U.S. space agency NASA said Wednesday it has successfully lighted the largest-ever man-made fire on an unmanned cargo¹ ship for a microgravity experiment designed to study how fire spreads in space.

 

美国太空总署周三宣布，该局在一艘无人货船内成功点燃迄今最大的人工火焰以测试在太空微重力环境下火焰的蔓延。

 

The experiment, called Spacecraft Fire Experiment, or Saffire I, took place on Tuesday inside the Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo vehicle, hours after it departed from the International Space Station.

 

NASA has planned three such space fire experiments, deemed critical to the safety of astronauts who live and work in space, as it prepares for long duration missions on the journey to Mars.

 

"The first of our planned three Saffire experiments operated as designed," Gary Ruff, NASA's Spacecraft Fire Safety Demonstration² Project manager, said in a statement.

 

"The success of this experiment opens the door to future large combustion³ experiments in the microgravity environment and directly supports the development of technologies and materials that will make deep space exploration spacecraft safer."

 

The experiment was conducted in a three-by-three-by-five-foot (0.9-by-0.9-by-1.5-meter) module⁴ after Cygnus was maneuvered⁵ to a safe distance from the space station.

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