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美国将火箭发射成本削减一半

发布者: sunny214 | 发布时间: 2015-4-15 09:33| 查看数: 1190| 评论数: 1|

The company that handles all the US’s national security satellite launches has outlined audacious plans to end its reliance on Russian rocket engines within four years and slash the cost of launches by at least half.
承接美国所有国家安全卫星发射业务的联合发射联盟(United Launch Alliance,简称ULA),提出了十分大胆的计划,打算在4年内结束对俄罗斯火箭发动机的依赖,并将发射成本大幅削减至少一半。
United Launch Alliance said the first flight for the new rocket — to be called Vulcan — will be in 2019, the deadline that Congress had set the company to end its reliance on Russian RD180 rocket engines. The new rocket will save money partly by jettisoning its engines back to earth to be captured by helicopters and reused on future flights.
ULA表示,这种将被命名为“火神”(Vulcan)的新型火箭将于2019年首航。2019年是美国国会为该公司设定的最后期限,届时ULA必须结束对俄罗斯RD180火箭发动机的依赖。该新型火箭会把发动机抛回地球并由直升机回收,以便再次用于未来的航行,从而在一定程度上节约部分资金。
The new rocket — also known as the Next Generation Launch System — would eventually offer the US the capability to fly successive components of a spacecraft to be assembled in orbit, said Tory Bruno, ULA’s chief executive. It could then conduct an interplanetary mission, such as a flight to Mars.
ULA首席执行官托里•布鲁诺(Tory Bruno)表示,这种新型火箭又称为下一代发射系统(Nest Generation Launch System,简称NGLS),它最终将令美国能将宇宙飞船的部件接连发往太空,从而在轨道上开展安装。接着,组装好的飞船将可以开展星际旅行——比如飞往火星。
“Because the Next Generation Launch System will be the highest-performing, most cost-efficient rocket on the market, it will open up new opportunities for the nation’s use of space,” Mr Bruno told reporters at a press conference in Colorado Springs.
在科罗拉多斯普林斯的记者招待会上,布鲁诺表示:“NGLS将是市场上表现最好、最节约成本的火箭。该型火箭将因此为美国开发太空创造新的机遇。”
Vulcan will be carried into space on two BE-4 engines developed by Blue Origin, a start-up founded by Jeff Bezos, the man behind Amazon. The engines — powered by methane, a new propellant for US-built engines — will initially power a similar rocket to the Atlas V that ULA powers with Russian-built RD180 engines.
“火神”将由两台由蓝色起源(Blue Origin)公司开发的BE-4发动机送入太空。蓝色起源是由亚马逊幕后老板杰夫•贝佐斯(Jeff Bezos)创办的初创企业。BE-4发动机将用甲烷作为推进剂,这是美国制造的火箭发动机中首次采用这种推进剂。这种发动机最早将用于推进一款与宇宙神5型(Atlas V)类似的火箭,后者是ULA一款用俄制RD180发动机推进的火箭。
ULA’s reliance on Russian engines has caused concern ever since Dmitry Rogozin, Russia’s deputy prime minister, last year threatened to withhold the engines for US national security launches. Congress last year ruled that ULA — a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin — was allowed to buy no more RD180s after its current launch contract expired in 2019.
去年,俄罗斯副总理德米特里•罗戈津(Dmitry Rogozin)曾威胁要禁止美国将其火箭发动机用于与国家安全有关的发射活动。自那以来,ULA对俄罗斯发动机的依赖已引发人们的担忧。去年,美国国会规定,在ULA当前发射合同于2019年到期后,该公司禁止再购买RD180发动机。
Many observers — including Mr Bruno — have previously cast doubt on whether the company could produce a new, highly innovative, US-produced engine in such a short timeframe.
ULA从设计之初就打算将BE-4发动机在发射后抛回地球。该发动机将用可膨胀的隔热材料保护起来,并在伞降后由直升机回收。
Mr Bruno acknowledged the continued risks on Monday by saying the company would continue to work with Aerojet Rocketdyne, an established manufacturer, on an alternative engine.
布鲁诺表示,这么做将在大幅压低ULA发射成本方面发挥重要作用,有助于该公司将每次发射的成本从逾2亿美元降至平均1亿美元。
“Our back-up is Aerojet Rocketdyne,” Mr Bruno said. “We’re going to take both of them forward until at least 2016.”



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