Time and space have no boundaries

  — Review of World Science and Technology Development in 2020·Space Technology

 United States

  The manned dragon spacecraft rewrites the history of U.S. spaceflight and landed and sampled on the asteroid Bennu

  Liu Haiying, our reporter in the United States

At 7:27 pm on November 15, 2020, local time, SpaceX’s newly designed Crew Dragon capsule used the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Carry out launch.

  In the field of spaceflight, the United States still plays the role of a global space leader and promotes space research and deep space exploration missions in an orderly manner.

In February 2020, the "Solar Orbiter" jointly developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency was successfully launched, and completed the first sun-sweeping flight four months later, and began to help scientists reveal the mystery of the solar magnetic field; In July, NASA's "Perseverance" Mars rover was launched into space, starting a new journey of mankind's exploration of Mars, looking for evidence of life on Mars; SpaceX's manned dragon spacecraft completed its first manned flight end-to-end in the middle of the year After the test, it officially manned its first flight on November 15, carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station.

NASA's "Commercial Manned Flight Project" came to an end with SpaceX's victory. The U.S. space industry will also undergo a major transformation due to SpaceX's success; SpaceX's Starship SN8 prototype was also carried out on December 9th. The important test flight made it a big step on the road to Mars.

  In terms of major research results, American scientists have drawn the highest resolution solar image so far, providing unprecedented details to help scientists study the solar magnetic field; released the first comprehensive map of lunar geology-the "unified geological map of the moon", with 1: The ratio of 5 million shows the geology of the moon; the first panoramic view of the current distribution of the Martian atmosphere was created, which opened a new era of atmospheric research on Mars.

  With the application of more advanced instruments and technologies, the sight of mankind is getting farther and farther.

American scientists have discovered 139 previously unknown small planets on the outer edge of the solar system outside the orbit of Neptune; discovered an exoplanet three times the mass of Jupiter at a distance of more than 1,200 light years from the Earth; at a distance of 560 million light years from the Earth Oxygen was found outside the Milky Way.

  In addition, NASA’s OSIRIS-REX spacecraft completed a historic landing on the asteroid Bennu, which is 334 million kilometers away from Earth, and completed rock collection. These carbon-rich samples will eventually return to Earth.

  The new crown epidemic has severely hit the aviation industry.

Boeing’s 737Max recovered from the global grounding incident. After a comprehensive upgrade of its security software and a series of safety measures, it was approved by the Federal Aviation Administration for a return to flight, but whether it can restore the lost confidence of consumers , It takes time to verify.

  In terms of military aviation, the U.S. military continues to advance the research and development of aerial combat platforms and equipment, actively laying the foundation for building air superiority.

On the one hand, it promotes the research and development of combat equipment including the "Next Generation Air Domination" fighter, and on the other hand, actively uses advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence to advance the research and exercise of new tactics such as UAV tactics and the "air combat evolution" project.

  Korea

  The self-developed earth orbiting satellite successfully launched the first communication with the Australian ground station

  Our reporter in South Korea, Tai Ju

  In February 2020, the geostationary orbit satellite "Celestial Eye 2B" developed by South Korea was successfully launched. 37 minutes after the launch, it communicated with the Australian Yatharaga ground station for the first time.

"Clairvoyance 2B" entered the stationary orbit after 5 changes of orbit.

The observation equipment carried on the satellite can provide marine and atmospheric environmental information services.

  Israel

  Research and development of a new passive coherent positioning system "Trident" is expected to detect "Triton"

  Mao Li

  ELTA Systems has developed a new type of passive coherent positioning (PCL) system, which uses the reflected signal of the flying object to the civil frequency modulation (FM) broadcast or digital audio broadcasting (DAB) radio wave to establish the flight trajectory of the flying object , To achieve the purpose of detection and tracking.

  New Rocket (NewRocket) start-up company develops rocket engines that use high-thrust, easy-storable and non-toxic gel fuel. The engines are suitable for various aircraft and meet space exploration and defense purposes.

Gel fuel is made by adding materials that can convert kerosene into colloid, and then adding other substances.

  Technion-Israel University of Technology cooperated with Alta Systems to develop an advanced and unique small system that can be installed in nanosatellites to receive and process signals from the ground, so that nanosatellites can be used for rescue, precise positioning and distress signal detection .

  The "Trident" space probe proposed by the Weizmann Institute of Science was initially selected by NASA as a future space exploration project. It is expected to be launched in 2026 and reach Neptune's largest satellite "Triton" for detection in 2038. , To explore its true colors, including the existence of life.

