SpaceX 如何掌握星舰的焊接技术：英语精读讲义

If you've been following Starship from the very beginning, 語法

如果你从一开始就关注星舰（Starship），

you will know that it didn't always look this good.

你就会知道它最初并不像现在这么好看。

The first Starship prototypes looked incredibly rough,

最早的星舰原型机看起来非常粗糙，

not like something that could ever survive a journey into space.

一点也不像能扛过太空之旅的东西。

The Starships that SpaceX produce now

而 SpaceX 现在生产的星舰

look much more sophisticated

看起来要精密得多，

with smoother metal work and welds that are much less noticeable.

金属工艺更平滑，焊缝也更不显眼了。

So, how did Starship go from looking like this 語法

那么，星舰是如何从最初的模样，

to this in just a few years?

在短短几年内变成现在这样的呢？

And will it ever look completely smooth and shiny

它最终会像渲染图里那样，

like it does in the renders?

看起来完全光滑闪亮吗？

To answer this question, we need to look at

为了回答这个问题，我们需要看看

why Starship looks like this in the first place. 習語

为什么星舰一开始会设计成这样。

More specifically, why it's big and shiny

具体来说，就是为什么它又大又亮，

instead of white and thin like most rockets.

而不是像大多数火箭那样又白又细。

Starship wasn't always destined to look like 短語搭配

星舰并不是一开始就注定要长得像

a 1940s sci-fi rocket.

20世纪40年代科幻小说里的火箭。

In fact, it was originally meant to be made from carbon fiber 語法

事实上，它最初计划由碳纤维制成，

and production had already begun in California.

而且已经在加利福尼亚州开始生产了。

This seemed like the most logical plan

这似乎是最符合逻辑的计划，

since carbon fiber is extremely strong

因为碳纤维极其坚固，

and SpaceX already had most of their workforce based in California.

而且 SpaceX 的大部分员工都在加州。

So it shocked everyone when a stainless steel Starship

所以，当一艘不锈钢星舰

popped up in a small village in Texas. 短語動詞

突然出现在德克萨斯州的一个小村庄时，所有人都震惊了。

But over time, people started to realize

但随着时间的推移，人们开始意识到

what a great decision this was. 語法

这是一个多么伟大的决定。

Although carbon fiber is very strong,

虽然碳纤维非常坚固，

it breaks down at around 200 degrees. 短語動詞

但它在200度左右就会分解。

Therefore, it would require a very thick heat shield

因此，它需要一个非常厚的隔热盾，

in order to survive the 1600 degree temperatures 語法

才能在1600度的高温下

during multiple re-entries.

挺过多次再入大气的过程。

Although stainless steel is heavier,

虽然不锈钢更重，

it can deal with much higher temperatures

但它能承受高得多的温度，

and so only a very thin heat shield would be required.

因此只需要一层非常薄的隔热盾。

Stainless steel is also much cheaper than carbon

不锈钢也比碳纤维便宜得多，

costing just $3 per kilogram 語法

每公斤成本只要3美元，

compared to an incredible 150.

而碳纤维则高达惊人的150美元。

But this wasn't the first stainless steel rocket to be made.

但这并不是世界上第一枚不锈钢火箭。

Back in the '60s, NASA made an Atlas rocket

早在60年代，NASA 就制造了一枚 Atlas 火箭，

out of an incredibly thin stainless steel.

用的是极薄的不锈钢。

This was so thin that unless the rocket was constantly pressurized, 語法

薄到什么程度呢？除非火箭持续加压，

gravity alone would completely crush it.

否则单靠重力就能把它完全压垮。

And it did.

结果它确实被压垮过。

But even if SpaceX had gone with carbon fiber, 語法

不过，即使 SpaceX 选择了碳纤维，

it's hard to see how Starship would have actually been made.

也很难想象星舰实际上要怎么造出来。

In order to manufacture carbon composites,

为了制造碳复合材料，

the fibers have to be layered in a very specific way

纤维必须以非常特定的方式层叠，

in order for the material to be strong in every direction.

才能保证材料在各个方向上都很坚固。

Then the composites need to be cured in an enormous pressure oven. 用詞

然后，这些复合材料需要在一个巨大的高压烤箱中固化。

For Starship's 9 meter wide sections,

以星舰9米宽的舱段来看，

SpaceX would need an oven larger than anything that exists at the moment.

SpaceX 需要一个比目前所有烤箱都大的烤箱。

This is where stainless steel excelled.

这就是不锈钢胜出的地方。

It could be put together quickly using the most basic and affordable methods. 短語動詞

它可以使用最基本且价格合理的方法快速组装。

And so, SpaceX began working on the world's shiniest rocket.

