◎Zhang Weisangqian reporter Fu Yifei

　　At 11:06 on February 27, the flight test of the Long March 8 Yao-2 carrier rocket was successfully carried out at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China. The rocket flew normally and the test was a complete success.

　　This flight test carried 22 commercial satellites including Hainan No. 1 satellites 01 and 02, Dayun (Star Times-17) satellites, Wenchang No. 1 satellites 01 and 02, and Taijing No. 3 satellites 01. A new record for multi-satellite launches.

These satellites are mainly used for earth observation, low-orbit Internet of Things communication, and space science experiments. They can provide resource surveys, synthetic aperture radar data support, data collection of Internet of Things decentralized terminals, on-orbit scientific experiments and technical verification, and the sea areas of Hainan and surrounding provinces. Vessel information collection and processing services.

　　The Long March 8 launch vehicle project was approved by the National Space Administration in 2017 and is responsible for organizing the implementation and approval of launch licenses. The First Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation is responsible for the general development of the rocket, and the China Satellite Launch Measurement and Control System Department is responsible for the organization and implementation of the flight test.

　　This mission is the 409th launch of the Long March series of launch vehicles.

　　First flight of new configuration

　　The reporter learned from the First Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Group that the Long March 8, which successfully flew for the first time in December 2020, is my country's new generation of main medium-sized launch vehicles, filling the gap of my country's sun-synchronous orbit carrying capacity of 3 to 4.5 tons, and can bear more than 80% low-orbit launch mission.

The launch of the Changba Yao No. 2 rocket is the first flight of a new configuration without a booster.

　　Chen Xiaofei, the deputy chief designer of the Long March 8 rocket, said that compared with the Yao 1 rocket, the biggest difference in the shape of the Chang 8 Yao 2 rocket is the cancellation of two boosters, from a two-stage and a half configuration to a two-stage configuration. cascade configuration.

From the successful first flight to the completion of the final assembly and testing of the Haruka 2 rocket and the factory conditions, the development team has only spent one year, which is due to the "modular" and "combination" design ideas adopted by the rocket.

　　As early as the beginning of the development, the designers fully took into account the state of the rocket without a booster, and incorporated it into the assessment envelope of the Yaoichi rocket.

Therefore, the Haruka 2 rocket does not need to make large-scale changes, but only needs to adapt to the load and flight trajectory to efficiently meet the mission requirements.

　　Ensuring the safety and comfort of 22 "passengers"

　　To safely and successfully deliver 22 satellites to their destination at a time, the first thing to do is to solve the problem of the layout of the "passengers" in the fairing.

　　The developers fully sorted out the structure and mission requirements of the satellites, and innovatively designed a three-layer multi-satellite distributor, which can arrange comfortable "seats" for each satellite within the limited fairing space, and can ensure that the satellites are in different directions. separation security.

　　"A total of 22 stars have to be separated for this mission, and a total of 12 separations have been completed, setting a new record in China's aerospace industry. It can be said that the Changba rocket in the separation of the stars and arrows is like a 'ballet', and the final release of 22 stars It's like 'the goddess scattered flowers'," said Duan Baocheng, deputy commander-in-chief of the Long March No. 8 launch vehicle.

　　After completing the design of the multi-satellite distributor, the research and development team specially carried out the joint operation test of the satellite and the arrow. During the test, the installation operation sequence and layout position of the satellites were adjusted, and the separation of the satellite and the arrow was carried out through multiple rounds of simulation calculations. In order to optimize the design to ensure the safety of the whole process of the satellite from "getting on" to "getting off".

　　In addition, the height of the fairing of the rocket of the present invention is shortened from 8 meters to 5.4 meters, which reduces the load on the key parts of the whole rocket.

In this way, the release conditions for rocket launch can be appropriately relaxed, which is conducive to improving the probability of mission launch, thereby further improving the mission adaptability of the rocket.

　　The new model of shared rocket "carpooling"

　　The Long March 8 Yao-2 rocket is a "shared rocket", carrying 22 satellites from 7 research and development units.

　　Xiao Yun, commander-in-chief of the Long March 8 launch vehicle, described it: "Simply put, it is a carpooling program that provides users with affordable launch services, and the threshold is greatly lowered."

　　Since it is a shared launch, it needs to connect with multiple user units, and the coordination work is multiplied. In the face of difficulties in the iterative update of users and repeated plans during the development process, the development team continues to carry out plan adjustment, feasibility and safety analysis, and dedicated service. Awareness finally led to the implementation of this task.

With this successful exploration, the First Academy is planning to promote the normalization of shared launches.

　　Xiao Yun said: "In the future, the demand for human beings to enter space is increasing. As a 'national team', we have the responsibility and the ability to achieve the common prosperity of the space economy through our efforts and accelerate the construction of a space power."