SpaceX, the rocket company founded by Elon Musk¹, launched a radar² satellite atop one of its go-to rockets last Thursday morning.

上周四上午，埃隆·马斯克创建的火箭公司SpaceX（美国太空探索技术公司）通过其一艘运载火箭发射了一颗雷达卫星。

The satellite, called Paz, will keep an eye on ship traffic across the oceans of the world.

该卫星被称为帕斯，它将看管全球海上的船舶交通。

But another payload hitched³ a ride aboard the Falcon⁴ 9 rocket, one the company didn't publicize: two smaller satellites that are part of Musk's plan to bathe Earth in high-speed internet coverage⁵.

不过，“猎鹰9号”火箭还顺便搭载了另外两颗小型卫星。该公司并没有公布这项发射任务，但这却是马斯克覆盖全球的高速互联网计划的一部分。

The scale of the proposal, informally known as Starlink, is incredible. In the coming years, the company hopes to launch 4,425 interlinked broadband-internet satellites into orbit some 700 to 800 miles above Earth, plus another 7,500 spacecraft⁶ into lower orbits.

这一提案被通称为星链（Starlink），其规模十分惊人。在未来的几年里，该公司希望在地球上空700到800英里的轨道上发射4425颗互连的宽带网络卫星，并在较低的轨道上发射另外7500个航天器。

That's nearly 12,000 satellites, more than twice the number of all satellites launched in history, according to a tally⁷ by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

据忧思科学家联盟统计，那将是近12000颗卫星，比历史上发射的所有卫星的数量的两倍还要多。

Musk and SpaceX have said little about their plan since announcing it in 2015. But since it needs approval from the Federal Communications Commission, detailed⁸ documents about the effort are released.

自从2015年宣布这一计划，马斯克和SpaceX公司几乎再没提过它。但因为需要获得联邦通信委员会的批准，他们公布了有关这一尝试的详细文件。

According to FCC documents made public this month, the organisation⁹ in November gave SpaceX permission to launch the two experimental spacecraft, called Microsat-2a and Microsat-2b, to test its space-based internet concept.

联邦通信委员会本月公布的文件指出，该组织于11月份准许了SpaceX公司发射两个实验航天器。这两个航天器被称为微型卫星2a（Microsat-2a）和微型卫星2b（Microsat-2b），它们是用来检验基于太空的互联网理念的。

The mission lifted off from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California last Thursday at 9:17 am ET – one day later than planned – aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.

此次发射任务是于上周四（比计划发射的时间晚了一天）上午9点17分（美国东部时间）在加利福尼亚范登堡空军基地通过“猎鹰9号”火箭完成的。

Musk confirmed that the launch will test aspects of Starlink.

马斯克证实，此次发射将检测星链计划的各方面情况。

"Today's Falcon launch carries 2 SpaceX test satellites for global broadband," Musk tweeted last Wednesday (before the launch delay). "If successful, Starlink constellation¹⁰ will serve least served."

“今天猎鹰火箭搭载了两颗SpaceX公司研发的全球宽带测试卫星，”马斯克上周三（在发射推迟之前）在推特上写道。“如果成功了，星链卫星群将可以提供最低程度的服务。”

The Paz satellite deployed¹¹ about 11 minutes after launch, and Microsat-2a and Microsat-2b some time after that.

帕斯卫星在火箭发射后大约11分钟的时候完成部署，而微型卫星2a和2b在那之后也完成了部署。

A live webcast of the Paz mission launch on YouTube offered the glimpses of the two Starlink satellites, which will operate for about a year above Earth.

油管网站上有帕斯卫星发射的直播视频，从中可以看到这两颗星链卫星，而这两颗卫星将在地球上空运行约一年的时间。

An announcer said during SpaceX's live webcast that the company couldn't show the deployment¹² of the Starlink demonstration¹³ satellites because of poor signal coverage.

在SpaceX公司网络直播的过程中，一位播音员表示，因为信号覆盖不充足，该公司无法展示星链示范卫星的部署过程。

However, the rocket later beamed down high-resolution video of the satellites deploying¹⁴.

然而，随后，火箭就播出了高分辨率的卫星部署视频。

"First two Starlink demo satellites, called Tintin A & B, deployed and communicating to Earth stations," Musk tweeted with a clip of them floating into space.

“最初的两颗星链示范卫星名为丁丁A和B，它们部署在地球站上，并向其传递信息，”马斯克在推特上写道，同时附上了两颗卫星漂浮在太空中的一张照片。