Chinanews.com, Beijing, November 29th (Liu Huan) According to the official news from the China Manned Space Office, the manned spacecraft Shenzhou 15 has been successfully launched and successfully embarked on a rendezvous journey with Shenzhou 14.
It is reported that the launch of the Shenzhou 15 manned spacecraft is the last manned mission during the construction phase of China's space station.
At that time, China's space station will have 6 astronauts staying in orbit together, completing the first in-orbit rotation of astronauts in the history of China's spaceflight.
The 30-year "Gold Medal Veteran" will play again. What upgrades and changes have been made?
After the successful launch of the Shenzhou-15 manned spacecraft, the Chinese space station will form a "three cabins and three ships" configuration, of which the "three ships" are the Tianzhou-5 cargo spacecraft, Shenzhou-14, and Shenzhou-15 manned spacecraft.
The picture shows the combination of the Shenzhou 15 manned spacecraft and the Long March 2 F Yao 15 launch vehicle Source: China Manned Space Engineering Office
The Long March 2F Yao15 carrier rocket (hereinafter referred to as the "Long March 2F carrier rocket") is currently the only rocket that performs manned missions in my country. Since its development in 1992, the Long March 2F rocket has accompanied China's manned spaceflight After 30 years, he is a veritable "gold medal veteran".
In order to escort Shenzhou 15, the Long March 2F carrier rocket has undergone new changes.
It is understood that during this launch mission, researchers upgraded the rocket's control system and telemetry system to improve the accuracy of orbiting.
Liu Feng, deputy chief designer of the Long March 2F launch vehicle of the Aerospace Science and Technology Group, said in an interview with the media: "We have increased the adaptability of (rocket) take-off time deviation. Relevant corrections are made in the orbit parameters to automatically compensate for the time deviation during take-off, which can ensure the accuracy of orbiting."
At the same time, the researchers also upgraded the rocket's telemetry system transmitter and navigation receiver.
"This allows our navigation receivers to receive more satellites and our accuracy is higher," he added.
Liu Feng said that for manned rockets, the safety of the astronauts is the most important.
According to the official information of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, the Long March 2F carrier rocket has added an escape system and a fault detection and processing system on the basis of the Long March 2E carrier rocket.
These two systems can take the astronauts out of the danger zone of the rocket when the rocket fails catastrophically. The reliability index has been raised from 0.91 to 0.97, and the safety index has reached 0.997.
After upgrading, this "veteran" who has served for 30 years has achieved a leap from ordinary launch vehicles to manned launch vehicles.
It is reported that since the construction of the Chinese space station, the Long March 2F carrier rocket has also ushered in high-density launch missions.
In order to meet the new mission requirements of the space station stage, the Chang-2F launch vehicle has continuously undergone technological innovation and design improvement. Its reliability index has been increased from the original 0.97 to 0.98, and its safety index has been increased to 0.99996, which means that the rocket will be launched 100,000 times. There will be four possible escape failures, which provides a strong guarantee for the smooth implementation of the manned flight mission at the space station stage.
In addition, when the astronauts are working on the space station, the Long March 2F carrier rocket adopts the mode of "one launch, one backup", and the two rockets take turns to "stand guard".
If the "duty" rocket receives an emergency rescue order, it can carry out emergency rescue launches at any time to ensure the safety of astronauts.
The picture shows the combination of the Shenzhou 15 manned spacecraft and the Long March 2 F Yao 15 launch vehicle Source: China Manned Space Engineering Office
From God Twelve to God Fifteen, how many "firsts" are unlocked?
On June 17, 2021, the Shenzhou-12 manned spacecraft was launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. This is the first manned mission in the key technology verification phase of the space station.
On November 29 this year, the Shenzhou 15 manned spacecraft was also launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
From Shenzhou 12 to Shenzhou 15, in more than a year, China's manned spaceflight has created many "firsts":
Shenzhou 12 - the first time that a manned spacecraft has been autonomously and rapidly forward rendezvous and docking, the first long-term on-orbit docking, and the first time it has the ability to return to the landing site from orbits at different altitudes.
Shenzhou 13—the first emergency rescue launch standby mission; the radial rendezvous and docking technology was verified for the first time, and radial rendezvous and docking was carried out with the radial docking interface of the core module of the space station; the astronauts conducted the first hand-controlled remote operation test on orbit; Flying in orbit for 183 days, created the record for the longest continuous in-orbit flight time of Chinese astronauts; Wang Yaping became China's first female astronaut to carry out extravehicular activities; and achieved the first rapid return to Earth from the space station.
Shenzhou 14 - During its orbital operation, other spacecraft (Wentian Experimental Module, Mengtian Experimental Module, Tianzhou 5) were "visited" for the first time, and astronauts "received express delivery" in orbit.
Shenzhou 15——It will be the first time that two manned spacecraft will be in orbit at the same time, and the astronaut crew will be rotated in orbit for the first time.
On November 17, Shenzhou 14 astronauts Chen Dong, Liu Yang, and Cai Xuzhe successfully completed all the scheduled tasks for the third extravehicular activity.
Now, Shenzhou 14 is looking forward to the arrival of Shenzhou 15. This space covenant is about to create a historic moment in China's spaceflight.
The picture shows the third extravehicular activity of Shenzhou 14. Source: China Manned Space Engineering Office
The main task of building the space station has been completed, what's the next step?
"The manned flight mission of Shenzhou 15 is the last step in the construction of the space station, and it is also the first step in the development stage of the space station. It plays an important role in connecting the past and ushering in the future." Ji Qiming, assistant director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, held a speech on the 28th Said at the press conference of the Shenzhou 15 manned flight mission.
It is reported that after the space station has completed its in-orbit construction, it will then enter a stage of application and development that lasts more than 10 years.
The initial plan is to launch two manned and two cargo spacecraft per year.
Astronauts should stay in orbit for a long time, carry out space science experiments and technical experiments, and take care of and maintain the space station.
At the same time, my country is also considering the development of an extended cabin section of the space station to further support on-orbit scientific experiments and create better conditions for the work and life of astronauts.
Hao Chun, director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, said at a press conference on the construction progress of China's space station held in April this year that in the next ten years, the scientific experiment cabinets arranged inside the space station and the large-scale payload facilities outside the cabin will be used to carry out larger projects. Large-scale space research experiments and new technology trials.
This mainly involves many fields such as space life science and human body research, microgravity physical science, space astronomy and earth science, and new aerospace technology.
"Especially next year, we plan to launch my country's first large-scale space survey telescope to carry out wide-area survey observations. We will carry out cutting-edge scientific research on the formation and evolution of cosmic structures, dark matter and dark energy, exoplanets and solar system celestial bodies. A batch of major innovations." Hao Chun said.
Ji Qiming revealed that my country has completed manned lunar exploration, key technology research and in-depth demonstration of the program. "We already have the conditions to carry out the implementation of the project. I believe that the dream of the Chinese people to reach the moon in nine days will become a reality in the not-too-distant future." .
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