Boeing's new Starliner capsule, on its maiden uncrewed flight to the International Space Station, has failed to attain its proper orbit after a flawless liftoff from Cape Canaveral, Fla., the company says.

波音公司表示，波音公司新的“星际飞船”太空舱在飞往国际空间站的首次无人飞行中，在从佛罗里达州的卡纳维拉尔角完美无缺地发射后，未能到达正确的轨道。

Boeing says the capsule, which is carrying 600 pounds of cargo as a dress rehearsal for a possible mission with astronauts next year, has reached a stable orbit, but not at the correct altitude to dock with the station.

波音公司表示，太空舱载有600磅货物，作为明年可能与宇航员一起执行任务的彩排，已经到达稳定的轨道，但没有处于与空间站对接的正确高度。

About 30 minutes after liftoff, the capsule's onboard clock malfunctioned, causing the spacecraft's computer to fire its engines incorrectly. The unplanned maneuver used too much fuel, preventing the Starliner from rendezvousing with the station.

升空约30分钟后，太空舱的座钟出现故障，导致飞船的计算机无法正确地启动引擎。这一计划外的操作消耗了太多的燃料，使星际飞船无法与空间站会合。

NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said that had astronauts been on board Friday's Starliner flight, they would have been safe and could have taken control of the vehicle.

美国国家航空航天局局长吉姆·布里登斯汀表示，如果宇航员在周五的“星际飞船”上，他们将是安全的，可以控制飞船。

"In fact, had they been in there, we very well may be orbiting, or docking with the space station tomorrow had they been in the spacecraft," he said.

他说:“事实上，如果他们在那里，我们很可能明天就进入轨道，或者与空间站对接，如果他们在宇宙飞船里的话。”

"We trained extensively for this type of contingency and had we been on board there, there could have been actions that we could have taken," said NASA astronaut Nicole Mann. She's slated to fly on the first crewed Starliner mission next year.

美国国家航空航天局宇航员尼科尔·曼恩说:“我们为这类紧急情况进行了大量训练，如果我们在那里，我们就可以采取行动。”明年她将执行首次载人星际飞船任务。

"That's why you have test pilots on board, especially for these early missions," she said. "We are looking forward to flying on Starliner. We don't have any safety concerns.

“这就是为什么会有试飞员在飞机上，尤其是在这些早期任务中，”她说。“我们期待乘坐星际飞船。我们没有任何安全上的顾虑。

The test is part of NASA's $6.8 billion Commercial Crew program to launch humans from the U.S. and end a nearly decadelong reliance on the Russian space agency for rides to the station. Currently, NASA astronauts hitch a ride on Soyuz capsules.

这次试验是美国宇航局耗资68亿美元的商业载人航天计划的一部分，该计划旨在将美国宇航员送入太空，结束近10年来美国宇航员依赖俄罗斯航天局运送宇航员到国际空间站的局面。目前，美国宇航局宇航员搭乘联盟号太空舱。

Boeing is going head-to-head with SpaceX, which conducted a successful docking of its Dragon capsule with the station in March. SpaceX could send astronauts on Dragon as soon as the spring.

波音公司将与太空探索技术公司展开正面交锋。太空探索技术公司今年3月成功地将“龙”号太空舱与空间站对接。太空探索技术公司最早可能在今年春天将宇航员送上“龙”号太空舱。

Friday's launch of Starliner also comes as Boeing's public image has been battered by the fatal crash of two of its 737 Max jetliners last year and the subsequent global grounding of the aircraft type.

上周五推出星际飞船之际，波音的公众形象也因去年两架波音737 Max客机的致命坠毁以及随后该机型的全球停飞而受损。

Whether Boeing or SpaceX, when NASA does launch humans from U.S. soil sometime next year, it will be the first time since the last Space Shuttle mission in 2011.

无论是波音公司还是太空探索技术公司，美国国家航空航天局明年某个时候将人类从美国本土发射升空，这将是自2011年最后一次航天飞机任务以来的首次。

"We're doing it in a way that's never been done before," Bridenstine said. "This time when we go, we're going to go with commercial partners. NASA is not purchasing, owning and operating the hardware. We're buying the service."

布里登斯汀说:“我们正在以一种前所未有的方式来做这件事。”“这一次，我们将与商业伙伴合作。美国国家航空航天局并不购买、拥有和操作硬件。我们正在购买这项服务。”

It's a lot like calling an Uber to space. NASA is paying for rides to the station, relying on two commercial vehicles — SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Boeing's Starliner.

这很像把优步叫上太空。美国国家航空和宇宙航行局将支付前往空间站的费用，主要依靠太空探索技术公司的“龙”号和波音的星际飞船两种商用运载工具。

Both companies have responded to the technical challenges. SpaceX has been continuously testing its parachutes. It also says it found the root cause of an explosion earlier this year related to its abort engines. It will test that system next month by firing the abort motors midflight after launching a test capsule on its Falcon 9 rocket.

两家公司都对技术挑战做出了回应。太空探索技术公司一直在测试它的降落伞。该公司还表示，今年早些时候发现了与中止引擎有关的爆炸根源。下个月，该公司将在发射猎鹰9号火箭的测试舱后，在飞行途中启动中止发动机，对该系统进行测试。

Boeing completed a test of its abort system last month and called the mission a success. But one of the capsule's parachutes failed to open before touchdown. Boeing said despite the failed chute, if a crew was on board they would land safely. At a news conference this week, Boeing said it identified the cause of the failure and has fixed the issue.

波音公司上个月完成了其中止系统的测试，称这次任务是成功的。但是其中一个降落伞在着陆前未能打开。波音公司表示，尽管滑道发生了故障，但如果机上有机组人员，他们将安全着陆。在本周的新闻发布会上，波音公司表示已经查明了故障原因，并已经解决了这个问题。