  Alef Farms Co., Ltd. hopes to establish long-term cooperative relations with technology companies and space agencies to integrate innovative meat cultivation technology into the future human space program to meet the normal needs of humans for meat in space and outer planets.

  United Kingdom

  Measure the precise diameter of the Milky Way and discover phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus

  British correspondent Tian Keke

  British scientists claim to have found the boundary of the Milky Way, pointing out that the precise diameter of the Milky Way is 1.9 million light-years (1 light-year is equal to 9.460 billion kilometers). This figure helps researchers better estimate the quality of the Milky Way.

  Scientists at the University of Cambridge combined the mass, radius and atmospheric data of the exoplanet K2-18b to determine that there may be liquid water in its hydrogen-rich atmosphere, indicating that the planet may be suitable for life.

This discovery opened the door to the search for life on exoplanets between the size of Earth and Neptune.

  In terms of solar system research, British scientists have detected phosphine gas in the atmosphere of Venus for the first time.

The discovery of phosphine is widely speculated to be related to life.

Although the detection of phosphine is not yet a strong evidence for the existence of microorganisms, it indicates that there may be geological or chemical processes previously unknown to humans on Venus.

In addition, an international astronomy team led by Cardiff University discovered a rare molecule in the clouds of Venus, which also hinted that there may be microbial life on Venus.

  Japan

  Plan to develop a new type of unmanned cargo spacecraft sealed cabin to complete the task of sampling and returning

  Chen Chao, our correspondent in Japan

  The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan will promote related research and development for the US-led manned moon landing exploration program "Artemis Project", and plans to officially launch the development of a new unmanned cargo spacecraft "HTV-X" in order to be scheduled to orbit the moon. The space station "Gateway" built to transport supplies.

  In the budget for the "Artemis" program applied for in 2020, 4.7 billion yen will be invested in Japan's self-developed small-scale lunar probe "SLIM". It plans to launch in 2022 with the goal of landing on the moon accurately.

In addition, it has applied for a 4.8 billion yen budget for the lunar polar exploration program that is envisaged in cooperation with India and other countries. The goal is to land the probe on the lunar south pole to investigate the existence and availability of water resources.

  The Japanese government and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have cooperated with overseas space agencies in Japan-led space exploration programs such as the asteroid probe Hayabusa 2 and the Mars satellite exploration program “MMX”. Japan has formulated a "strategic overseas joint plan," with the goal of assisting in the development of promising overseas plans by providing Japan's superior observation equipment, advancing scientific and technological diplomacy and personnel training.

  In December 2020, JAXA confirmed that the capsule of Hayabusa 2 contained asteroid gases and solids.

The investigation confirmed that the gas detected inside it came from the asteroid "Dragon Palace" instead of the earth, and it is more likely to successfully bring back solid and gas samples, that is, 100% of the sample return mission was completed.

  Ukraine

  "Backdoor to the sky" three times into space proposed to build Guam Group Space Agency

  Our correspondent in Ukraine Zhang Hao

  On February 15 and October 3, 2020, the United States successfully launched NASA’s Antares carrier rocket. A number of Ukrainian aerospace companies participated in the development of the first stage of the carrier rocket. The Southern Design Bureau of Ukraine provided Technical support, including rocket launch, signal reception and processing of telemetry information, etc.; on September 3, the European "Vega" carrier rocket carried 53 micro-satellites into the air. The Southern Design Bureau of Ukraine and the Southern Machinery Factory developed the first launch vehicle. Four-stage engine.

  Regrettably, during the launch of the Vega carrier rocket on November 17, 2020, the rocket deviated from its trajectory after it took off and the mission failed.

Because the rocket lost control after starting the fourth-stage engine of the launch vehicle, some media quoted professional comments that the accident may have been caused by a failure of the Ukrainian-made RD-843 engine.

  In October 2020, Usov, the director of the National Space Agency of Ukraine, proposed the establishment of the Guam Group Space Agency to protect the national and economic interests of member states, create independent access to space for member states, and establish a regional satellite group And jointly participate in global space exploration projects.

The proposal was agreed by representatives of the participating member states.

  France

  Enceladus's northern hemisphere discovers newly formed ice "Vega" launch vehicle successfully launched

  Li Hongce, our correspondent in France

  Through joint research, French and American scientists used data from NASA's Cassini space probe to discover newly formed ice in Enceladus's northern hemisphere.

Enceladus is one of the worlds in the solar system most likely to give birth to extraterrestrial life.

  Progress has been made on the Mars exploration mission ExoMars, a joint European and Russian mission, and the life probe Rosalind Franklin Rover has completed docking with the Cossack Mars lander.

