Successful first flight! Gravity One is full of attractions
Our reporter Zhang Baoshu
For the international media, China's space launch activities have long been commonplace. However, the recent successful first flight of a Chinese rocket has attracted special attention from many international media.
The U.S. space website recently published an article describing the scene of the launch in a very graphic way: "With two huge plumes of smoke and countless debris, this stocky rocket lifted off from the deck of a ship in the Yellow Sea." The United States The Aerospace News Network published a report on the day of the launch: "Today's launch makes it the most powerful commercial rocket that has completed an orbital mission for the first time in China's history, and it is also the most powerful solid fuel launcher." Spanish "El Pais" website Published reports spoke highly of the significance of the successful first flight of this rocket: "This has made China an important player in the field of fast and efficient launches, and in the era of satellites and space exploration, the global demand for such services is increasing day by day."
This type of rocket that has attracted widespread attention is the Gravity-1 manufactured by China's new commercial aerospace company Oriental Space Technology Co., Ltd. ("Oriental Space" for short).
Recently, our reporters rushed to the Oriental Spaceport in Haiyang, Shandong, where they witnessed the launch of the Gravity-1 rocket and the process of satellite launch into orbit at close range, and conducted interviews on the characteristics of this rocket.
visual feast:
From the blue sea to the sky
The best place to watch the launch of Gravity 1 is on the east island of Lienli Island off the coast of Haiyang City. The self-propelled maritime satellite launch engineering ship Oriental Spaceport that carried out the mission is anchored on the sea not far east of the island. superior.
At 11 noon that day, our reporter set off from the station in a special vehicle for this launch mission.
More than 20 minutes later, the car turned from Binhai Avenue onto the plank road leading to the East Island of Lienli Island.
Opening the car window, facing the fresh sea breeze, bathing in the warm winter sun, and watching the sparkling waves jumping on the sea, I felt particularly refreshed.
Because the view was blocked across the island, we couldn't see the majestic appearance of the rocket standing on the launch ship from the car.
As soon as the car entered the East Island, we saw the crowds who came to watch the rocket launch gathered at the security entrance and lined up to enter the viewing area.
We got off the car and went through the inspection and security check with the issued documents. As the crowd moved forward along the road, we could see tall "astronaut" dolls in white spacesuits and rocket models, rocket engine models and other aerospace products standing tall on the roadside. Themed landscape, feel the strong atmosphere of the island's space launch.
About 500 meters ahead, there is a "C" shaped platform that is the viewing area.
I walked up the ramp to the high platform with everyone, looked to the right and saw a rocket standing on the wide deck of a big red ship not far away.
As shown in the pictures in the brochure, the rocket as a whole gives people a "short, fat, and cute" feeling: the top is the fairing that wraps the satellite, which looks thick, the bottom is the rocket core stage, and the bottom is a number of boosters. The thrusters surround the rocket core stage.
There is a large LCD screen directly in front of the viewing area, which displays high-definition real-time status images of the rocket from multiple angles.
The audience at the scene either flocked to the shore to watch and took pictures with mobile phones and cameras, or gathered in the viewing area to watch the real-time footage of the rocket on the big screen while listening to representatives from Oriental Space being invited to introduce the launch.
At 13:30 that day, as the launch command was issued, thick smoke and flames immediately erupted from the bottom of the rocket. At the same time, there was a rumble in the ears, and the white rocket body rushed out of the thick smoke, and flames were ejected from the tail. It still looks dazzling in the bright sunshine.
The thick smoke below dispersed and enveloped the entire Oriental Spaceport launch ship. The smoke above followed the tail of the rocket straight into the sky, like an arc-shaped road in the sky, and then slowly dispersed.
In about 20 seconds, the rocket completely disappeared from people's sight, and only flight status information such as "signal normal" and "tracking normal" could be heard from the on-site broadcast.
About 2 minutes later, the live broadcast announced the successful separation of the booster.
About 10 minutes later, the live broadcast announced that the satellites and arrows separated, the three satellites entered the predetermined orbit, and the launch was a complete success.
Warm cheers came from the scene, and the staff of Oriental Space warmly embraced and celebrated.
Sea launch:
bundledflexible
Flying from the blue sea to the blue sky and completing the sea launch mission is a highlight of the successful first flight of Gravity-1.
In order to complete this mission, the Oriental Spaceport launched China's first professional self-propelled maritime satellite launch engineering ship for the first time.
The length is 162.5 meters, the width is 40 meters, the design draft is 6.6 meters, the speed is 12.5 knots, and the maximum load capacity is about 22,000 tons.
The ship has a cruising range of approximately 10,000 nautical miles and an unlimited navigation area. It can be positioned at a designated location without anchoring, and the speed can reach 12.5 knots, ensuring the accuracy of the launch point.
The Oriental Spaceport has the capability of both hot and cold rocket launches, and can meet the launch needs of large and medium-sized solid rockets and small and medium-sized liquid launch vehicles currently in service and under development. It can also be used for the transportation of heavy items, laying the foundation for building China's maritime launch system. Ability to provide strategic level support.
It is worth mentioning that the ship has a diversion channel facility in the middle of the hull, which supports the sea-launched "three-vertical" test and launch mode, which refers to vertical assembly, vertical testing, and vertical transfer, which greatly shortens the launch time and improves the launch efficiency. .
The flexible and maneuverable vertical transfer mode is a major innovation for Gravity-1 to adapt to sea launches.
