China News Service, Wenchang, April 29 (Guo Chaokai) On April 29, China successfully sent the Tianhe core module into the scheduled orbit with the Long March 5B rocket at the Wenchang space launch site.

What is the Chinese space station chief?

How to build?

Who will live?

The reporter interviewed relevant experts to find out.

 What it looks like: "Three rooms and two halls with storage room"

  The Tianhe core module successfully launched this time is the "first flight" of the Chinese space station mission.

The opening and construction of the space station signifies that China will no longer be a dream of having a "space home" in low-Earth orbit in the future.

  According to Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China's manned space project, the basic configuration of the China Space Station includes three compartments: Tianhe Core Module, Wentian Experimental Module, and Mengtian Experimental Module, all in a T-shaped configuration.

  Among them, the Tianhe core module has a total length of 16.6 meters, a maximum diameter of 4.2 meters, and a launch mass of 22.5 tons. It is the management and control center of the future space station.

Both the Wentian experimental cabin and the Mengtian experimental cabin are used as load support sections to support large-scale internal and external space scientific experiments and technical test loads.

At the same time, the Wentian experimental cabin is also used as a combination to control and manage the backup section, with the ability to move out of the cabin; the Mengtian experimental cabin has the ability to automatically enter and exit the cabin.

  After the successful launch of the three-cabin vehicles of the China Space Station, they will be in orbit through rendezvous, docking and transposition to form a "T" configuration combination, which will operate in orbit for a long time.

The operating life of the assembly on orbit is not less than 10 years, and the service life can be extended through maintenance.

  What will the Chinese space station look like after completion?

Zhu Guangchen, the deputy chief designer of the Space Station System of the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Group, once used an image metaphor: If the Shenzhou spacecraft is a car, Tiangong 1 and Tiangong 2 are equivalent to a house with one room and one hall, and the space station is three rooms. The two halls also have a storage room, which is considered a "mansion".

How to build: 11 missions planned today and tomorrow

  According to the space station construction mission plan, China will continue to implement 11 missions this year and next, including 3 space station section launches, 4 cargo spacecraft and 4 manned spacecraft launches. The space station will be built in orbit around 2022 to realize China. The mission goal of the "third step" of the "three-step" development strategy for manned space engineering.

  So how will the next 10 missions be arranged?

The reporter learned that during the space station’s orbital construction mission, the Long March 5B launch vehicle, the Long March 2F launch vehicle, and the Long March 7 launch vehicle 3 rockets will perform their duties and set up a "space and earth transportation" for the construction and operation of the Chinese space station. corridor".

Among them, the Long March 5 B rocket will launch the space station compartment, the Long March 2 F rocket will send astronauts into the space station by launching the Shenzhou manned spacecraft, and the Long March 7 rocket will launch the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft; the manned space "Three Arrows" Will join hands to start the construction of the space station.

  After the completion of the China Space Station, it will become the National Space Laboratory, engaging in space science research and space new technology research and experimentation.

Zhou Jianping said that scientists from all over the world are welcome to participate in the scientific experiment projects of the China Space Station.

China has promoted the implementation of the first batch of technical test projects with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, and has also reached relevant cooperation agreements with research institutions in space science or space science and technology in many countries or regions.

Who will live: 12 astronauts will enter the space station one after another

  Who will stay in the space station with "three rooms and two halls and storage rooms" in the future?

Zhou Jianping pointed out that in the key technology verification and construction phase of the space station, 4 manned missions will be arranged. Each flight crew will be 3 astronauts. They will perform the missions of space station technology verification, construction and scientific experiments. The length of stay will be 3 to 6 months according to the task schedule.

  In the normal operation of the space station, three astronauts fly as a crew for a long time, and the crew rotates regularly.

During the rotation period, up to 6 astronauts can work at the space station at the same time. After the handover is completed, the previous crew will return to Earth in a manned spacecraft.

  It is worth mentioning that the space station not only has a large space for activities, but the supply of astronauts on the space station is also better guaranteed.

Previously, the highest record of Chinese astronauts' flight time in orbit was 33 days. The water and oxygen necessary for the survival of astronauts were sent directly into space by the spacecraft.

  In order to allow the astronauts to stay in orbit longer, the space station has designed a complete renewable life support system.

The water vapor exhaled by the astronauts will be recovered through condensed water, and the excreted urine will also be recovered and purified and reused as drinking water and domestic water.

The hydrogen produced during oxygen production by electrolysis and the carbon dioxide exhaled by the astronauts will produce oxygen through a chemical reaction, which can also reduce the demand for oxygen supply.

  In ancient times, Kunpeng traveled a thousand miles away, and now I see the sky and the wings spread out.

With the Long March 5B Yao-2 rocket soaring into the sky, the Tianhe core module was officially "entered", and the "integrated" Chinese space station will no longer be far away.

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