China News Service, October 16 (Zhang Aolin) With a loud bang, the Russian "Soyuz MS-17" spacecraft lifted off from the Baikonur launch site in Kazakhstan on the 14th local time, from Russia and the United States. The three astronauts of China arrived at the International Space Station after a three-hour and three-minute journey.

On October 14, 2020, the Russian "Soyuz-2.1a" carrier rocket carried the "Soyuz MS-17" spacecraft and launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

　　After this launch, American astronauts will no longer use Russian spacecraft to enter the International Space Station. What is going on?

In the field of spaceflight, the National Space Administration (NASA) is also ambitious. Among them, the "Artemis" plan to return to the moon has been scheduled to be completed in 2024. Is this realistic?

NASA says goodbye to spending money to buy seats

　　Speaking of this flight, the flight time of 3 hours and 3 minutes is a highlight.

According to Russian media reports, the spacecraft flying to the International Space Station usually needs to circle the earth 34 times and fly for two days. However, in this flight, the spacecraft circled the earth only 2 times, which greatly reduced the number of three astronauts stranded in the small space time.

　　Of the three of them, two are from Russia and one is from the United States.

But this American astronaut named Rubens and his American colleagues will never "enjoy" the latest technology of the Russian spacecraft in the future. The reason is simple: the American astronaut's seat is rented. NASA decided not to rent anymore in the future.

——Why always use Russian spacecraft?

　　The United States has always been a world leader in the development of aerospace. At the same time, the United States and Russia have been competitors for many years. Why did NASA, with deep pockets, rent Russian spacecraft?

　　In fact, the United States has been using space shuttles to send astronauts into space since 1981. This reusable spacecraft has been favored by NASA for nearly 30 years.

However, after experiencing crises and doubts such as the explosion and high cost of the "Challenger" space shuttle, the US space shuttle officially withdrew from the stage of history in 2011.

　　At that time, the United States did not have a low-Earth orbit manned spacecraft that could serve as a "substitute", so it had to temporarily rent a mature Russian "Soyuz" spacecraft to send American astronauts to the International Space Station.

Data map: On August 27, 2019, the large screen of the control room of the Russian Aerospace Corporation played a scene of the re-dock of the "Soyuz MS-14" spacecraft carrying the humanoid robot Fyodor and the International Space Station (ISS).

-Is it cost-effective to rent a spaceship?

　　Since it can be rented, isn't it good for long-term rent?

Not necessarily.

　　First of all, for the United States, every time it leases the "Soyuz" for missions, it must "buy tickets and reserve seats" in advance. According to NASA officials, they paid Russia up to about US$90.25 million for the latest launch mission. The "ticket money".

Over the years, NASA has leased more than 70 seats, and the "rent" is as high as about $4 billion.

　　In addition, the three “passengers” were originally Russian astronauts, but due to the US lease, one of them was squeezed out of the mission.

For this reason, NASA must also use cargo spacecraft to transport 800 kilograms of cargo for Russia within two and a half years to compensate.

　　Not only that, because the "Soyuz" can only transport three astronauts to the sky at a time, it is far from satisfying NASA's own plans. This also prompted NASA to urgently need the spacecraft built by the United States to increase its capacity.

Data map: On May 30, 2020, the first manned test flight of the National Space Administration (NASA) Commercial Manned Aviation Program (CPP) was successfully launched.

The picture shows the manned "Dragon" spacecraft carrying the "Falcon 9" rocket from launch pad 39A of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

——How can American astronauts go to the sky without renting Russian spacecraft?

　　This time NASA is so hard-headed that if you don't rent it, you won't rent it. The reassurance behind it is a spacecraft named "Dragon".

　　On May 30th, the manned version of the "Dragon" spacecraft of SpaceX of the United States arrived at the International Space Station with two NASA astronauts. After 62 days of staying at the space station, the two people returned to Earth on the same spacecraft and realized the retirement of the space shuttle since 2011. Since then, the United States’ own spacecraft has "zero breakthrough" in manned space missions.

　　This latest "Dragon" spacecraft not only costs less than 60 million US dollars for a single launch, but it can also accommodate 7 astronauts, far exceeding the 3 of the "Soyuz".

　　Although its technological maturity is not as good as the "field-tested" Soyuz, for NASA, it can finally use its own spacecraft, and the price is good, so the option of renting a Russian spacecraft is naturally stepped aside.

NASA is ambitious, "return to the moon" will be implemented soon

　　In addition to manned spacecraft, NASA is currently concentrating its efforts in many aerospace fields. Among them, the return to the moon program called "Artemis" has become a top priority.

NASA made it clear that it will send astronauts to the moon in 2024.

Data map: Director of the National Space Administration (NASA) Bridenstine.

—— "Three Steps" plan released

　　2020 is coming to an end, and the difficulty of returning to the moon in 2024 cannot be underestimated.

In order to achieve its goal, NASA recently announced a specific plan. In a nutshell, it can be divided into "three steps to the moon."

　　November 2021: Perform an unmanned flight.

　　2023: Start astronauts flying around the moon.

　　2024: Astronauts return to the moon, stay for a week, and perform 2 to 5 "extravehicular activities".

——Technical problems to be overcome

　　Although the United States has had the successful experience of the "Apollo Project," according to NASA Director Bridenstine, the plan is "very different from the Apollo era."

　　In other words, the "Artemis" plan is no longer just to pursue a simple moon landing, but to achieve further explorations such as "Lunar South Pole Landing" and "Establishing a Sustainable Lunar Base".

　　To this end, NASA announced on October 14 that it will invest 370 million US dollars to cooperate with 14 American companies to develop technologies for storing ultra-low temperature liquid fuels, and this technology is vital to the realization of the new moon landing plan.

Data map: The core components of the National Space Administration (NASA) rocket planned to be used for the Artemis 1 mission.

-Winning a group of 7 countries

　　Not only that, NASA also announced on the 13th that it had signed the Artemis Agreement with Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom, which means that these countries will be able to participate in the new moon landing program.

　　The draft agreement published by NASA in May shows that these member states can not only establish a "safe zone" around their lunar bases, but the agreement will also establish a framework in accordance with international law to give private companies ownership of lunar mineral resources.

　　NASA's series of actions this time show that the development of the United States in the aerospace field is entering the "fast lane."

However, as Rogozin, director of the Russian Federal Space Agency, said, NASA's return to the moon program is "too centered on the United States."

The Russian State Duma Congressman Klintsevich said bluntly that the US move is intended to establish a space alliance similar to NATO.

　　It remains to be seen whether the United States can once again achieve human landing on the moon after nearly half a century, and whether NASA's series of space programs will promote the process of human space exploration or have other purposes remains to be seen.

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