Leak on International Space Station delays SpaceX launch of Axiom-4 astronauts

国际空间站泄漏推迟空间站x发射Axiom-4宇航员

The crew members of Axiom-4 are stuck in a holding pattern inside their astronaut quarantine, as a leak persists in of of the space station's Russian modules.

由于空间站的俄罗斯模块持续泄漏，Axiom-4的机组人员被困在宇航员隔离区内

Houston-based Axiom Space was set to launch its fourth astronaut mission (Ax-4) with SpaceX last week, but the mission is being postponed again due to an air leak detected in Russia's Zvezda module of the International Space Station (ISS). The mission was originally slated for June 11, and has been pushed down the calendar three times now, due to the issues aboard the ISS.

总部位于休斯顿的Axiom Space原定于上周与SpaceX一起发射第四次宇航员任务（Ax-4），但由于在国际空间站（ISS）的俄罗斯Zvezda舱检测到空气泄漏，该任务再次推迟。该任务原定于6月11日进行，由于国际空间站上的问题，现在已经被推迟了三次。

The leak in Zvezda isn't new, but a recent pressure change within the module is prompting NASA and Axiom to hold off on the Ax-4 launch until they are sure it poses no danger to the incoming crew. "Following the most-recent repair, pressure in the transfer tunnel has been stable. Previously, pressure in this area would have dropped. This could indicate the small leaks have been sealed," NASA wrote in a June 14 update. Now, the Ax-4 mission has been delayed indefinitely, while NASA continues evaluating the situation up in low-Earth orbit.

Zvezda的泄漏并不是新的，但最近模块内的压力变化促使NASA和Axiom推迟Ax-4的发射，直到他们确定它不会对即将到来的机组人员构成危险。美国宇航局在6月14日的更新中写道：“经过最近的修复，转移隧道的压力一直稳定。以前，这个区域的压力会下降。这可能表明小泄漏已经被密封。”现在，Ax-4任务被无限期推迟，而美国宇航局继续评估近地轨道的情况。

"Because of the space station's interconnected and interdependent systems, NASA wants to ensure the station is ready for additional crew members, and the agency is taking the time necessary to review data," NASA said in an update yesterday (June 19).

“由于空间站的系统相互连接和相互依赖，NASA希望确保空间站为额外的机组人员做好准备，该机构正在花必要的时间审查数据，”NASA在昨天（6月19日）回复。

"NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX appreciate the historic nature of this mission for the nations of India, Poland, and Hungary, as well as the world," NASA added in the post.

NASA在帖子中补充道：“NASA、Axiom Space和SpaceX赞赏这次任务对印度、波兰和匈牙利以及全世界的历史性。”

Ax-4 is commanded by Axiom's director of human spaceflight and former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson. Joining her are Shubhanshu Shukla of India, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland, and Tibor Kapu, from Hungary. The three will be the first astronauts from each of their nations to launch on a mission to the ISS.

Ax-4由Axiom载人航天主管、前NASA宇航员佩吉·惠特森(Peggy Whitson)指挥。与她一起的还有印度的舒班舒·舒克拉、波兰的斯瓦沃什·乌兹南斯基-维希涅夫斯基和匈牙利的蒂博尔·卡普。这三人将是他们各自国家的第一批发射到国际空间站执行任务的宇航员。

The quartet will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, aboard a brand-new Crew Dragon spacecraft. When the new launch date is announced, the mission will liftoff from Launch Complex-39A, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, in Florida.

四人组将乘坐SpaceX猎鹰9号火箭发射，搭载全新的载人龙飞船。当新的发射日期宣布时，该任务将从佛罗里达州美国宇航局肯尼迪航天中心的39A发射场升空。

Their mission is scheduled to last about two weeks, during which the Ax-4 crew will carry out more than 60 research experiments and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) outreach events  — a record number of science for an Axiom mission.

他们的任务计划持续约两周，在此期间，Ax-4机组人员将进行60多项研究实验和STEM（科学、技术、工程和数学）外展活动——这是一项Axiom任务科学数量的记录。

Each of Axiom's crewed missions grow the company's experience in orbit, and their understanding of how best to operate in microgravity. In the future, Axiom plans to launch its own module to the ISS, which will eventually grow in its components and undock from the orbital lab to become its own independent space station.

Axiom的每一次载人任务都丰富了该公司在轨道上的经验，以及他们对如何在微重力下最好地运行有了更深的理解。未来，Axiom计划向国际空间站发射自己的模块，该模块最终将在其组件中成长，并从轨道实验室脱离，成为自己独立的空间站。