There are other things you don’t know about my country’s manned space station →

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation released the "Blue Book of China's Space Science and Technology Activities" (2021) yesterday. The "Blue Book" shows that this year, the number of my country's space launches will once again exceed 50 times.

This year is the most arduous year for manned space program. my country will complete the construction of the space station through six launch missions.

my country's manned space station will be completed this year

At present, my country is in the key technology verification stage of the space station mission. After the Shenzhou 13 crew returns safely, my country will officially enter the space station construction stage. It is planned to launch two Tianzhou cargo spacecraft, two Shenzhou manned spacecraft and two experimental modules in less than one year, and the configuration of my country's space station will be basically formed.

Bo Linhou, deputy chief designer of the space station system of the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation: After the Shenzhou-13 astronauts return, we will conduct a systematic evaluation of the verification results. Once the evaluation is normal, we will move into the construction phase. This is also the largest number of manned spacecraft launched by our country in one year.

my country's space station is mainly composed of the Tianhe core module, the Wentian laboratory module and the Mengtian laboratory module. This year, the two laboratory modules will be launched successively to carry out a number of manned and unmanned space experiment missions. Among them, the Wentian laboratory module, also known as the laboratory module I, will also serve as a backup core module.

Bo Linhou, deputy chief designer of the space station system of the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation: This is also to improve the reliability of our entire space station, which is equivalent to handing over the control of the core module to the experimental module I for control. At the same time, the experimental module I also has a feature, that is, it is equipped with an airlock for astronauts to exit the cabin. After the subsequent assembly and construction is completed, astronauts will mainly exit the cabin through the airlock of the experimental module I, and our current core module node module can serve as a backup for the airlock.

Similarly, the Mengtian Experimental Module, also known as Experimental Module II, is also equipped with an airlock for transporting cargo out of the module, and then completing a series of extravehicular tasks with the cooperation of the robotic arm. With the completion of the launch of the two experimental modules, my country's space station will also form a T-shaped complex.

Bo Linhou, deputy chief designer of the space station system of the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation: After we form a T-shaped assembly configuration, we will conduct a full test of the functions and performance of the entire space station. We expect to enter the operation phase of the entire space station by the end of this year. By the end of this year, we should have astronauts, which we call rotation. During the rotation period, there will be a maximum of 6 astronauts in orbit at the same time.

Four spacecraft will be launched this year, and multiple improvements will make the spacecraft more convenient

It is understood that this year's space station mission will launch two Shenzhou manned spacecraft and two Tianzhou cargo spacecraft. In order to continuously improve the comfort of the spacecraft, scientific researchers have carried out a number of optimizations and improvements based on feedback from the astronaut crew, which will also provide more convenience and comfort for subsequent astronauts to perform missions.

The Tianzhou cargo spacecraft is mainly responsible for the transportation of cargo. The items that astronauts need for work and life after entering the space station are placed here. In order to enable astronauts to find them faster and more accurately, many improvements have been made to the Tianzhou-4 and Tianzhou-5 cargo spacecrafts that will be launched this year.

Fang Fang, assistant chief designer of the cargo spacecraft system of the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation: We have color-coded the cargo bags, so astronauts can basically tell by color whether it is food for the astronauts, other goods, or cargo for the space station, etc. Then the second improvement is to add Velcro to the cargo adapter plate, unlike the previous screws.

Last year, after the launch of Shenzhou XIII, the rapid rendezvous and docking technology was verified, which greatly shortened the time for astronauts to enter the space station. This year, after completing a six-month stay in orbit, Shenzhou XIII will verify the rapid return technology when it returns, allowing the astronauts to return to the ground faster.

Shao Liming, deputy technical manager of the manned spacecraft system project of the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation: This time we will carry out a rapid return of Shenzhou 13. It used to take a whole day, but this time we only need a few laps to return. This will actually improve the comfort of the astronauts.

Source: CCTV News Client