????利用一枚完全由3D打印部件構成的火箭,，火箭實驗室公司（Rocket Lab）打算將僅重220磅的小衛(wèi)星送入繞地軌道，每次發(fā)射要價僅為490萬美元,。而現(xiàn)在絕大多數(shù)發(fā)射的起價就是5000萬美元,，具體價位取決于有效載荷的類型和大小。

????不過,，對于該公司的Electron火箭,，首席執(zhí)行官彼得?貝克想澄清一點：這款產(chǎn)品并不想主宰航空發(fā)射市場,，也不是要通過低價和Space X或聯(lián)合發(fā)射聯(lián)盟爭搶利潤豐厚的美國宇航局或軍方的發(fā)射合同,。貝克對《財富》雜志表示：“我們并不是要打造一個火箭家族，并不打算載人發(fā)射,。我們只是希望提高發(fā)射頻率,，同時降低空間基礎設施的建造成本?！?/p>

????他補充稱,，空間基礎設施既是未來空間活動的關鍵，也是為地面生活探索更好未來的關鍵,。目前,，技術和市場都更傾向于選擇小型衛(wèi)星。比如,，衛(wèi)星互聯(lián)網(wǎng)公司OneWeb計劃推出小型衛(wèi)星互聯(lián)網(wǎng)群,，谷歌公司及Space X公司近期也提出類似計劃。對那些不想等上數(shù)月,，只為了在一枚更大火箭上分享艙位的客戶來說,，這家初創(chuàng)企業(yè)的低價格和快速周轉(zhuǎn)——它可以在數(shù)天內(nèi)生產(chǎn)出關鍵零部件——是個頗有吸引力的選擇。

????這種火箭的Rutherford引擎之所以節(jié)省成本，奧妙在于它將昂貴的渦輪泵發(fā)動機換成了結(jié)構簡單得多,、由鋰聚合物驅(qū)動的電動機,，與3D打印的零部件相結(jié)合后，它就能將火箭的成本,、復雜程度和重量顯著降低,。

????在傳統(tǒng)的液體燃料火箭引擎中，渦輪機械將精確配比的液體燃料和液氧泵入引擎的燃燒室后,，兩者混合燃燒來產(chǎn)生推力,。這些渦輪泵由極其復雜的部件構成，這些部件又需要自己的引擎高效運行才能讓引擎的其他部分有效運轉(zhuǎn),。這類引擎還因故障頻發(fā)而飽受詬病,。

????電池能效和添加物制造技術的突破，使這種火箭及其引擎應運而生,，但貝克表示,，火箭實驗室的動機并不是打造最聰明、技術上最精密的火箭,。他說：“電動渦輪泵和3D打印確實很酷,，但我們并不是因為它們很酷才采用的。之所以采用它們,，是因為只有這樣,，我們才能以想要的成本實現(xiàn)我們想要的發(fā)射頻率?！?/p>

????發(fā)射頻率是火箭實驗室商業(yè)計劃中很重要的一塊,。小客戶通常不得不等上數(shù)月，才能把自己的有效載荷裝上較大的商業(yè)衛(wèi)星,，而火箭實驗室就能把這種載荷完全放在一枚火箭上,，幾周內(nèi)即可發(fā)射，將來它或許就能按照市場所需頻繁發(fā)射,。一旦這類衛(wèi)星的發(fā)射成本和搭載在較大火箭上發(fā)射的成本相當,，它們就能升入軌道并開始產(chǎn)生價值。

????鑒于小型衛(wèi)星產(chǎn)業(yè)正以兩位數(shù)的年增長率快速發(fā)展（2014年約有150顆小型衛(wèi)星升空,，2015年及以后預計會有更多）,，一枚價值500萬美元的火箭可以獲得一個更健康的細分市場。今年火箭實驗室將繼續(xù)測試其電動火箭,，首次商業(yè)發(fā)射預計將在2016年進行,。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：清遠

????審校：任文科

????Using a rocket consisting of 3D-printed parts, Rocket Lab intends to put small satellites weighing as much as 220 pounds into orbit above the Earth, all for a price of $4.9 million per launch. Depending on the type and size of a payload, most launches these days start at $50 million.

????But, CEO Peter Beck wants to make one thing clear about its Electron rocket: This isn’t about owning the space launch market or undercutting SpaceX or ULA for their lucrative NASA or military launch contracts. “We’re not looking to build a family of vehicles, we’re not looking to fly people,” Beck tells Fortune. “This is about increasing launch frequency and reducing the cost of building space infrastructure.”

????Space infrastructure is key to both future operations in space and to creating a better future on the ground, he adds. Both technology and the market are gravitating towards small satellites (think OneWeb’s proposed small satellite Internet constellation, or a similar initiative recently proposed by Google and SpaceX). The startup’s low price and fast turnaround—it can manufacture critical parts within days—for launches could make it an attractive option for customers that don’t want to wait months for a shared ride on a larger rocket.

????The rocket’s Rutherford engine achieves its cost efficiencies by replacing pricey turbopump machinery with much simpler electric motors powered by lithium polymer batteries, which coupled with its 3D printed components, reduces costs, complexity and weight.

????In a conventional liquid-fueled rocket engine, turbomachinery pumps the precise mix of liquid fuel and liquid oxygen into the engine’s combustion chamber, where it is burned to provide thrust. Those turbopumps are complex pieces of hardware that require their own engine to operate at the high performance necessary to make the rest of the engine function properly. They’re also to blame for a fair amount of rocket engine failures.

????Breakthroughs in both battery efficiency and additive manufacturing have made the rocket and its engine possible, but the driving force behind Rocket Lab isn’t building the smartest, most technologically sophisticated rocket, says Beck. “The electric turbopump and 3D printing are cool, but we’re not doing them because they’re cool,” he says. “We’re doing them because it’s the only way to get the launch frequency that we want at the cost that we want.”

????Frequency is a big part of Rocket Lab’s business plan. Where small satellite customers often have to wait months to piggyback their payloads on the backs of larger commercial satellite launches, Rocket Lab could integrate a payload into a rocket and launch within weeks, which raises the prospect that it could launch as frequently as the market demands. Satellites could go to orbit and begin producing value as soon as they’re ready at a launch cost comparable to a ride-share on a larger rocket.

????Given that the small satellite industry is growing by double-digit percentages year-over-year (there were roughly 150 small satellite launches in 2014 with more predicted in 2015 and beyond), a $5 million rocket could find a healthy market segment to serve. Rocket Lab will test Electron throughout the rest of this year, with its first commercial launch slated for 2016.