Building a dream "space home": After the space station is completed, what are the astronauts doing outside the cabin?

What are the astronauts doing after the space station is completed?

(Building a Dream "Space Home" - China Space Station Construction Notes)

　　Recently, the first out-of-cabin activity of the Chinese space station after its full completion was staged wonderfully.

After about 7 hours of extravehicular activities, Shenzhou 15 astronauts Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming, and Zhang Lu worked closely together to successfully complete all the scheduled tasks for the extravehicular activities.

　　The operating scope and climbing distance have reached a new high, and the space out of the space station has covered the three cabins of the space station for the first time... The crew of the Shenzhou 15 astronauts faced many challenges in this out of space mission, and it also opened up new space for improving the scientific application capabilities of the space station .

time long distance

Extravehicular activities face new challenges

　　During the extravehicular activities of Shenzhou 15 astronauts, the working time was as long as 7 hours.

Astronauts leave the cabin from the Wentian lock cabin and come to the Mengtian experimental cabin to complete the installation of the extended pump set, then transfer to the Tianhe core cabin to install the foot stopper, and finally return to the Wentian lock cabin.

　　In the space station, the thermal control system is equivalent to a "central air conditioner", which can ensure the normal operation of space station equipment and the comfort of astronauts in space in the harsh space environment; while the extended pump set is the "heart" of the thermal control system, allowing the air conditioner to The fluid inside circulates.

In order to ensure the stable operation of the space station, pump sets must be installed inside and outside the cabin.

　　From the first out of the cabin mission of the space station stage, each astronaut crew will install foot restraints when they leave the cabin.

The astronauts are in a state of weightlessness after leaving the cabin, and when completing work tasks, the limiter can fix the astronauts near the working place.

At present, the entire space station has 4 foot limiters, which are usually stored in the hatches of the airlock compartment and the node compartment.

　　According to experts from the Aerospace Science and Technology Group, this mission is the first large-scale operation across the three compartments of the space station after the completion of the three-compartment complex. Tested the system-wide support capability.

　　Although it was the first time to walk in space, the crew of Shenzhou 15 faced new challenges in their first out-of-vehicle activities.

The operation time and transfer path are long, the climbing distance is long, the outer space environment is complex and severe, and the temperature difference changes strongly... Astronauts performing extravehicular activities wear extravehicular spacesuits, are exposed to harsh environments for a long time, and have to carry out remote operations. One can imagine the difficulty of distance climbing and fine work.

　　In order to ensure the smooth completion of the mission, the researchers built a "digital space station" on the ground that is exactly the same as the real space station. Before each mission, the researchers will conduct simulations to check all aspects of the mission in the digital space station. Carry out comprehensive analysis to ensure the accuracy of the exit procedure.

Before the extravehicular mission, the astronauts of Shenzhou 15, with the cooperation of ground technicians and with the help of digital twin technology, realized for the first time that the robotic arm could carry out exercises without real movement.

From people out of the cabin to cargo out of the cabin

Multiple exit modes to demonstrate the strength of the space station

　　According to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, the space station cargo out-of-cabin installation tasks have been carried out successively in the early stage, and the cargo out-of-cabin installation work will continue in the future.

From astronauts out of the cabin to cargo out of the cabin, the operating efficiency of the space station is getting higher and higher.

　　When the crews of Shenzhou 12 and Shenzhou 13 went out of the cabin, they all went to space through the node module in front of the Tianhe core module.

The crew of Shenzhou 14 and the current Shenzhou 15 "went out" through the airlock of the Wentian Experimental Module.

Compared with the node compartment, the hatch diameter of the airlock compartment has been increased from 85 cm to 1 m.

Astronauts wearing extravehicular spacesuits can more easily carry equipment out of the cabin to work.

　　Compared with astronauts leaving the cabin, cargo leaving the cabin has new features and methods.

According to reports, the airlock located in the Mengtian Experimental Cabin will be dedicated to the delivery of cargo.

The cargo airlock of Mengtian experimental cabin can transport up to 400 kilograms through a load transfer mechanism equipped inside.

At that time, astronauts do not have to personally "carry cargo" out of the cabin. The large and small robotic arms of the space station can work separately and in combination to support the transfer of loads in a large range outside the cabin, and complete the extravehicular operations of the Wentian Experimental Module and Mengtian Experimental Module. Expose payload deployment and recovery.

　　According to experts from the space station team of the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Group, the automatic out-of-cabin cargo can effectively avoid the mission risk caused by the astronauts out of the out-of-vehicle installation load and the damage to the life of the space suit, and at the same time save the on-orbit work occupied by the astronaut's out-of-vehicle activities. Time, improve the efficiency of space station orbit operation.

　　In terms of mission planning, the multiple exit modes fully reflect the advanced nature of the system design of the Chinese space station, adapting to different mission requirements, which can not only give full play to the advantages of human participation, but also maximize the operating efficiency of the space station.

During the life cycle of the space station, carrying out extravehicular exposure experiments by changing different loads multiple times will provide strong support for the space station to carry out various extravehicular scientific experiments more efficiently and safely, and further enhance the scientific application capabilities of my country's space station.

Move to the application and development stage

Experimental work continues

　　According to the news previously released by the China Manned Space Engineering Office, the flight crew of Shenzhou 15 will focus on six aspects of work during the mission of the Chinese space station-carry out the long-term residency verification of the third cabin of the space station; complete 15 scientific experiments Unlock, install and test the cabinets, carry out more than 40 space science experiments and technical experiments covering the fields of space science research and application, aerospace medicine, space technology, etc. Load exposure platform equipment installation and other work; verify the working mode of the cargo airlock cabin out of the cabin, and cooperate with the ground to complete 6 cargo out of the cabin tasks; carry out normal platform testing, maintenance and station management; carry out on-orbit health protection exercises, in-orbit Track training and drills, etc.

　　According to the plan, the astronaut crew of Shenzhou 15 will carry out several out-of-vehicle activities in the future.

According to Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, China's space station has been fully completed and has entered the stage of application and development.

In the past two months, the crew of Shenzhou 15 has completed the unlocking of all the cabinets of the Mengtian experimental module, equipment installation and testing tasks. At present, the experimental work has been carried out successively, laying a good foundation for the development of subsequent tasks.

　　Liu Yao