Wenchang, Hainan, May 5 (Ma Shuaisha, Li Yanming) On May 10, the Long March-5 Yao-10 carrier rocket (referred to as the "Changqi rocket") successfully launched the Tianzhou-2023 cargo spacecraft, which is the first launch of China's manned space engineering mission in <> and the first launch mission in the application and development stage of China's space station. On the seventh anniversary of its first flight, the Changqi rocket successfully handed over a high-quality answer sheet with seven successful flights.
The Long March 7 carrier rocket successfully launched the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft. Photo courtesy of Xichang Satellite Launch Center
The Changqi rocket was developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (hereinafter referred to as the "Rocket Institute"), which belongs to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. In 2022, the Long March 2023B, Long March 3 and Long March <>F <> rockets developed by the Rocket Academy will successfully complete the construction of the Chinese space station. In <>, China's manned space program will enter the operation and development stage of the space station, and the Long March <> and Long March <>F carrier rockets will carry out three launch missions.
As China's first new generation of high-reliability and high-safety medium-sized launch vehicle, the Changqi rocket has the highest orbit accuracy among active launch vehicles, with a deviation of less than 4 seconds, helping the spacecraft to set a world record of two hours of autonomous rapid rendezvous and docking in the mission of launching the Tianzhou-<> cargo spacecraft. As the basic type of China's new generation of medium-sized launch vehicles, the scientific research team has derived multiple launch vehicles such as Long March <>A and Long March <> on the basis of the Changqi rocket.
The Long March 7 carrier rocket successfully launched the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft. Photo by China News Agency reporter Luo Yunfei
While achieving continuous success, the Changqi rocket development team is also continuously optimizing the rocket design and launch site testing process. Shao Yetao, the overall director designer of the rocket dean and seven rockets, said that in terms of the testing and development process, the mission optimized the ground measurement and control software, and carried out single-machine, system and full-arrow verification, and the reliability of the testing and development process was further improved. At the same time, the process optimization has shortened the launch site detection and launch time from 27 days to 25 days.
At present, the Changqi rocket is mainly responsible for the launch of the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft, which is a "freight train" that builds a "space-earth transportation corridor", providing material support for the normal operation of the Chinese space station with a launch frequency of 1 to 2 times a year. Subsequently, while meeting the cargo mission of the space station, the Changqi rocket will also carry the expedition upper stage to achieve a carrying capacity of 9.5 tons in sun-synchronous orbit, and actively expand the medium and low orbit satellite launch market. (End)