Unlike traditional rockets of the same type that use rails for transportation, Gravity One innovatively adopts road transportation methods, combined with the relevant facilities of the launch ship, to complete the vertical transfer to the launch sea area.
This innovation expands China's medium-sized launch vehicle mobile launch capability at sea, further enriches China's rocket sea launch support technology and capabilities, and provides reference for subsequent sea launch and sea recovery of liquid launch vehicles with larger volume and weight.
The bundled shape of Gravity One is a major advantage for adapting to sea launches.
According to Huang Shuai, deputy chief engineer of the rocket, when the rocket configuration was first demonstrated, the focus was to first meet the sea launch requirements. After comprehensive consideration of factors such as capacity requirements and engine performance, it was decided to adopt a bundled shape, that is, bundled auxiliaries around the core stage. The thruster reduces the height and center of gravity of the rocket, increases the support span, and allows the rocket to stand stably on the ship without the support of a service tower.
The development team worked hard to overcome the problems of bundled styling in terms of design, professional coupling, system coordination, startup performance, etc., and after three years of hard work, Gravity One was finally created.
Solid fuel:
High efficiency of early loading
"The world's most powerful solid fuel rocket" is a record set by Gravity-1, and it is also a highlight of its successful first flight.
It is understood that Gravity-1 has a take-off weight of 405 tons, a take-off thrust of 600 tons, a low-Earth orbit carrying capacity of 6.5 tons, and a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit carrying capacity of 4.2 tons. It can meet the requirements of batch network launch of medium and low orbit satellites and medium and large-scale satellites. Space payloads respond quickly to launch needs.
Before Gravity 1, the world's most powerful solid rocket in service was the European Space Agency's "Vega-C", with a take-off weight of 210 tons, a take-off thrust of about 459 tons, and a polar orbit carrying capacity of 700 kilometers from the earth. 2.2 tons.
Through comparison, it can be found that Gravity-1 is superior to "Vega-C" in many indicators and performance.
What are the advantages of Gravity-1 using solid fuel as propellant compared to rockets using liquid fuel as propellant?
According to Bai Yanjun, chief designer of the Gravity-1 rocket engine of the Fourth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Group, the solid fuel used in the rocket engine is a high-energy gunpowder called "butylene hydroxyl". Rocket engines using this type of solid fuel have a simpler structure and are more maneuverable. It is more flexible, has greater instantaneous thrust, and is more convenient to operate and maintain.
In particular, solid fuel can be loaded into the rocket in advance, unlike liquid fuel, which must be added before the rocket is launched, which can reduce launch preparation time.
Thanks to the advantage of using solid fuel, Gravity-1 can achieve rapid emergency launch; under normal circumstances, a single launch ship can complete the "once a week" launch mission.
Business goals:
Determined to innovate and reduce costs
Many features and attractions of Gravity-1 stem from its characteristics as a commercial rocket and the attributes of Eastern Space Commercial Aerospace Company.
As a private rocket company founded in 2020, Oriental Space is a latecomer in this field. A few years before its establishment, similar companies such as Lingke Aerospace, Blue Arrow Aerospace, and Interstellar Glory have been established, and some have achieved rocket success. First flight.
Bu Xiangwei, co-founder of Oriental Space and chief designer and commander-in-chief of Gravity 1, recalled that when it was founded, Oriental Space decisively gave up the highly competitive small and medium-sized rocket market and decided to use solid fuel technology to develop a large-scale rocket. A model that exceeds the carrying capacity of other commercial rockets. Taking into account the weight of a single satellite and the number of satellites deployed in one launch, the final rocket carrying capacity is positioned at more than 4 tons.
While focusing on the carrying capacity, the development team tried every means to improve the carrying efficiency and worked hard on the loading space.
To this end, they equipped the top of Gravity-1 with a fairing with a diameter of 4.2 meters and a height of 9.3 meters. Its diameter is almost the same as the diameter of the Long March 7 rocket fairing that launched the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft of the Chinese Space Station. It can accommodate more quantities and more Large satellites.
Gravity-1 completed its "one-shot, three-star" launch mission for the Yunyao-1 constellation on its debut.
In addition, there is a 3-ton counterweight in the rocket fairing - the body structure of the low-cost cargo spacecraft independently developed by Oriental Space, which fully proves its carrying capacity.
According to calculations, Gravity-1 can launch 100-kilogram-class satellites with "30 satellites in one rocket."
As a commercial rocket, Gravity One is committed to innovation in many aspects to promote cost reduction and efficiency improvement.
For example, during the transportation process of the rocket, the launch team abandoned the metal service factory-style protective cover and switched to a flexible inflatable protective cover to provide temperature and humidity protection for the rocket.
Such a small change saves a lot of costs.
In the launch preparation process, a mechanical flip stand is used to reliably flip and erect the rocket sub-stage, further reducing manufacturing and post-maintenance costs.
Building the Gravity One infrastructure around the Vostok Spaceport is a strategic choice for Vostok to improve launch efficiency and reduce costs.
It is understood that after hard work in recent years, Oriental Space can complete the rocket sub-stage final assembly test, full rocket vertical assembly test, port boarding and other processes within 5 kilometers of the Oriental Spaceport area, achieving a "front shop and back factory" for rocket launches This model has greatly shortened the transshipment distance that used to be thousands of kilometers, saving time and reducing costs.
(People's Daily Overseas Edition)