Boeing Starliner crew capsule is scheduled to launch to the ISS, and if all goes well, this uncrewed mission will pave the way for crewed missions later this year and proof that Boeing has what it takes to help reinvent commercial human spaceflight.

波音星際航線載人太空艙計劃發射到國際太空站，如果一切順利，這項無載人任務將為今年下旬的載人任務鋪路，並證明波音公司有能力幫助重塑太空商業飛行。

Boeing is in a unique position. It's one of the most well-established aviation companies in the biz, and also one of a number of private companies vying to be a leader in commercial spaceflight.

波音處於獨特的地位，它是該產業中最成熟的航空公司之一，也是眾多爭相成為商業太空飛行龍頭的民營公司之一。

In 2014, the company was awarded a massive contract by Nasa to send crewed-flight missions up to the ISS. But It wasn't the only one.

在 2014 年，該公司獲得了 NASA 的一份大合約，將載人飛行任務送到國際太空站，但它不是唯一一間得到合約的公司。

Right around the same time, SpaceX also got a similar contract from Nasa and they hit the ground running.

大約在同一時間，SpaceX 也從 NASA 獲得了一份類似的合約並開始著手準備。

On May 30, 2020, SpaceX became the first-ever private company to send a crew to the ISS, and this also marked the first time that astronauts had launched into space from U.S. soil since NASA ended its space shuttle program in 2011.

2020 年 5 月 30 日，SpaceX 成為第一家向國際太空站載送太空人的民營公司。這也標誌了自 NASA 於 2011 年結束太空梭計劃以來，太空人首次從美國本土發射升空。

Now, Boeing, on the other hand, has been struggling to get their crew capsule off the ground.

另一方面，現在波音一直在努力讓他們的載人太空艙起飛。

With a classic shape and a sleek modern interior, Boeing Starliner is nothing short of impressive.

憑藉經典的外形和時尚的現代內裝，波音星際航線令人印象深刻。

It's designed to be reusable up to 10 times and it's capable of holding up to seven passengers or a mix of crew and cargo, and it's the first U.S.-built craft certified for land-based returns.

它被設計為可最多重複使用 10 次，最多可容納 7 名乘客或船員和貨物的混合體，且是第一艘獲得陸上返回認證的美國製太空梭。

But back in 2019, Boeing launched the capsule's first test flight on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, and just 30 minutes into that uncrewed flight, things started to go a little sideways

但早在 2019 年，太空艙在聯合發射聯盟擎天神 5 號運載火箭的頂部進行了首次試飛，而在無載人飛行僅 30 分鐘後，事情開始走偏了。

Starliner actually ended up in the wrong orbit and missed the ISS entirely.

星際航線最終進入到了錯誤的軌道並完全錯過了國際太空站。

This was a devastating blow to both Boeing and Nasa as it meant that they would have to push back their plans to send astronauts into orbit as part of the agency's commercial crew program.

這對波音和 NASA 來說都是毀滅性的打擊，因為這意味著，作為商業載人計劃的一部分，他們將不得不推遲將太空人送入軌道。

Following review of the flawed test, NASA found 80 corrective actions that Boeing could take to make things better. One of the major issues to fix is Starliner's timing system because getting the lift-off countdown right is important.

在對有缺陷的測試進行審查後，NASA 發現了波音可以採取的 80 項糾正措施讓事情變得更好，要解決的主要問題之一是星際航線的計時系統，因為正確地進行升空倒計時是很重要的。

A glitch was also found in the software that controls the separation of the crew and service modules just before they re-entered the atmosphere.

在控制載人艙和服務艙在進入大氣層之前分離的軟體中也發現了一個故障。

And other recommendations included adding more integrated testing and simulations, and making updates to various software and other processes.

而其他建議包括增加更多的綜合測試和模擬，並對各種軟體和其他流程進行更新。

And after a long 18 months of work to make those changes, NASA and Boeing are finally ready to launch orbital flight test Ⅱ.

經過長達 18 個月的努力做出這些改變，NASA 和波音終於準備好第二次發射軌道飛行試驗。

Just like before, Starliner will ride atop the Atlas V rocket, and its main engine delivers nearly four meganewtons of thrust at sea level and each of its two boosters deliver roughly 1.5 meganewtons of thrust at liftoff.

就像以前一樣，星際航線將搭載在擎天神 5 號運載火箭上，它的主發動機在海平面提供近 4 兆牛頓的推力，其兩個助推器中的每一個在升空時提供大約 1.5 兆牛頓的推力。

About 4.5 minutes into the flight, Atlas Ⅴ will separate from the dual-engine Centaur upper stage, which provides that additional thrust that's necessary to get Starliner into orbit.

飛行大約四分半後，擎天神 5 號運載火箭將與雙引擎半人馬座火箭上部分離，後者提供將星際航線送入軌道所需的額外推力。

A launch vehicle adapter attaches the capsule to the rocket and includes a metallic skirt to make the vehicle more aerodynamic.

運載火箭適配器將太空艙連接到火箭上，包括一個金屬裙邊，使運載工具更具空氣動力學特性，

But after the booster stage separates, the skirt will fly off, too, and allow Starliner to continue on to the ISS on its own.

但在助推器階段分離後，裙邊也會飛走，讓星際航線繼續自行前往國際太空站。

Once there, it will stay for about a week, demonstrating its docking capabilities before coming back down to Earth.

到達那裡後，它將停留大約一周，並在返回地球之前展示其對接能力。

Unlike SpaceX's crew capsule, which lands in the water, Boeing Starliner is designed to land on solid ground using a series of parachutes and airbags.

不同於 SpaceX 的載人太空艙降落在水中，波音星際航線的設計目的是使用一系列降落傘和安全氣囊降落在堅實的地面上。

This expedites the return of any crew cargo or research samples and it makes it a lot easier for the whole craft to be reused for next time.

這加快了任何船員貨物或研究樣本的取回，並且使整個飛船更容易在下次重複使用。

It almost goes without saying that if orbital flight test Ⅱ go as well, it will mark a major milestone for NASA's commercial crew program;

毋庸置疑，如果第二次軌道飛行試驗也順利進行，這將標誌 NASA 商業載人計劃的一個重要里程碑，

it will be the first time the Boeing Starliner gets a chance to fully demonstrate its capabilities and prove that it has what it takes to safely fly a crew in the future, which NASA is already hoping will happen in late 2021 so fingers crossed, it goes right this time around.

這將是波音星際航線第一次有機會充分展示其能力並證明它有能力在未來安全地載送機組人員，而這個願景 NASA 希望這能在 2021 年末實現，所以祈求好運，希望這次會順利進行。

Curious to know how Boeing's competitor, SpaceX got their flights up and running so quickly? And check out our countdown to launch episode on the company's demo Ⅱ mission.

想知道波音的競爭對手 SpaceX 如何如此迅速地讓他們的太空梭升空的嗎？ 還有請觀看我們倒數推出該公司第二次任務演示的影片。

And if there's any other spaceflight news you want us to cover, let us know down in the comments.

如果你有任何其他希望我們報導的宇宙飛行新聞，請在評論區告訴我們。

Make sure you subscribe to Seeker and as always, thanks for watching. I'll see you at the next one.

記得要訂閱 Seeker，還有老樣子，感謝你的觀看，我們下支影片見。