Photo by Wang Jiangbo
China News Service, Beijing, November 29th (Ma Shuisha) On November 29th, the Shenzhou 15 manned spacecraft carrying astronauts Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu was successfully launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The No. 5 crew started a six-month "space mission".
The Shenzhou 15 flight mission is the last stick in the construction phase of China's space station, and it is also the first stick in the application and development phase of the space station, which plays an important role in connecting the past and ushering in the future.
What are the characteristics of this launch?
What new tasks will the three astronauts complete?
Space station manned launch mission encounters lowest temperature
In late November, the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center was already very cold, with the lowest temperature reaching minus 20 degrees Celsius.
This is the lowest ambient temperature encountered during the manned launch mission of the Chinese space station.
In order to cope with the low temperature, the launch site provides air conditioning for the rocket to ensure that the rocket is within a suitable temperature range.
The rocket system has taken measures to paste insulation layers in important sections to ensure that the launch requirements of the mission are met.
Aiming at possible failures of low supply air temperature in the waiting section, the test team formulated a risk control plan, and turned on the ground electric temperature adjustment of the propulsion tank according to the situation, so as to ensure that the propellant temperature of the spacecraft’s return cabin and propulsion cabin meets the launch requirements.
The space station assembly forms the largest configuration at present
According to the plan, after the rendezvous and docking of the Shenzhou 15 manned spacecraft, the Chinese space station will form a combination of three cabins and three ships for the first time, namely the "three cabins" of Tianhe Core Module, Wentian Experimental Module, Mengtian Experimental Module, and Tianzhou-5. Cargo spacecraft, Shenzhou 14 manned spacecraft, Shenzhou 15 manned spacecraft "three ships".
This is the largest configuration of China's space station at present, with a total mass of nearly 100 tons.
This mission is the first time that two Shenzhou manned spacecraft have docked at the Chinese space station at the same time. The Shenzhou 15 spacecraft docked at the forward docking port of the Tianhe core module node module, and the Shenzhou 14 spacecraft docked at the radial docking port of the node module.
The two spacecraft will carry out information transmission, ventilation and heat exchange, and grid-connected power supply with the space station at the same time.
The first in-orbit rotation of two astronaut crews
After the visit of the Shenzhou 15 manned spacecraft, the space station will usher in the historical moment of six Chinese astronauts flying in orbit at the same time, and realize the in-orbit rotation of the flight crew for the first time.
On-orbit handover will be the main task handover mode during the operation of China's space station in the future, which is more efficient and reliable than ground handover.
The Shenzhou 14 astronaut crew is scheduled to complete the on-orbit rotation task within a week and return to the Dongfeng Landing Site.
Before returning, the crew must set the space station to a six-person on-orbit mode to make relevant preparations for the new crew to settle in.
During the crew rotation, it mainly completes the work handover of the space station assembly and material status and experimental projects.
At the same time, the crew of Shenzhou 14 will continue to carry out relevant targeted preparations for returning to the ground.
Use the cargo airlock to complete cargo unloading
Shenzhou 15 astronauts will work and live in orbit for 6 months.
During the mission, they will carry out the long-term residency verification of the status of the third cabin of the space station, complete the unlocking, installation and testing of 15 scientific experiment cabinets, and carry out more than 40 space science experiments and experiments in the fields of space science research and application, aerospace medicine, and aerospace technology. technical test.
They will implement 3 to 4 out-of-cabin activities, complete the Mengtian experimental cabin expansion pump set and load exposure platform equipment installation, etc., will verify the cargo airlock cabin out-of-cabin working mode, and cooperate with the ground to complete 6 cargo out-of-cabin tasks, It will carry out normalized platform testing, maintenance and station management, as well as on-orbit health protection exercises, on-orbit training and drills, etc.
During the in-orbit stay, the Shenzhou 15 astronaut crew will welcome the Tianzhou 6 cargo spacecraft and the Shenzhou 16 manned spacecraft to visit and dock, and plans to return to the Dongfeng Landing Site in May next year.
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