Shenzhou 13 astronauts successfully completed their first out-of-space activities Wang Yaping took the first step in China's female extravehicular spacewalk

Beijing, November 8 (Reporter Zhang Mianmian) According to the "News Horizontal" of the Voice of China of the Central Radio and Television Corporation, the new space travel trio, that is, the Shenzhou 13 astronaut crew, spread good news in the early morning of November 8. According to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, at 1:16 Beijing time on November 8, after about 6.5 hours of outgoing activities, the Shenzhou 13 astronaut crew worked closely together to successfully complete all the scheduled tasks of the outgoing activities, and astronauts Zhai Zhigang and Wang Yaping safely returned to the core module, and the outgoing activities were a complete success.

This is the third spacecraft out of the space station stage, the first out-of-cabin activity of the Shenzhou 13 astronaut crew, and the first outgoing activity of female astronauts in China's aerospace history. So, what are some memorable moments during the period? What kind of extravehicular operations did the two astronauts perform?

At 18:51 on November 7, astronaut Zhai Zhigang wore China's new generation of "Feitian" extravehicular space suit with red stripes and successfully opened the exit hatch of the Tianhe core module node module. As China's first outgoing astronaut, this is Zhai Zhigang's second outgoing activity after a gap of 13 years. After leaving the capsule, he and two other astronauts greeted everyone through the camera, and the three astronauts reproduced the words that Zhai Zhigang said when he first came out of the cabin in 2008 with their latest perspectives: "I have left the cabin and feel good!" ”

Zhai Zhigang: "I am 01, I am out of the cabin, I feel good." ”

Wang Yaping: "I'm 02, I'll be out of the cabin for a while, I feel good." ”

Ye Guangfu: "I'm 03, and the next time I go out, I feel good." ”

At 20:28, astronaut Wang Yaping also wore a "Feitian" extravehicular space suit with golden stripes and successfully exited the capsule from the Tianhe core module node module; Wang Yaping became the first female astronaut in China to carry out the outgoing activities, taking the first step in China's female extravehicular spacewalk.

Wu Hao, assistant researcher of the selection training room of the China Astronaut Scientific Research and Training Center and instructor of the outgoing activity, said: "All of our counselors warmly congratulate 02 on the successful completion of the first flight activity of Chinese female astronauts, and we are proud of you! Congratulations to 01, who walked through space again after his first appearance in 2008 and praised your close cooperation and perfect performance! ”

Wang Yaping replied: "Thank you Shuguang, thank you, China's aerospace excitement is still continuing." Let's cheer together! ”

This is the third astronaut out of the space station stage, the first time that the Shenzhou 13 astronaut crew has been out of the cabin, and it is also the first time in China's aerospace history that female astronauts have participated in the cabin activity. During the astronauts' out-of-the-cabin activities, the space and the earth cooperated vigorously, and the cabin and the inside and outside cooperated closely, and the installation task of the robot arm suspension device was first completed.

Li Xuedong, the chief designer of the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Group, said: "The main task of this capsule is the installation of the joint device of our large and small arms, including two: one is the suspension device, the other is the adapter, the suspension device is installed on the bulkhead, the future to the adapter parts for fixation, as well as power supply and heating functions." ”

In addition to the installation of the suspension device, the most important adapter parts in the assembly device should also be installed in this outing cabin to ensure the smooth connection and combination of the small robot arm on the future experimental cabin and the large robot arm in the core cabin.

Li Xuedong introduced: "The adapter is the size of the (mechanical) arm to be used when the time comes, so the core cabin launches a large (mechanical) arm, and (in the future) will also issue a (experimental) cabin of the same size as the core cabin, which carries a small mechanical arm upwards." After the three cabins are formed, the big arm will go to grab the adapter and capture the forearm. ”

After the two devices are installed, they can support the two robotic arms to form a combination, expand the operating capacity and operating range of the robotic arms, thereby supporting the load care and extravehicular maintenance of the entire space station.

It is particularly worth mentioning that this time, the astronauts also carried out tasks such as the test of typical extravehicular maneuvers. What exactly is a typical action?

Huang Weifen, chief designer of the astronaut system, explained that it includes left and right leaning, as well as forward leaning. "In fact, you see Zhai Zhigang's ability is really super, you see him on the mechanical arm, his hand basically grasped the ring armrest, he leaned forward very low, the angle is very large. Although you can do it (in the process of getting out of the cabin), we are not doing a training project, mainly depending on the ability of people to wear spacesuits, in the case of mechanical arms, to what extent they can operate, that is, to provide a basis for our future operation design and our engineering design. Because although we have done these actions in the whole operation process, but can not be analyzed, his actions are continuously and dynamically adjusted, so we let him do a typical action, stability, image acquisition, and this image is calibrated, so it can be analyzed, modeled, and analyzed to get effective data. ”

The entire astronaut exit process was smooth and successful, and the functional performance of China's new generation of extravehicular spacesuits and the reliability and safety of support equipment related to outgoing activities were further tested.

Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, said: "The task of our out-of-the-cabin activity this time is mainly to install a collection device of large and small robotic arms, which has laid the foundation for the joint work of small robotic arms and large robotic arms that we will carry up with the module in the future, in fact, this is also directly prepared for the construction mission of our space station." The spacesuit worn by astronaut Wang Yaping this time is our third set of outer cabin suits, and it is also the first time to perform the mission out of the capsule. After this mission of outgoing activities, it should be said that the functional performance of the three sets of cabin jackets in orbit during the construction stage of our space station have been verified. This outgoing activity, our entire heaven and earth link, including our technical support for the outgoing activity on the ground, and the organization and implementation of the entire flight control work, are very efficient and smooth. Our ability to carry out out the outgoing activities has been tested, and we are confident that we will complete the follow-up tasks. ”

In this outgoing activity, the space station core module robotic arm once again made a dazzling appearance, lifting the astronauts to the designated position to carry out the outgoing operation, successfully completed the installation of the robotic arm assembly device, and laid a solid foundation for the subsequent realization of the combination of the Optimus Giant Arm. What exactly is the robot arm assembly device used for? What kind of black technology is there?

The space station robotic arm is one of the new fields of China's aerospace industry development, integrating multiple majors such as mechanics, electricity, heat, control, and optics, which also highlights the difficulty of the development of dual-arm combination adapters. The "protagonist" of this hatching activity, the robotic arm assembly device, is composed of a two-arm combination adapter and a suspension device, which is the key equipment for the space station's robotic arm to achieve combined action. Among them, the two-arm combination adapter is vividly compared to the "cosmic-level robotic arm adapter" by the space station model developers.

Gao Sheng, head of the flight control of the space station robot arm of the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Group, introduced: "The space station robot arm is composed of a core module robot arm (big arm) and a 'Ask the Sky' experimental module robot arm (small arm). According to the mission planning of the space station's key technology verification and construction stage, the experimental module robot arm will be launched into orbit together with the 'Qingtian' experimental module, and will complete the eye-catching operation of the 'large and small arm in orbit combination' with the core module robot arm in space, and the key device to achieve the combination is the two-arm combination adapter. Due to the large difference in the 'body size' of the core cabin robot arm with a length of 10 meters and the experimental cabin robot arm with a length of 5 meters, the port design is also quite different. ”

How to do a good job of docking the two mechanical arms, achieve the effect of "1 + 1 = 1", and complete the task of strong adaptability and greater difficulty in operation is a huge innovation problem for the development team. To this end, the research and development team has carried out program demonstration again and again, and has carried out design optimization round after round, turning the small "cosmic-level robotic arm adapter" from a creative idea into a scientific and technological artifact of "four or two thousand pounds".

Gao Sheng told reporters: "It not only helps to complete the interface interconnection of the two robotic arms, but also realizes the interconnection of electrical and information between the two, and safely opens up the 'Ren Dou Er Vein' between the two robotic arms in the harsh space environment." ”

In what ways has this technological artifact been improved? Gao Sheng said that the double-arm combination adapter will help two different forms of robotic arms to complete the transfer, ensuring that the combined robotic arm has the ability to carry a larger load for large-scale transfer, so breakthroughs have been made in key technologies and other aspects.

During the installation of the robotic arm assembly, the suspension, first installed on the core bulkhead, has a clever claw structure for capturing and storing the double-arm combination adapter and providing power supply guarantees. After completing the installation of the suspension device, astronaut Zhai Zhigang nudged the two-arm combination adapter into the bayonet position, and the suspension device accurately grasped the adapter through the claw structure under the remote control of the command and "embraced it into the arms".

So, what is the relationship between the double-arm combination adapter and the suspension device? Gao Xiangyu, the chief designer of the mechanical arm suspension device of the space station of the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Group, explained with the example of "sword" and "sword sheath": "The combination of arms adapters is like a 'sword', and the suspension device is like a 'sword sheath'. In the future, when the two space station robotic arms carry out docking work, the core cabin robotic arm (large arm) will actively probe to the two-arm combination adapter, identify the target through the end vision camera, and accurately remove it from the suspension device, and then complete the combination with the 'Qingtian' experimental module robotic arm to form a longer and more stable dexterous space robot. ”

At that time, the reach of the space station's robotic arm can be directly expanded to 14.5 meters, and the range of activity can directly cover the three sections of the space station, and the surface of the space station's cabin can be inspected at any time.

Gao Xiangyu introduced: "After the robot arm completes the on-orbit task in the combined docking state, it must be re-divided into two parts, the large and small mechanical arms, at this time, the two-arm combination adapter is naturally a 'knife' into the 'sheath', and the core cabin robot arm actively puts the two-arm combination adapter back into the suspension device." ”

The Tianhe robotic arm can carry a large spacecraft of 25 tons, and in the future, its and forearms, that is, the robotic arms on the Tiantian experimental module, will be further enhanced in the future.

Zhu Chao, deputy chief designer of the space station robotic arm of the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Group, said: "In the future, after the space station completes the three-cabin combination, most of the astronauts' outgoing tasks will be completed in the form of combined arms. Subsequently, the space station robotic arm will realize the assembly of two robotic arms through the combination of two arms transfer parts, and then complete the difficult and more diversified mission goals, which is not only the world's first, but also an important embodiment of China's wisdom! ”