China News Agency, Beijing, November 30th, title: A historic moment in China's spaceflight: 6 astronauts achieved the "space meeting" for the first time
Author Ma Shuisha
On November 30, the astronauts of Shenzhou 15 successfully settled in the Chinese space station and "reunited" with the astronauts of Shenzhou 14 in space.
This is a historic moment in China's spaceflight. For the first time, manned spaceflight achieved a "new breakthrough" in which six astronauts flew in orbit at the same time.
After the spacecraft completed rendezvous and docking, Shenzhou 14 crew commander Chen Dong and Shenzhou 15 crew commander Fei Junlong came to the hatches of the Tianhe core module node module and the spacecraft return module respectively.
At 7:33, the two opened the hatch.
When facing the "door", Chen Dong happily opened his arms and said, "The 'door' of 'Space Homeland' has been opened for you!" Afterwards, Fei Junlong "flyed" to the node cabin, and embraced Chen Dong warmly .
Welcomed by Chen Dong, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu entered the space station immediately, and gathered with several other astronauts in the Wentian Experimental Module.
This is a long-awaited "reunion in heaven".
Before the Shenzhou 15 astronauts set off, the Shenzhou 14 astronauts couldn't wait to meet their teammates.
In the warm and cheerful welcome video, Chen Dong shouted from the air, "Old iron is here, we miss you to death", Liu Yang said, "Looking forward, looking forward, we wait until the flowers are about to wither, and the palace in the sky is waiting for you to come." ".
According to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, after the manned spacecraft and the space station assembly successfully achieved independent rapid rendezvous and docking, the crew of Shenzhou 15 entered the orbital module from the spacecraft’s return module.
Photo by Wang Jiangbo
Now, after nearly six months of space travel, the astronauts of Shenzhou 14 finally saw their relatives from the ground, and the two crews couldn't hide their excitement.
Fei Junlong said that he saw the busy work of the Shenzhou 14 crew in space for half a year on the ground, "you have all worked hard."
Deng Qingming said that he has been looking forward to the day when he will "rendezvous" with the Shenzhou 14 crew.
"Then let's take a look at our 'space mansion'!" Cai Xuzhe continued.
After a brief greeting, the six astronauts left a group photo in space in the Chinese people's own "space home". They stretched out their thumbs and shouted in unison, "The Chinese space station is always worth looking forward to!" This photo freezes the two astronauts The important moment when the crew "joined space" for the first time.
Astronauts have experienced many such important moments in China's manned spaceflight in space.
The Chinese entered space for the first time, walked out of the cabin for the first time, and entered their own space station for the first time... Every "highlight performance" is behind important technological breakthroughs in manned spaceflight.
From the successful maiden flight of Shenzhou 5 astronaut Yang Liwei, the first multi-person multi-day flight of Shenzhou 6 astronauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng, to the first medium-term in-orbit residence of Shenzhou 11 astronauts, the Shenzhou 13 astronauts After being in orbit for the first time for half a year, and then with six astronauts on orbit for the first time, China has achieved a leap from unmanned flight to manned flight, from one person for one day to three people for half a year. In the era of Chinese astronauts, Chinese astronauts are constantly breaking the time and space records of staying in orbit.
From Zhai Zhigang who became the first person to walk in space in China, Liu Boming who stood on the robotic arm for the first time, Wang Yaping became the first Chinese female astronaut to go out of the cabin, and then the crew of Shenzhou 14 set a record of 3 times in a mission. Unlock new skills for leaving the cabin, and the tasks and paths for leaving the cabin are becoming more and more complicated.
From Shenzhou 9 astronauts first stationed in Tiangong 1 with only 15 cubic meters of activity space, to Shenzhou 12 astronauts first stationed in Tianhe core module, with a working and living space of about 50 cubic meters, to Shenzhou 14 spaceflight For the first time, the crew entered the Wentian Experimental Cabin and Mengtian Experimental Cabin, which opened the era of Chinese "three-bedroom" space, with an activity space of 110 cubic meters.
According to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, after the manned spacecraft and the space station assembly successfully achieved independent rapid rendezvous and docking, the crew of Shenzhou 15 entered the orbital module from the spacecraft’s return module.
Photo by Wang Jiangbo
After the visit of the Shenzhou 15 manned spacecraft, the Chinese space station has formed its current largest configuration for the first time, that is, a combination of three cabins and three ships, including Tianhe Core Module, Wentian Experimental Module, Mengtian Experimental Module, and Tianzhou-5 Cargo The spacecraft, the Shenzhou 14 manned spacecraft, and the Shenzhou 15 manned spacecraft have a total mass of nearly 100 tons.
In order to welcome the crew of Shenzhou 15, the astronaut crew of Shenzhou 14 has set the space station to a six-person on-orbit mode in advance to ensure the oxygen and water required for six people to fly in orbit at the same time.
Astronauts live in orbit relying on the space station's regenerative life support functions such as electrolytic oxygen production, carbon dioxide removal, and urine treatment.
According to experts, judging from the in-orbit data of the astronauts on Shenzhou 12 and Shenzhou 13, the environment control and life support system of the Tianhe core module can support 6 astronauts to work and live in orbit at the same time.
In the next few days, the crew of Shenzhou 15 will carry out face-to-face work handover with the crew of Shenzhou 14, completing the first "space shift" of Chinese astronauts.
This is the first time that China has carried out an in-orbit rotation of flight crews.
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.
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