First of all, from the overall point of view, the International Space Station is the fourth generation Of Chinese space station for the third generation, the International Space Station is 109 meters wide, 73 meters long, 20 meters high, the area is equivalent to two football fields, the total weight is about 419 tons, the internal volume of the space station is 916 cubic meters, the active space reaches 1200 cubic meters, the cross-type truss structure makes the entire space station structure larger and more complex, usually available for 6 to 7 astronauts to work in orbit, short-term expansion to 9 people, and Chinese space belongs to the third generation of space stations, weighing about 90 tons In general, there are 3 people stationed, up to 6 people in the rotation of astronauts, although the overall appearance is smaller than the International Space Station, but the core module length is about 18.1 meters, almost 6 floors high, the maximum diameter of the module is 4.2 meters, and the volume is larger than any cabin on the International Space Station.
International Space Station
Second: the construction method is different
The International Space Station (ISS) is completed by 16 countries, including the United States, Russia, Japan, and Canada. The Chinese space station (CSS) has completely independent intellectual property rights, the core components are 100% independent and controllable, and are expected to be completed in 2022.
The Design Life of the Chinese Space Station is 10 years and can be extended by maintenance.
Construction of the International Space Station began in 1998, completed in 2010, has a design life of 10 to 15 years, and is expected to be decommissioned in 2024.
Chinese space station
Third: The composition is different
After the completion of the Chinese space station, there are a total of 13 systems, the basic configuration includes: Tianhe core module, Qingtian, Mengtian two experimental modules, Shenzhou manned module, Tianzhou cargo module five modules.
Among them, the core module is the command and control center of the space station and the main place where astronauts live.
Q&M TianMeng Experiment Module: Supports a number of experiments in biology, materials science, and a variety of basic physics, and at the same time, Q&T as a core cabin "control and management" backup module, has the ability to move out of the cabin. The Dream Experiment Cabin also has the ability to automatically enter and exit the cabin with loads.
If the space station is compared to a three-bedroom, two-hall "mansion" with a storage room, the Shenzhou spacecraft is equivalent to a family car, and the Tianzhou spacecraft is a family truck.
The International Space Station is made of a vertical intersection of the Russian base multi-purpose module and the American truss structure, using a truss-trailer "keel" structure.
Russia's basic multi-purpose module is the core component of the International Space Station (ISS) through docking modules and node modules, docking with the United States, Russia, Japan, and European cabins and orbital facilities.
The American truss structure connects Canada's robotic arms and extravehicular equipment, as well as four pairs of solar panels at both ends.
The International Space Station mainly consists of four major parts: the United States, Russia, Europe and Japan, and mainly includes 17 main chambers: including 13 pressurized modules, 1 multi-functional cargo compartment and 3 node modules.
Although the overall scale is not as good as the International Space Station, the Chinese space station, as a late-starter, has six unique "black technologies" that are enough to stand tall in the sky.
The first is that the Sky Survey telescope is more accurate than the Hubble
Accompanying sky survey telescope
The "Sky Survey" optical capsule accompanied by the space station will carry a 2-meter-caliber sky survey telescope, and its resolution is comparable to that of the American Hubble Telescope, but the "Hubble" main mirror area is only about 4.12 square meters after the occlusion is removed, while the unobstructed "Sky Survey" main mirror area is about 3.14 square meters, that is, under the same accuracy, the lens area of the "Sky Survey" is smaller.
Hubble Telescope
In addition, the field of view area of "Hubble" is less than one percent of the "sky survey", which means that the material data accumulated by the "sky survey" in one day exceeds the workload of "Hubble" in one year.
Second "health monitoring system" to defend against "space debris"
During the orbital flight of the space station, it is vulnerable to some space debris attacks, resulting in the risk of leakage and tearing of the cabin, so scientists have innovatively designed a "health monitoring subsystem" on the space station to locate and warn of "space debris".
In addition, the researchers also installed heat pipe emitters to design the robustness of the space station, and the two heat pipe emitters are like a "talisman", which greatly reduces the exposed area of the fluid tube to prevent being penetrated by space debris.
Third, the "anti-scratch artifact" door protection cover
Astronauts in space operations, need to often shuttle back and forth between the various cabins, during the passage of the hatch, the door shaft rotation is in a sideways state, so that it is easy to cause the risk of scratching the door sealing ring, for this scientist specially designed the "anti-scratch artifact" door protection cover.
Fourth, the flexible solar wing battery can be extended and collected for the first time
Space station orbit, energy can only come from the sun, Tianhe core capsule for the first time using a spreadable flexible solar wing, after unfolding the area can reach more than 130 square meters, after the collapse of only the thickness of a book, only 1/15 of the traditional rigid solar wing.
Fifth, six-dimensional force sensor: breaking the international monopoly
During the orbital operation of the space station, when performing tasks such as extravehicular cargo handling, cabin status inspection, and hovercraft capture, a key device is required - the space robotic arm (that is, the legendary artifact that may "capture" the US satellite), and whether the space robotic arm can be accurate in action requires another "artifact" - a sensor, a six-dimensional force sensor independently developed by China, equivalent to a "tactile nerve", connecting the mechanical arm and the "brain center". The mechanical parameters are accurately fed back to the "brain" of the robot arm, and the "brain" then directs the robot arm to complete various complex operations.
Six-dimensional force sensor
Sixth, drinking water dispenser: filtering out silver ions is healthier
The space kitchen of the space station is also equipped with a variety of health "artifacts", the most eye-catching of which is the drinking water dispenser, which can quantitatively distribute room temperature water and hot water, filter out the silver ions in the water, and ensure the safety of astronauts to drink.