BEIJING, April 29 Wenchang electrical
problem: Appearance · hardware · Software - Three Questions "Space House" days and the core module
Author Guo Chaokai Pang Dan
On April 29, the Long March 5B rocket was ignited and lifted off at the Wenchang Space Launch Site, sending the Tianhe Core Module of the Chinese Space Station into space.
The Tianhe core module with the title of "Space Villa" is the "first flight" of the Chinese space station mission. What does this 20-ton behemoth look like?
What kind of high-level hardware and software are equipped?
The reporter interviewed relevant experts and conducted a comprehensive analysis from the three perspectives of its appearance, hardware and "software".
One question about the appearance: higher than a 5-story building, wider than a train carriage
The Tianhe core module is a key section of the Chinese space station, just like the trunk of a big tree.
Other cabin sections are like the roots, branches, and leaves of big trees, installed on the interface of the core cabin, and continuously extend outward.
Therefore, the Tianhe core cabin has a huge body and a strong body.
Shi Liming, chief designer of the core cabin structure sub-system of the Space Station of China Aerospace Science and Technology Group Fifth Academy, said that the core cabin is huge, with a length higher than a five-story building, a diameter much wider than a train carriage, and a volume larger than any cabin of the International Space Station. Large, the weight is equivalent to the empty weight of three buses, and the space for astronauts to move in is also very spacious.
According to reports, the core cabin of Tianhe is composed of node cabins, large and small column sections, back-end channels and resource cabins.
After launch, the Tianhe core module will provide space science and living environment for astronauts, support long-term stay in orbit, and undertake docking and docking of manned spacecraft and cargo spacecraft.
The design life is 10 years, and the life can be extended through maintenance.
Second question hardware: the "best assistant" to assist astronauts
The configuration of the Chinese space station is extremely complex, with many cabins. Not only are each aircraft equivalent to a "satellite", but the different combinations of each aircraft have become new spacecraft.
Therefore, the development team is faced with problems such as mechanics, communication, power supply, and even various challenges and resistances such as weightlessness, radiation and sunlight.
For this reason, the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the general research and development unit of the space station, has fully considered various factors from the beginning of the design, equipped the core module with flexible "brains" and "nerves"-the data management system The body temperature can be adjusted at any time, which is equivalent to the "skin" of the heating and cooling air conditioner-the thermal control sub-system; equipped with a powerful "arm"-a large space robotic arm.
Xiong Minghua, Product Assurance Manager of Space Manipulator of the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Group, said that the space station manipulator project has been selected as one of the “Top Ten Scientific and Technological Advances in China's Intelligent Manufacturing”. "Level" is the core equipment for China's space station assembly and construction, operation management, maintenance services and space applications, and is the "best assistant" for assisting astronauts.
In order to measure how much load the Tianhe core module can bear during the launch process, the designers of the Fifth Academy set up more than 300 sensors for the core module and measured more than 900 signals, which can be described as "well-intentioned."
Three questions about "software": everything is available for "food, clothing, housing, and transportation"
In addition to its huge appearance and first-class hardware, the "software" part of the space station, the layout of the cabin, also provides many conveniences for the work and life of the astronauts.
"The sealed cabin of the Tianhe core module is equipped with six areas: working area, sleeping area, sanitary area, dining area, medical supervision and medical insurance area, and exercise area." said Zhang Hao, chief designer of the space station system of the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Group. The core module not only ensures that each astronaut has an independent sleeping environment and a dedicated toilet, but also is equipped with microwave ovens, refrigerators, water dispensers, folding tables and other homes in the dining area, as well as space treadmills, space bicycles, and resistance pull devices. And other fitness equipment to meet the daily exercise of the astronauts.
It is worth mentioning that the scene lighting in the Tianhe core cabin can be controlled by a mobile phone APP.
The core module is specially equipped with world-to-earth video call equipment, which can realize two-way video calls with the ground; in addition, there is a measurement and control communication network and related equipment that support astronauts to send and receive e-mails.
From diet and sleep to medical insurance and exercise, to video calls, the "space villa" of the core cabin is both comfortable and convenient.
Now, the sky and core module of the Chinese space station is in place.
Soon, China will use the Shenzhou 12 spacecraft to send three astronauts into space.
The "Space Villa" of the China Space Station is about to welcome its first residents.
(Finish)