China News Service, Wenchang, September 20 (Mar Shuaisha Guo Chaokai) The Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft was successfully launched at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China on the afternoon of the 20th.
Subsequently, according to the plan, Tianzhou-3 will realize autonomous and rapid rendezvous and docking with the core module of the space station and the Tianzhou-2 combination, and then dance the "waltz" in space.
The Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft was developed by the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
On the occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival of family reunion, Tianzhou-3 delivered Mid-Autumn greetings and “surprise gifts” from the ground for the two good “brothers” of Tianhe and Tianzhou-2 who were sticking to their positions in space.
The Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft took off in Wenchang.
Photo by Hu Xujie
What's in the "Big Gift Pack"? How to "pack"?
The main task of the cargo spacecraft is to transport and store cargo for the space station, transport and replenish propellant, and collect and store the waste, and bring it back to the atmosphere for destruction. The Tianzhou-3 mission is no exception.
The Tianzhou-3 mission is the second cargo transportation application flight during the key technology verification and construction phase of the space station. The cargo spacecraft is fully loaded and carries materials and space station backup equipment that can support 3 astronauts for 6 months. , Space science load and other cargo.
In addition, Tianzhou-3 also carries up-going materials such as supplementary propellants. It also has grid-connected power supply capability during docking, which can provide power supply support for the space station.
"The cargo carried by Tianzhou-3 mainly includes astronauts' living supplies, space drinking water, gas supplies, sanitary supplies, emergency reserve materials, outgoing consumables, maintenance spare parts and experimental loads, etc., which are basically the same as those of Tianzhou-2." Feng Yong, commander-in-chief of the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft of the Fifth Academy of Science and Technology Group introduced.
It is worth mentioning that most of the cargo carried by the Tianzhou-3 is carried in standardized and patterned cargo packaging.
These packages not only have good mechanical load-bearing performance, but also have many advantages such as antibacterial, anti-mildew, obstructing combustion, and no harmful gas volatilization.
The inspiration for the research and development of this packaging material was actually derived from crab shells.
"After a lot of exploration and experimentation, the researchers extracted a unique ingredient from the shell of the'Ranking General' crab, and after a special process and special production, they developed a Tianzhou cargo package material with excellent performance." Said Wang Ran, the chief designer of the spacecraft system.
Why is the Mid-Autumn Festival "gift" "expensive"?
Speaking of cargo, relevant experts told reporters that the cargo carried by Tianzhou-3 this time is particularly "expensive"!
Specifically, it can be summarized with three "expensive".
One is precious.
Space is an environment close to vacuum. Astronauts need a suitable atmospheric environment to survive in the space station. Therefore, there is a special and precious cargo in the "big gift package", which is a gas cylinder.
Don't underestimate this cylinder. It is made of special composite materials and can be charged up to 300 times the atmospheric pressure. A cylinder of oxygen can be used by astronauts for a long time.
The second is precious.
Astronauts stay and live on the space station for a long time, in addition to air, they cannot do without precious water resources.
The Tianzhou-3 carried multiple sets of water tanks for the astronauts to drink and use.
According to Wang Ran, these water tanks are packaged with "water bladder" made of light and soft materials, which can not only ensure the safety of drinking water, but also better store them when the drinking water is used up.
The third is gold.
The most "gold and precious" cargo on the Tianzhou-3 is the extravehicular spacesuit. Its main function is to provide astronauts with oxygen supply, temperature regulation, and radiation protection needed for survival in space.
This set of equipment weighs more than 90 kilograms, and the price is quite considerable, believed to exceed 8 figures.
In order to transport this "equipment" upwards, the cargo spacecraft system has specially designed the outer suit support to ensure that the "one stitch and one thread" will not be damaged during the transportation.
How to guarantee the astronauts' demand for supplies for six months?
In terms of cargo loading, the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft has fully inherited the experience of the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft, and has been continuously optimized and improved.
According to Yang Sheng, the overall chief designer of the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft system of the Fifth Academy of the Aerospace Science and Technology Group, compared with the Tianzhou-2, the Tianzhou-3 cargo has a higher loading density, and the installation of cargo at the launch site is more efficient.
Yang Sheng also pointed out that the materials carried by the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft must meet the needs of the astronauts for 6 months, so it has a higher loading capacity, and the number of cargo packages loaded has increased by 25 compared to the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft. %.
Moreover, after optimized design and other "fine decoration", the "outer wall" of the goods is more comfortable and beautiful, providing a more comfortable environment for the astronauts.
On the basis of inheriting the development and flight results of the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft, the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft also carried out system optimization design, simplified platform configuration, improved transportation efficiency, and promoted independent controllability of components, so it has dynamic adjustment of storage tanks, Continuously improving the localization rate of components and optimizing equipment configuration are three notable tasks.
In addition, for the key technology verification and construction phase of the space station, the entire development mission has the characteristics of high launch density and multi-line flight control at the launch site. The cargo spacecraft system is developed in a batch production mode.
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