China News Service, Shanghai, June 5th: A ship is blocked by the "source" of the Bafang branch, and the Shenzhou 14 is facing the "most complicated in history" blocking
Author Zheng Yingying, Ma Shuai, Samiao Xinpei
On June 5, the Shenzhou 14 manned spacecraft carrying three astronauts was successfully launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China.
"Shenzhou 14" will face the "most complicated" occlusion situation in history. How can its energy supply be guaranteed for 6 months?
"The most complicated in history" is blocked by up to 5 aircraft in sequence
The occlusion situation that "Shenzhou 14" is about to face can be called "the most complicated in history".
Different from the two "predecessors" of "Shenzhou 12" and "Shenzhou 13", Shenzhou 14 will experience a major history of "transferring the space station to the three-cabin combination flight mode and completing the construction of the space station" during the mission. process.
But this whole process is not very "friendly" to the power supply system of "Shenzhou 14", and will make it experience an unprecedented occlusion process.
Zhong Danhua, chief designer of the Shenzhou spacecraft power sub-system at the Eighth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (abbreviation: Eighth Academy), introduced that the construction process of the space station will go through in-line configuration, L-shaped configuration and T-shaped configuration successively.
The in-line configuration with the addition of the experimental cabin will bring a longer period of full occlusion under inertial flight, up to 19 days.
With the successive addition of new members and a series of flight events such as orbit change or attitude adjustment of the space station assembly, the occlusion situation will become more complicated.
"Under the L-shaped configuration and the T-shaped configuration, it is not only a single full block, but in every circle of light that has been flying around the earth for a long time, the 'Shenzhou 14' only has two or three very short periods of time. With better illumination, with the periodic change of the sun's altitude angle, there will also be a situation where one side of the solar wing is completely blocked and the other side is complexly blocked." He said.
He said that during the most complicated period of orbital operation, the "Shenzhou 14" docked at the radial docking port will be blocked by five aircraft in turn, and the power generation of solar panels will be greatly affected by the blockage of the combination.
On June 5, the Shenzhou 14 manned spacecraft was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China.
The picture shows the pipeline of the propulsion compartment.
Photo by Zhuang Jiajing
A boat is covered by the "source" of all branches
When "shadows follow", members of the "big family" of the Chinese space station began to help each other.
During the occlusion period, in the early stage of the operation of "Shenzhou 14", Tianhe's core module "generously donated" even if the power supply capacity was limited. Network power supply; in the middle and late stages of operation, the experimental module successfully arrived on duty, and the three modules of the space station "joined together" smoothly. Facing the increasingly complex occlusion situation, the space station that achieved "energy freedom" took on the responsibility of "Shenzhou No. 14" and The task of grid power supply.
The developers of the 811 Institute of the Eighth Academy have formulated a variety of measures to solve the problems caused by complex occlusions to the balance of supply and demand for the spacecraft.
For long-period total occlusion, complex interval occlusion, and partial unilateral occlusion, the research team carried out energy balance simulation analysis and test verification on the ground, fully verifying that the solar battery wings, energy storage batteries and charging control measures can adapt to working conditions complex changes.
In addition, the research and development team of the 811 Institute of the Eighth Academy, through the overall cooperation with the spacecraft, has formulated a dynamic on-orbit maintenance management mechanism for the power subsystem.
In some special circumstances, such as the "peak period" of electricity consumption during the monthly power-on inspection of "Shenzhou 14", and the "big moves" such as configuration changes, orbit changes and attitude adjustments of the space station complex, "Shenzhou 10" "No. 4" will again carry out occlusion review and energy balance prediction in advance, and issue a request for grid-connected power supply to the space station in time.
"Shenzhou 14" has a long-term life storage on the ground. Considering the complex space environment, the developers also added an "insurance" for the power subsystem this time - a pair of new solar battery wings, allowing the "Shenzhou" to increase "wing".
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