路透社周二报道称，太空探索技术公司（SpaceX）最新一次“星舰”试飞发生发动机故障，可能使美国国家航空航天局（NASA）更难按计划将宇航员送往月球并实施着陆。周一，该飞行器首次进入轨道，但此前一台“猛禽”发动机已提前关机。
The engine failure on SpaceX’s latest Starship test could make it harder for NASA to land astronauts on the Moon on schedule, Reuters reported on Tuesday. The spacecraft reached orbit for the first time on Monday, but only after a Raptor engine shut down early.
在第14次试飞中，星舰释放了26颗“星链”卫星，这是其首次执行商业部署任务。然而，太空探索技术公司比计划提前数小时结束了任务。
During that 14th test flight, the ship released 26 Starlink satellites, its first commercial deployment. However, SpaceX ended the mission several hours earlier than planned.
此次停机的影响远不止于太空探索技术公司，因为美国国家航空航天局已选定星舰的一个版本作为两种候选月球着陆器之一，而这种着陆器同样依赖猛禽发动机，将宇航员送至月球表面并再次起飞。
The implications of the shutdown extend well beyond SpaceX, since NASA has chosen a version of Starship as one of two possible moon landers, with the lander depending on the same engines to take the astronauts down to the moon and then back up again.
Accu Components航空航天工程师迪恩·斯拉登告诉路透社，损坏程度将取决于究竟只是一个部件发生故障，还是每一艘飞行器都必须对整个设计进行修正。
Dean Sladen, an aerospace engineer with Accu Components, told Reuters that the extent of the damage will depend on whether only one component has failed or the entire design must be corrected on each vehicle.
斯拉登说：“任何导致后续飞行推迟的发动机修复，包括计划在飞船再入大气层后利用发射塔机械臂接住飞船的尝试，都会挤压这一时间表。”
“Any engine fix that holds up the next flights, including the planned attempt to catch the ship with the launch tower’s arms (after re-entry), eats into that schedule,” Sladen said.
星舰过去曾受到猛禽发动机问题的困扰。今年5月进行第12次飞行时，其中一台发动机未能按计划点火。7月进行第13次飞行时，所有发动机在爬升阶段均成功点火。太空探索技术公司还表示，希望利用发射塔接住上面级，但尚未实施这一操作。
Starship has suffered from Raptor problems in the past. On the 12th flight in May, one of the engines failed to ignite as intended. All the engines ignited during the climb on the 13th flight in July. SpaceX has also stated that it wishes to catch the upper stage with its tower, a move which it has not yet carried out.
与此同时，美国国家航空航天局的时间安排十分紧张。该机构计划在2028年前将宇航员再次送往月球，早于中国设定的2030年目标，而许多专家认为这一目标过于激进。
At the same time, NASA has a tight schedule. The agency intends to return astronauts to the Moon by 2028, ahead of China’s 2030 target, which many experts consider overly ambitious.
一套能够正常工作的着陆器也必须更早投入运行，以支持“阿尔忒弥斯3号”任务。该任务计划最早于2027年夏季在地球轨道上开展对接测试。
A functioning lander also needs to be available earlier to support Artemis III, a test of docking in Earth orbit planned for as early as summer 2027.
SpaceX 不再是唯一拥有登月能力的公司。尽管它是首个赢得着陆器合同的公司，但美国国家航空航天局（NASA）局长贾里德·艾萨克曼（Jared Isaacman）在四月份表示，该机构将使用最先准备就绪的着陆器。这为杰夫·贝索斯（Jeff Bezos）旗下蓝色起源公司（Blue Origin）的“蓝色月亮”（Blue Moon）项目提供了机会，该项目采用了更为传统的设计。
SpaceX is no longer the only company to have the moon landing. Although it was the first to win the contract for the lander, NASA’s chief Jared Isaacman stated in April that the agency would use the first lander to be ready. This gave an opportunity to Blue Moon, which is a more conventional design by Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin.
如果两者均准备就绪，两款着陆器都可能参与“阿尔忒弥斯3号”（Artemis III）任务；然而，截至本文发布时，NASA 和 SpaceX 均未向路透社作出任何评论。
If both of them are ready, both landers could take part in Artemis III; however, neither NASA nor SpaceX had given any comment to Reuters by the time the article was published.