Our reporter Zhang Wen and Zhang Lei
"Guangming Daily" (September 22, 2021 08 Edition)
On the afternoon of September 20, accompanied by a loud tsunami-like noise, the Long March 7 Yaosi carrier rocket lifted the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft and successfully launched into the air.
More than three months after the launch of the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft, the Tianzhou "brothers" set off again and delivered the second "package" to the core cabin of Tianhe, which is also a Mid-Autumn Festival "gift package". This package will be Follow-up space station astronauts replenish all kinds of materials needed for work and life.
What cargo did the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft carry?
The main task of the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft is to transport and store cargo for the space station, transport and replenish propellant, collect and store waste, and bring it back to the atmosphere for destruction. Tianzhou-3's trip 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. In addition to carrying materials that can support 3 astronauts for 6 months, the space station backup equipment , Space scientific load and other cargo, carry supplementary propellant and other upstream materials, and also have the ability to connect to the grid during docking, which can provide power 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.
Among them, the gas cylinder is made of special composite materials, which can be filled up to 300 times the atmospheric pressure, so that one bottle of oxygen can be used by the astronauts for a long time; To ensure the safety of drinking water, it can also be better stored after the drinking water is used up.
Among the cargo carried by Tianzhou-3, the most valuable is the extravehicular space suit.
Its main function is to provide oxygen for astronauts in space, adjust temperature, and prevent radiation.
It is reported that this set of equipment weighs more than 90 kilograms, and the price is quite expensive, exceeding 8 digits.
According to the experts of the Fifth Aerospace Academy, the cargo spacecraft system specially designed the extravehicular spacesuit support for the upward transportation of this equipment, just to ensure that "one needle and one thread" will not be damaged during transportation.
In addition to these special cargoes, other cargoes carried by Tianzhou-3 are all carried in standardized and diversified cargo packaging.
These packages not only have good mechanical load-bearing properties, but also have antibacterial, anti-mildew, flame-retardant, and prevent the volatilization of harmful gases.
"Our inspiration actually came from crab shells. After a lot of exploration and experimentation, a unique ingredient was extracted from the shell of the'Ranking General' and made through a special process to develop a Tianzhou cargo package material with excellent performance." Wang Ran, the chief designer of the cargo spacecraft system of the Fifth Academy of Science and Technology Group, revealed.
In terms of cargo loading, Tianzhou-3 fully absorbed the experience of Tianzhou-2, and carried out continuous optimization and improvement.
According to Yang Sheng, the 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 has a higher density of cargo and is more efficient in installing cargo at the launch site.
"In addition, the materials carried by Tianzhou-3 have to meet the needs of astronauts for six months, so it has a higher loading capacity of the entire ship. The number of packages loaded is 25% higher than that of Tianzhou-2, and it has been optimized. 'Fine decoration', the'outer wall' of the cargo compartment is very beautiful, providing a more comfortable environment for the astronauts."
"Sky Eye" protects "Heaven Zhou", China Aerospace Science and Industry ensures that the mission is "visible and inaudible"
The Tianzhou-3 spacecraft is the first pair of “eyes” observed in two fixed pulse measuring radars located at the Wenchang launch site in Hainan.
The two measuring radars developed by the 23rd Institute of the Second Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology of China are mainly used for the outer ballistic measurement of the ascent section of the launch vehicle, and provide the launch site command center with accurate coordinate information such as rocket distance, azimuth, and pitch in real time. Velocity data can be found immediately once the rocket has deviated from its trajectory.
Within a few minutes after the ignition, a small dot on the radar screen flickered and drew lines, recording the Tianzhou-3 smoothly rushing into the atmosphere.
During the launch and flight of the spacecraft, the temperature changes greatly, the mechanical shock is large, and the space environment is complex, which means that the requirements for the reliability and stability of the crystal components are very high.
In order to ensure that space missions can be "visible and audible," experts said that the 203 Institute of the Second Academy has developed a series of high-quality crystal component products.
As a key component of the space station’s mission, crystal components use the piezoelectric effect and frequency characteristics of quartz crystals to be constantly beating like a pulse, thereby generating stable frequency signals for launching, measuring and controlling, communication, and spacecraft flying in orbit. The process of rendezvous and docking and returning to the ground provides a stable time and frequency reference to ensure that the flight status is fully controllable.
In addition, the quartz flexible accelerometer developed by the 33rd Institute of the Third Academy of Sciences can also provide accurate acceleration measurements in space microgravity environments, helping the aircraft to accurately adjust its attitude.
China Electronics Technology builds the world "highway", the whole process of "logistics" monitoring
There is no small matter in heaven, and safety and reliability are the first priority.
In order to build a "highway" for the transmission of information between the world and the earth, China Electric Power has made a new upgrade to the satellite communication system: newly built satellite communication stations in many places, and upgraded the existing satellite communication equipment, using high-power independently developed and produced The power amplifier and high-speed modem greatly enhance the transmission capacity of the satellite station and enhance the guarantee of mission data transmission.
As the flying "wings" of a spacecraft, solar arrays have abundant energy, safety and stability as the core.
Aiming at the "big body" of the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft, China Electric Technology adopted the domestically original semi-rigid solar cell array technology, and innovated and developed solar cell array assembly technology, which not only greatly improved the performance, but also reduced the solar cell array. Operating temperature.
During the delivery process, in order to monitor the delivery trajectory of the "courier" in real time, China Electronics Technology provides a variety of core components for the entire process of rocket launch, aircraft on-orbit, rendezvous and docking, etc.——
The "safety lock" launched by the rocket-security control system and telemetry radar.
Rockets have certain risks during the launch phase, which are directly related to the success or failure of the entire space launch process.
The ground safety remote control system (hereinafter referred to as the "security control system") and telemetry radar of the China Electric Scientific Research Institute are like adding a "safety lock" to the rocket launch to ensure that the launch is foolproof.
Once the flight is abnormal, the security control equipment will start the self-destruction device by sending a special command to avoid the hazards caused by the rocket falling to the ground to the greatest extent.
According to experts, the radar telemetry integrated measurement system developed by the China Electric Scientific Research Institute is the first domestic large-aperture radar telemetry integrated system. This radar has broken through a number of key technologies and has a leading domestic technology level.
The "kite line" that is guided into orbit-the communication measurement and control system.
During the process of launching the vehicle into orbit by the launch vehicle, the multi-model unified measurement and control system, telemetry system, and series of measurement and control communication equipment are woven into an efficient and reliable "air-ground information highway network". By receiving and sending instructions, the rocket and the The speed, distance, flight attitude and angle of the aircraft provide accurate data for the launch of the rocket and the successful entry of the Tianzhou-3 into orbit, and control the aircraft to fly according to a predetermined trajectory.
The "wisdom eye" of rendezvous and docking-computer system.
The three-dimensional integrated three-dimensional display system equipped by China Electronics Technology can use three-dimensional visualization technology to display the overall process and real-time scenes of the actual task during the rendezvous and docking process, making the task process more intuitive and controllable, and facilitating the ground command center to fly and rendezvous. Docking control provides an effective basis for task execution.