China News Service, April 17. Hao Chun, director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, said today that a new generation of manned launch vehicles and a new generation of manned spacecraft will be developed, and the return capsules of both can be reusable.
Among them, the comprehensive capability of the new generation of manned spacecraft has also been greatly improved, which can carry seven astronauts, and the upward and downward load capacity will be greatly improved.
On the afternoon of the 17th, the State Council Information Office held a press conference on the progress of the construction of China's space station.
At the meeting, a reporter asked: With the successful completion of the key technology verification phase of the space station, the project has officially entered the construction phase of the space station.
Can you tell us about the blueprint for the manned spaceflight project after the Chinese space station is fully completed?
Hao Chun responded that after the completion of the orbital construction of the space station this year, the project will be transferred to the application and development stage of more than ten years.
The initial plan is to launch two manned spacecraft and two cargo spacecraft each year.
Astronauts must stay in orbit for a long time, carry out space science experiments and technical experiments, and take care of and maintain the space station.
In order to further improve the comprehensive capability and technical level of the project, a new generation of manned launch vehicles and a new generation of manned spaceships will also be developed. Among them, the return capsules of the new generation of manned launch vehicles and the new generation of manned spaceships can be reusable. .
The comprehensive capability of the new generation of manned spacecraft has also been greatly improved, it can carry seven astronauts, and its upward and downward load capacity has also been greatly improved.
"At the same time, we are considering developing the expansion module of the space station to further support on-orbit scientific experiments and create better conditions for the work and life of astronauts," said Hao Chun.
Hao Chun said that in the application and development stage of the space station for more than ten years, the scientific experiment cabinets arranged in the space station cabin and the large-scale load facilities outside the cabin will be used to carry out larger-scale space research experiments and new technology experiments.
It mainly involves many fields such as space life science and human body research, microgravity physics science, space astronomy and earth science, and new aerospace technology.
In addition, in particular, next year, we plan to launch my country's first large-scale space survey telescope to carry out wide-area survey observations, and will carry out cutting-edge scientific research in the formation and evolution of cosmic structures, dark matter and dark energy, exoplanets and solar system celestial bodies. A number of major innovations have been achieved.
"We will also actively explore the commercial development model of manned spaceflight, absorb social forces to participate in the construction, operation and maintenance of the space station, continuously improve the comprehensive benefits of the space station, and promote the high-quality development of manned spaceflight," Hao Chun said.
Hao Chun pointed out, "Looking at the development of the world's manned spaceflight industry, the moon has always been a hot spot for manned spaceflight to go to deep space, and China's manned spaceflight will also move from near-Earth space to Earth-moon space, and then to deep space. While carrying out the development and construction of the space station, we have also carried out the key technologies of manned lunar exploration and the in-depth demonstration of the plan. I believe that in the near future, the Chinese nation's mythical dream of Chang'e flying to the moon and toad palace folding laurel will become a reality in the near future. Reality."