于是，SpaceX 开始打造世界上最闪亮的火箭。

But for some reason, it wasn't so shiny.

但出于某种原因，它当时并没有那么闪亮。

One of the biggest challenges with the initial Starship prototypes

最初的星舰原型机面临的最大挑战之一，

was the welding.

就是焊接。

Initially, each ring had to be made out of several sheets

起初，每个圆环都得由好几张

of 301 stainless steel, which were 4.5 mm thick.

厚度为4.5毫米的301不锈钢板制成。

Don't forget that the original Starship crew

别忘了，最初负责建造星舰的团队

was contracted from a water tower company 用詞

是外包给一家水塔公司的，

and didn't have any experience with building rockets.

他们没有任何制造火箭的经验。

So, the welding standards were, well, not great. 語氣意圖

所以，焊接标准嘛……不是太好。

But what exactly is welding

那么焊接究竟是什么，

and why is it so difficult to get right?

为什么那么难做好呢？

Webster's dictionary defines welding as 短語搭配

《韦氏词典》将焊接定义为

the fusing of two metals with a hot torch.

用高温焊枪将两种金属熔合在一起。

The early Starship prototypes used a welding method called flux-core.

早期的星舰原型机使用了一种叫做药芯焊的方法。

With this method, a voltage is passed through a metallic wire,

在这种方法中，电压穿过一根金属丝，

which forms an arc between it and the metal,

在金属丝和金属板之间形成电弧，

causing it to melt. 語法

使其熔化。

The tip of the metallic wire also melts and falls

金属丝的尖端也会熔化并滴落

into the now molten stainless steel,

到已经熔化的不锈钢中，

filling up any cracks or air bubbles.

填补任何裂缝或气泡。

With flux-core, the metal wire is surrounded by a solid material

在药芯焊中，金属丝被一种固体材料包裹，

that burns and releases a protective gas around the weld.

这种材料在燃烧时会在焊缝周围释放出保护性气体。

This protects the weld and stops it from reacting 語法

这可以保护焊缝，防止其发生反应

with the oxygen in our atmosphere, which would cause corrosion.

与大气中的氧气接触，从而导致腐蚀。

This works well when you're inside a controlled environment. 用詞

当你在受控的室内环境中，这种方法很有效。

But SpaceX's main problem at the time

但 SpaceX 当时面临的主要问题是，

was that they didn't have a proper factory, just a fairly large tent.

他们并没有一个像样的工厂，只有一个相当大的帐篷。

And so, with most of the welding being done outside 語法

于是，由于大部分焊接工作都在户外进行，

by welders that had no rocket experience,

而且焊工又没有火箭经验，

it's no surprise Starship looked so bad. 表達脈絡

星舰看起来那么糟糕也就不足为奇了。

The welds on the first prototype were heavily corroded

第一台原型机上的焊缝腐蚀严重，

with cracks and rough edges on the surface.

表面有裂纹和粗糙的边缘。

In order to improve these welds,

为了改善这些焊缝，

SpaceX started grinding them down until they were flush with the surface. 講解

SpaceX 开始打磨它们，直到与表面齐平。

Although this seemed like a poor attempt to restore some shininess, 表達脈絡

虽然这看起来像是为了恢复光泽而做的拙劣尝试，

this process was actually done to strengthen the welds.

但这一过程实际上是为了强化焊缝。

These sharp edges and tiny cracks act as pressure points,

这些锋利的边缘和微小的裂纹会成为受力点，

which could lead to much bigger cracks once Starship is pressurized. 短語搭配

一旦星舰加压，就可能导致更大的裂纹。

And so, grinding the surface removed these defects

因此，打磨表面消除了这些缺陷，

and reduced the chance of a weld failing. 短語搭配

并降低了焊缝失效的几率。

In theory, each weld would be as strong as the surrounding metal. 表達脈絡

理论上，每条焊缝都会和周围的金属一样坚固。

But the initial Starship test proved that it wasn't.

但最初的星舰测试证明事实并非如此。

Mark 1 exploded when one of the welds failed

Mark 1 在测试时爆炸，就是因为一条焊缝失效，

and sent the bulkhead flying. 語法

导致舱壁被炸飞。

And so, SpaceX brought in some major improvements

于是，SpaceX 进行了一些重大改进

to the next Starship prototype.

并应用到了下一个星舰原型机上。

Each ring was now made from thinner single sheets of stainless steel,

每个圆环现在都由更薄的单张不锈钢制成，

which required much less welding.

这大大减少了焊接量。

They also moved from 301 to 304L stainless steel,

他们还将材料从301改为304L不锈钢，

which was more resistant to corrosion when welding.

