China News Service, Beijing, May 8 Question: Demystifying China's new generation of manned spacecraft: a "space bus" heading deeper into space
Author Guo Chaokai
China's new-generation manned spacecraft test vessel successfully returned to the Dongfeng landing site on May 8. As the "trial version" of the new generation of manned spacecraft, the mission of the test ship is mainly to verify the key technologies of the new spacecraft, such as high-speed re-entry and return heat prevention, control and group umbrella recovery. The reporter interviewed relevant experts to reveal the "space bus" that flies farther, lives better, costs less, and will sail further into deep space in the future.
Flying farther: Manned "landing" on the moon
The new generation of manned spacecraft is a brand new round-trip transportation vehicle developed by the China Academy of Space Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Since China launched the manned space project in 1992, the Shenzhou spacecraft has successfully completed 11 flights, successively sending 11 (14 person) astronauts into space and returning safely. But when China Aerospace turned its attention to the moon and the farther deep space, the Shenzhou spacecraft could no longer meet the grander ideals.
Compared with the Shenzhou spacecraft, the new spacecraft flies farther, not only can send astronauts to and from the Chinese space station nearly 400 kilometers away from the earth, it can also complete a manned moon landing of 380,000 kilometers, and even go to a farther planet. Compared with the Tianzhou spacecraft, the new spacecraft is capable of transporting goods from the low-Earth space station downwards, and has the powerful ability to carry people and objects.
The Shenzhou spaceship can only take 3 astronauts in the past, while the new spaceship can transport 6-7 people at a time, and its return module can be recycled for many times. Experts from China Academy of Space Technology told reporters that the new spacecraft and the Shenzhou spacecraft are not substitutes, but complement each other. The existence of the two enriches the choice of round-trip transportation, and can be personalized according to the needs of the task.
Better living: entertainment area, dining area
Compared with Shenzhou spacecraft, astronauts live better and more comfortably in the new generation of manned spacecraft. The new-generation manned spacecraft is about 9 meters high, the fattest "waistline" is about 4.5 meters, and weighs more than 20 tons. It can be called a "space bus". Unlike the three-cabin structure of the Shenzhou spacecraft, the new spacecraft is composed of two cabins: return cabin + service cabin. Among them, the return module is the command center of the whole ship and the place where the astronauts live and live; while the service module provides power and energy.
In the past, astronauts needed to travel between two smaller cabins, and the return cabin of the new generation manned spacecraft has a larger sealed cabin space. In the future, it can create working areas, entertainment areas, catering areas, and sanitation according to mission requirements. Area to provide astronauts with a more comfortable living environment. The return cabin can be equipped with a wearable display instrument and a large screen for life and entertainment, allowing the astronauts to keep abreast of the health status of the new spacecraft and making its space travel more colorful.
Compared with the bell shape of the Shenzhou spacecraft, the new-generation manned spacecraft has a smooth inverted-cone blunt nose aerodynamic shape. The inverted cone-shaped air has a greater lift force and can be decelerated by air resistance when returning at a high speed close to the second cosmic speed, allowing the new generation of manned spacecraft to land more smoothly and accurately.
In the return phase, the new generation of manned spacecraft's group umbrella aerodynamic deceleration and airbag landing buffer technology provide the final safety guarantee for the astronauts. The new-generation manned spacecraft carries 2 decelerating umbrellas and 3 main umbrellas. After the return cabin enters the atmosphere, it will be opened in turn after reaching the specified altitude. The speed of the return cabin has been successfully reduced from "airplane flight speed" to "vehicle urban driving speed ". Before landing, the six airbags are inflated and opened, which helps the cabin to "soft land" smoothly, ensuring the safe and complete recovery of the return cabin to the greatest extent.
Lower cost: reusable
With the development of space technology, China will face frequent round-trip transportation missions in the future. In order to reduce the cost of entering space, the return module of the new generation manned spacecraft is designed to be reusable. The return cabin is covered with a new lightweight heat-proof structure independently developed by China, and the task can be performed again only by replacing the heat-proof structure.
In order to achieve multi-functional use, the designer also used the same return module and configured different service module modules like a "building block" to allow the new spacecraft to freely travel to and from the near-Earth space station, "guest" the moon and even farther away. air.
In fact, the new generation of manned spacecraft is not only modularized, but also the modular design of the return module. The new spacecraft can be changed from a "space bus" to a "space van" according to mission requirements. When transporting people, the new spacecraft is equipped with environmentally controlled life insurance, seats, instruments, manual control and other equipment, and when loading and transporting, it is equipped with shelves and packages; it can easily send astronauts to the space station, and can also be delivered to the space station. A large amount of supplies can also bring some test samples made by space engineers on the space station back to Earth.
Experts from the China Academy of Space Technology said that as early as 2016, China facilitated the launch of the "multipurpose spacecraft shrinkage return capsule" with the Long March 7 rocket, successfully verifying key technologies such as the aerodynamic shape of the new generation manned spacecraft return capsule. The new-generation manned spacecraft test ship will conduct flight verification on the new spacecraft's high-speed reentry return heat prevention, control and group umbrella recovery and other key technologies. Before finalizing in the future, a new generation of manned spacecraft will continue to improve on the basis of this test. (Finish)