——两人现已退役——是“美国英雄，我能追随他们的脚步深感荣幸”。NASA一直希望拥有两种基于美国的宇航员往返轨道运输方式。在航天飞机退役后，该航天机构向波音和SpaceX支付了数十亿美元用于提供载人运输服务。
Hoburg said Starliner’s original test pilots — Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, now both retired — are “American heroes and I am deeply humbled to follow in their footsteps.”NASA always wanted two U.S.-based means of getting astronauts to and from orbit. The space agency shelled out billions of dollars to Boeing as well as SpaceX for ferry service once the space shuttles retired.
埃隆·马斯克（Elon Musk）旗下的SpaceX于2020年成为首家将宇航员送入轨道的私营企业。该公司将于本周晚些时候为NASA执行第14次载人任务。在经历了两次无人驾驶的“星际客机”试飞困难后，波音的“星际客机”终于搭载了威尔莫尔和威廉姆斯，但九个月后，他们不得不搭乘SpaceX的飞船返回地球。
Elon Musk’s SpaceX became the first private business to send astronauts to orbit in 2020. His company will launch its 14th crew for NASA later this week. After struggling to carry out a pair of empty Starliner test flights, Boeing’s Starliner flew astronauts Wilmore and Williams, but they had to hitch a ride back with SpaceX nine months later.
SpaceX计划在未来几年内逐步淘汰其“猎鹰9号”火箭和“龙”飞船，并将重心转向其更新、更大的“星舰”（Starship），该飞船已于周一首次进入轨道。
SpaceX intends to phase out its Falcon 9 rockets and Dragon capsules in another few years and focus on its newer, larger Starship, which reached orbit for the first time Monday.
这就是为什么NASA如此渴望帮助波音公司解决那些反复出现的问题（即波音公司的航天项目所遇到的各种技术难题）。Weigel表示，对Starliner飞船进行的额外升级以及新的火箭认证程序将使NASA再花费3.59亿美元；这些升级措施包括更换新的阀门和密封件等部件。
That is why NASA is so keen to redeem Boeing’s repeatedly bedeviled ride. The extra Starliner upgrades and new rocket certifications will cost NASA another $359 million, Weigel said. Among the many fixes: new valves and seals.
虽然这座老旧的空间站计划在2031年前被废弃并从轨道上撤出，但美国仍有几家公司正在研发自己的轨道航天器，这些航天器需要可靠的运输服务来将宇航员送入太空。不过，SpaceX的Starship飞船体积过于庞大，无法与现有的空间站对接；此外，马斯克将月球和火星探索作为该公司的主要目标。
While the aging space station is due to be abandoned and deorbited by 2031, several private U.S. companies are working on their own orbital outposts that will need reliable taxi service. SpaceX’s Starship is way too big to dock and Musk has moon and Mars travel as the company’s overriding goals.
那么，为什么不干脆放弃与波音公司的合作，转而选择其他合作伙伴呢？
Why not simply bag Starliner and shop elsewhere?
Isaacman说：“我们一直致力于与波音公司共同完成这项任务，而现在我们正走在正确的道路上。”美联社的健康与科学报道得到了AP新闻基金（AP Fund for Journalism）以及一些私人基金会的财政支持。美联社对所有报道内容负全责。您可以在AP.org网站上查看美联社与慈善机构合作的相关标准、支持者名单以及受资助的报道领域。
“We always were committed to seeing this through with Boeing,” Isaacman said, “and now we’re on a very good path.”The Associated Press’ health and science coverage receives financial support from the AP Fund for Journalism and private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org .