这种材料在焊接时更抗腐蚀。

At this point, they also upgraded to TIP-TIG welding,

在这一阶段，他们还升级到了 TIP-TIG 焊接，

which gave them much more control over the welding arc, 短語搭配

这让他们能更好地控制焊接电弧，

allowing the welder to tighten it up and weld much deeper into the metal.

使焊工能够收紧电弧，进行更深层的焊接。

This produced thinner welds and didn't warp the surrounding metal nearly as much. 語法

这不仅让焊缝变窄，而且周围金属的翘曲程度也大大降低。

SpaceX also started to buy robotic welding machines

SpaceX 也开始采购机器人焊接设备，

similar to the one seen in Tesla factories.

类似于特斯拉工厂里使用的那种。

With these upgrades, SpaceX automated a large chunk of the process 習語

随着这些升级，SpaceX 将大部分流程自动化，

and started to produce cleaner and more precise welds.

并开始生产更平整、更精确的焊缝。

They also began installing more stringers on the inside of Starship's hull

他们也开始在星舰船体内部安装更多的纵梁，

to stop the metal from buckling under its own weight. 短語搭配

以防止金属在自身重量下发生屈曲。

But SpaceX didn't stop there. 習語

但 SpaceX 并没有止步于此。

By now, SpaceX has likely moved on to laser welding 語法

现在，SpaceX 可能已经改用激光焊接

for many of Starship's sections.

来处理星舰的许多部件。

With laser welding, the heat is much more concentrated

激光焊接的热量更加集中，

and goes deeper into the metal,

能更深地穿透金属，

allowing the ring segments to be welded in a single pass. 用詞

让圆环段可以一次成型焊好。

But in order to really improve the strength of each weld,

但为了真正提高每条焊缝的强度，

another process has to be done.

还需要进行另一道工序。

You see, when Starship stainless steel is produced in its factory, 表達脈絡

要知道，当星舰的不锈钢在工厂里生产出来时，

it goes through a process called cold rolling. 用詞

它会经过一个叫作冷轧的过程。

This involves passing the metal through a series of rollers, 語法

这个过程包括让金属穿过一系列滚筒，

which compress it down and stretch out the grains in the metal.

将其压扁并拉伸金属内部的晶粒。

This makes the material stronger and harder.

这会使材料变得更强、更硬。

However, when Starship is welded,

然而，当星舰进行焊接时，

the heat causes the metal in that area to soften up again. 語法

高温会导致该区域的金属再次变软。

This is where SpaceX's giant planishing machine comes in. 表達脈絡

这就是 SpaceX 巨型平整机派上用场的地方。

Planishing involves hammering the welds down and compressing them

平整处理包括锤击焊缝并对其施压，

until they match the hardness of the surrounding metal.

直到其硬度与周围金属相匹配。

This has the added benefit of smoothing the finish of the welds 短語搭配

这还有一个额外的好处，那就是让焊缝表面更光滑，

and improving their look.

并改善其外观。

But will Starship ever have a completely smooth finish like a mirror?

但星舰真的会拥有镜面般绝对光滑的表面吗？

To answer this, we need to go to Chicago

为了回答这个问题，我们需要去趟芝加哥，

to look at the famous bean sculpture 文化背景

看看那个著名的豆子雕塑，

made from several stainless steel sheets.

它也是由多块不锈钢板拼成的。

The structure went through an 8-month polishing process 短語動詞

该建筑历经了长达8个月的抛光过程，

involving a crew of 24 people

需要24人的团队

using many different grades of sanding grit.

使用许多不同标号的磨砂材料。

In order to do this on Starship,

若要在星舰上做到这一点，

the entire body would need to go through this process

整个船体都需要经历这个过程，

to avoid having any visible lines around the welds. 語法

以避免在焊缝周围出现任何可见的线条。

So, it's unlikely that SpaceX will ever do this. 語法

所以，SpaceX 几乎不可能这么做。

Either way, SpaceX is throwing everything into Starship 講解

无论如何，SpaceX 正倾注一切去打造星舰，

and it's amazing to see this project come together so quickly. 短語動詞

看到这个项目如此迅速地成型，真是令人惊叹。

If you'd like to support the channel even more,

如果您想进一步支持本频道，

consider becoming a patron where you can give your input on each video

请考虑成为我们的 Patreon 赞助者，您不仅能对每期视频提出建议，

and get exclusive access to our Discord server.

还能获得我们 Discord 服务器的专属访问权限。

Thank you very much for watching

非常感谢您的观看，

and I'll see you in the next video.

我们下期视频再见。