China News Service, Beijing, May 10 (Ma Shuaisha Pangdan) On May 10, the Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft was successfully launched by the Long March 7 Yao-5 carrier rocket at the Hainan Wenchang Space Launch Site.
This is the first launch of the space station construction mission in 2022, officially opening the curtain of the comprehensive construction of the Chinese space station.
As the first "courier boy" to go to the Chinese space station this year, how many "dry goods" are in the "energy bag" sent by the Tianzhou-4 spacecraft has attracted attention.
The world's largest active cargo transportation capacity
The Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft was developed by the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
It is understood that the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft consists of a cargo compartment and a propulsion compartment. The cargo compartment is used to transport various materials, and the propulsion compartment provides energy and power.
As the ground logistics supply spacecraft of the space station, the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft adopts a spectrum-based scheme, and designs three cargo compartment modules, which are fully sealed, semi-sealed, semi-open, and fully open to meet different cargo transportation needs. Combined with the general propulsion module to form There are three types of fully sealed cargo ships, semi-sealed and semi-open cargo ships and fully open cargo ships.
Among them, the Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft is a fully-sealed cargo spacecraft. It is the cargo spacecraft with the largest cargo transportation capacity and the most comprehensive on-orbit support capability in the world. It is responsible for providing material support for the Shenzhou 14 crew, space station operation support and For the task of space science experiments, cargo replenishment and propellant replenishment will be implemented during the docking of the space station, and space science experiments will be carried out.
At 1:56 on May 10, the Long March 7 Yao-5 carrier rocket carrying the Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft was successfully launched at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China.
The picture shows the ignition moment of the Long March 7 Yao-5 carrier rocket.
China News Agency reporter Luo Yunfei
What's in the new "Express"?
In this mission, the Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft was loaded with more than 200 pieces (sets) of cargo, including astronaut systems, space station systems, space application fields, and cargo spacecraft systems, including packaged cargo and direct installation cargo, carrying supplementary propulsion. The dose is about 750 kilograms, and the total weight of the ascending materials is about 6000 kilograms, which will be provided for the 6-month in-orbit stay of the 3-person crew of Shenzhou 14, the assembly and construction of the space station, and the development of materials science, microgravity, aerospace medicine experiments and other space applications. Material security.
In order to ensure "fast" and safe delivery to the "Space Home", the Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft adopts a variety of cargo loading methods such as cargo bags, brackets, and storage boxes. The type and quantity of cargo can be dynamically configured according to the needs of the space station.
At the same time, it also has the ability to undertake space station operation support tasks such as space station attitude and orbit control, grid-connected power supply, space station telemetry, and data transmission support, as well as space science experiment support capabilities.
"Express unpacking" is more convenient
The development process of Tianzhou cargo spacecraft system has always adhered to the principle of people-oriented, continuous improvement and optimization.
For this mission, the researchers added some clever designs to help Tianzhou-4 inquire about the "Heavenly Palace".
According to the astronaut crew's on-orbit usage opinions, in order to find the cargo more conveniently and intuitively, the Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft has added the color label of the cargo package through the color design of the label and handle; to facilitate the astronaut's on-orbit loading operation Adapter plate, Tianzhou No. 4 began to add hasp straps to the adapter plate and the corresponding shelves to achieve convenient drift prevention during on-track.
In order to reduce the on-orbit space occupied by the cushioning packaging materials and facilitate storage and storage, the researchers also carried out a miniaturization and optimization design for the cushioning foam in the package, and added an air column cushioning scheme to reduce weight.
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