联合发射联盟（ULA）时隔九个月再次发射“火神”运载火箭，这款饱受延期与技术故障困扰的运载火箭迎来了期盼已久的复飞。
Launch Alliance launched its Vulcan rocket for the first time in nine months, a long-awaited return for a vehicle plagued by delays and technical mishaps.
当地时间周日下午12时40分，任务从佛罗里达州卡纳维拉尔角发射升空，搭载40颗卫星用于亚马逊公司初创的“柯伊伯”互联网服务，该服务与埃隆·马斯克的“星链”构成竞争关系。
The mission took off at 12:40 p.m. local time on Sunday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying 40 satellites for Amazon.com Inc.’s nascent Leo internet service, a competitor with Elon Musk’s Starlink.
ULA是波音公司与洛克希德·马丁公司的合资企业。这是“火神”自2月份以来的首次发射，当时该火箭的一枚固体助推器出现问题。
The launch by ULA, a joint venture between Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp., is the vehicle’s first since February when it suffered an issue with one of its solid rocket boosters.
“火神”于2024年1月完成首飞，此前历经近十年研发，但ULA一直难以提高发射频率，在今天发射前仅完成过四次飞行。
Vulcan had its debut in January 2024 after nearly a decade of development but ULA has struggled to ramp up flights, only launching the rocket four times before today’s takeoff.
缓慢的推进节奏正值航天行业面临潜在发射瓶颈之际。SpaceX已表示计划退役其“猎鹰9号”火箭，后者一直是行业的可靠主力，“火神”是少数几款可作为可行替代方案的同级火箭之一。
The sluggish rollout comes as the space industry is staring down a potential launch bottleneck. SpaceX has indicated it plans to retire its Falcon 9, a reliable staple for the industry, and Vulcan is one of a handful of comparable rockets that could serve as a viable alternative.
另一款火箭“新格伦”来自杰夫·贝佐斯的蓝色起源公司，自5月以来一直停飞，此前它在地面试验中发生剧烈爆炸并形成巨大火球，损毁了公司唯一的发射场，加剧了对发射能力短缺的担忧。
Another rocket, New Glenn from Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, has been grounded since May after it exploded in a massive fireball during a ground test, damaging the company’s only launch site and exacerbating concerns about a launch shortage.
ULA、SpaceX和蓝色起源均属于获批发射美国国防部最敏感任务的精英企业行列。然而，太空军于2月份暂停了“火神”执行任务，威胁到ULA的一大收入来源。空军也因延期对ULA处以罚款。
ULA, SpaceX and Blue Origin are part of an elite tier of companies approved to launch the Department of Defense’s most sensitive missions. However, the Space Force in February paused missions on Vulcan, threatening a major source of ULA’s revenue. The Air Force also fined ULA over delays.
周日的发射标志着亚马逊计划在“火神”上执行的38次任务中的首次，此前亚马逊已在ULA的老款运载火箭“阿特拉斯5号”上成功完成八次飞行。
The launch on Sunday marks the first of 38 planned missions for Amazon aboard Vulcan, after eight successful flights aboard ULA’s older model, Atlas V.
亚马逊“柯伊伯”已有近400颗卫星入轨，联邦监管机构批准其部署超过7700颗。然而，“火神”和“新格伦”的问题阻碍了亚马逊构建该网络的努力。
Amazon Leo already has nearly 400 satellites in orbit, with approval from federal regulators for more than 7,700. However, Vulcan and New Glenn’s problems have hampered Amazon’s efforts to build the network.
美国联邦通信委员会（FCC）6月批准了亚马逊的请求，豁免了该公司必须在2026年年中前将1600多颗卫星送入轨道的截止日期，亚马逊将新型火箭停飞列为申请豁免的原因之一。亚马逊仍须在2029年7月前完成整个卫星网络的部署。
In June, the Federal Communications Commission approved Amazon’s request to waive a deadline to have more than 1,600 satellites in orbit by mid-2026, with the company citing the grounding of new rockets among the causes for the move. Amazon still must have the full network in place by July 2029.