  The European Space Agency and the Swiss start-up company "Clean Space" signed a contract totaling 86 million euros, appointing the company to build a special satellite "Clean Space-1", which will be launched in 2025 to capture a piece of space weighing about 100 kilograms Rubbish.

This will be the world's first mission to capture and dispose of orbiting junk in space.

  In terms of rocket launchers, the "Vega" carrier rocket operated by the French Ariane Space Company carried a total of 53 satellites from 21 customers in 13 countries and successfully launched from the French Guiana Space Center for the first time.

  Germany

  The military officially established the first aerospace operations center and released the most detailed map of the Milky Way cold molecular cloud

  Li Shan, our reporter in Germany

  The German military officially established its first aerospace operations center, seeking to ensure national security through satellites and other means.

The agency will focus on monitoring the potential threats of space junk to satellites or ground personnel, protecting satellites from interference and attacks, and detecting missile threats.

  In terms of space exploration, in February 2020, the Solar Orbiter (Solar Orbiter) cooperating with the European Space Agency and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was successfully launched. In June, it flew over the sun for the first time at close range (77 million kilometers). The first batch of images and data acquired was released.

  The Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy has released the most detailed map of the Milky Way's cold molecular clouds to date with the help of observations from Chile's Apex submillimeter telescope.

The project also obtained information on the structure, distance, and velocity of all galaxy molecular clouds within 2/3 of the Milky Way.

  The Max Planck Institute for Astronomy has discovered that a red supergiant star, Betelgeuse Orion, about 650 light-years away from Earth, has its normal brightness dropped by 40% from October 2019 to April 2020.

Research suggests that the darkening of Betelgeuse may be caused by the huge spots on it.

  The Max Planck Institute for Solar Energy Systems compared the scientific data of stars similar to the sun with the historical records of solar activity, and believes that according to the standards of universal stars in the universe, the sun has been very inactive, which is why life on earth can be relatively safe The reason for the endless growth of the earth.

  In June, the eROSITA X-ray telescope of the "Spectroscopy-Roentgen-Gamma" (SRG) mission jointly launched by Germany and Russia completed the first complete survey and obtained 165GB of data, which was integrated into an unprecedented universe Full sky image.

  The Astronomy Center of Heidelberg University has carried out detailed modeling of the "neutron star-black hole merger" to reveal the electromagnetic radiation characteristics of the neutron star and black hole merger in a dense stellar environment.

  Russia

  "Soyuz" set a record for the shortest docking record, the new ion rocket engine successfully ignited

  Our reporter in Russia Dong Yingbi

  In March 2020, the Russian "Soyuz-2.1b" carrier rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and put 34 communications satellites of the British company OneWeb into orbit; in October, the "Soyuz MS" carrying 3 astronauts The -17" spacecraft achieved docking with the International Space Station 3 hours and 03 minutes later, setting a record for the shortest time for rapid rendezvous and docking.

  In December, Russia’s “Angara-A5” heavy rocket sent a 2.4-ton satellite model from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome into a predetermined geostationary orbit. This is the first test launch of the rocket in December 2014. The second test launch is also the third launch of the Angara series of rockets, providing an important tool for Russia to promote deep space research.

  The Russian Glonass satellite navigation system has not reached the accuracy indicators specified in the 2012-2020 federal development plan for the system in 8 years.

The highest accuracy of the satellite signal is 0.93 meters reached from January 30 to 31, 2020.

In contrast, the highest accuracy of the US GPS system is 0.38 meters on June 1, 2020, with an average accuracy of 0.52 meters.

  Russia's space plan before 2030 is submitted to the government.

The national plan includes a federal special plan for the development of the GLONASS satellite system, a sub-plan for the development of a super-heavy rocket and space complex, a plan for the creation of a multi-satellite orbital group, and a plan for the establishment of ground space infrastructure at the Eastern Space Launch Site , Development of investment projects in new industrial complexes and modern production facilities, etc.

  In December, Russia's MS-21 passenger plane equipped with a self-produced PD-14 engine succeeded in its first flight test, and the Russian-Irish 114-300 regional passenger plane with a crew of 64 also successfully passed the first flight test.

The success of these two first flight tests marked Russia's major technological progress in the field of aviation technology.

In addition, the "Keldish Scientific Research Center" under the Russian Aerospace Corporation has developed a new type of ion rocket engine and successfully completed the ignition test of the ID-200 KR new type of ion rocket engine.

  The Russian Prospect Research Foundation and the Russian SuperOx Company jointly conducted the world’s first laboratory test of aerospace integrated power system components based on a unified high-temperature superconducting platform. The test platform consists of batteries, high-temperature superconducting cables, high-temperature superconducting current limiting devices and high-temperature superconducting current limiting devices. Superconducting motor composition.