"New Spaceship" completed China's first high-speed LAN space test
Future astronauts can enjoy "smart home"
On May 5th, China ’s new-generation manned spaceship test ship was lifted off on the Long March 5B carrier rocket. These two days have not been idle in space. The reporter learned from the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation that the spacecraft has completed a high-speed local area network test on orbit, which will allow astronauts to enjoy the "smart home" space life in the future.
It is reported that the "time-triggered Ethernet satellite-based prototype system" that completed the test this time simply means that the scientific research personnel built a high-speed local area network on the spacecraft to connect the various systems. During the test, the system completed the verification of functions such as clock synchronization, multi-source data sampling, and high-definition image transmission, and realized the high-speed data transmission between the systems; this is the first space experiment of this technology in China, which indicates Core technical capabilities.
According to Lin Yue, the chief designer of the 502 information network deployment system of the Fifth Academy, the test results obtained so far have met the expected target of the task, and the rate has reached the level of the Gigabit network. The performance is improved by 1000 times.
What role can this experiment play? If we use the analogy of home life as an analogy, in the past, there was a remote control for the TV at home, a remote control for the air conditioner, DVD players, stereos, etc., each with its own remote control; and in today's smart home environment, all the Household appliances are connected together and can be controlled with a tablet.
In the future, through "time-triggered Ethernet spaceborne prototype system", a smart spacecraft information system similar to a smart home can also be formed in the space station. Lin Yue said that not only are there a large number of equipment and nodes in large and complex spacecraft, but the communication relationship between them is also very complicated. But after joining this network and this set of equipment, the entire spacecraft can form a state similar to a large family local area network.
"At that time, astronauts can bring a tablet computer to achieve integrated control of all equipment on the spacecraft, which is not only easy to operate, but also greatly reduces the pressure on system design." Lin Yue said.
The new generation of manned spaceship test ship in China was developed by the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Group. It is a new generation of round-trip transporter developed for the operation of China ’s space station and the future needs of manned moon exploration. This mission will verify key technologies such as heat protection, control, group umbrella recovery, and partial reuse of the spacecraft's high-speed reentry return.
After the test ship was lifted off, it completed a series of tasks such as the deployment of solar windsurfing and the acquisition of the sun, the deployment of the relay antenna and the establishment of the relay communication link, and four autonomous orbital controls. At present, its attitude is stable, power supply, measurement and control links are normal, and the whole ship is in good condition. According to the plan, after completing the normal flight of the large elliptical orbit, the test vessel will perform three orbital lifts and perform apogee braking, and finally return to the Dongfeng landing site on May 8.
Our reporter Fu Yifei