At 18:12 on December 23, 2021, at the Wenchang Cosmodrome in China, the Long March 7 carrier rocket successfully launched the test 12 satellite 01 satellite and 02 satellite, and the satellite successfully entered the predetermined orbit, and the launch mission was a complete success. Satellites 01 and 02 are mainly used for space environment exploration and related technology tests. Surging image
In 2021, global spaceflight is busy, setting a record of 144 orbital-level launches, of which 133 were successful.
According to the tech website Ars Technica, the 144 launches do not include Iran's two undeclared launches, and the number of global space launches in 2021 exceeded the 139 launches in 1967 (122 successful) and the 131 launches in 1976 (125 successful).
According to the statistics of space Launch Report ranking by rocket upper stage manufacturing countries, China's space launches in 2021 reached 55 times, ranking first in the world. The United States launched 45 times, ranking second. Russia launched 25 times, ranking third. Europe and New Zealand launched 6 times each, Japan 3 times, India 2 times, and South Korea and Iran each launched once but failed.
Image courtesy of the Space Launch Report
China: One launch in an average of 6.6 days
China completed 55 space launches last year, equivalent to an average of 6.6 launches in 6.6 days. 3 of the 55 missions were lost.
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation completed 48 space launches last year, with a success rate of 100%, sending hundreds of spacecraft (including onboard) into space.
On March 12 last year, China's new generation of medium-sized high-orbit liquid carrier rockets, the Long March 7 A carrier rocket, successfully launched the test No. 9 satellite, marking the addition of new members to China's new generation of medium-sized carrier rocket family. The geosynchronous transfer orbit carrying capacity of the Changqi A rocket is not less than 7 tons, filling the gap in China's high-orbit carrying capacity.
More than a month later, on April 29, 2021, the Long March 5B carrier rocket soared into the sky, accurately sending the first spacecraft and core module of the Chinese space station into the predetermined orbit, and the first battle of The orbit construction mission of China's manned space station was successful.
Since then, China has successively sent the Tianzhou-2 and Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft into the predetermined orbit. Astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo successfully entered space last June aboard the Shenzhou XII manned spacecraft, becoming the first "visitors" to the Chinese space station.
In October last year, astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu successfully entered space aboard the Shenzhou 13 manned spacecraft, and the Chinese space station opened the era of long-term presence.
In 2022, China's aerospace will continue to open a busy mode. China will complete six major missions for manned spaceflight, including two cargo spacecraft, two Shenzhou spacecraft and experimental module I. and experimental module II. launches, as well as orbital rendezvous docking, out-of-module activities and spacecraft return missions, and fully build a space station; complete the first flight mission of the Long March 6A carrier rocket. China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation plans to arrange more than 40 space launch missions in 2022.
UNITED STATES: SpaceX contributes more than half of its launches
The United States launched 45 launches last year, losing twice, one was last August when the third orbit launch attempt of the US space startup Astra failed, and the rocket reached an altitude of 50 kilometers and crashed into the sea. The other was the first explosion of the Alpha II carrier rocket of the American Firefly Aerospace Company in September last year, burning into a fireball in the Air of California.
Of the 45 U.S. launches, SpaceX contributed 31. SpaceX launched the world's first launch last year, launching 31 Falcon 9 rockets throughout the year, with a 100% success rate, breaking the record of 26 launches set in 2020. Of the 31 launches last year, 17 were specially deployed "Starlink" satellite network launches.
SpaceX also sent astronauts to the International Space Station twice last April and November to fly the Crew-2 mission and the Crew-3 mission. In September last year, the first national, purely commercial space flight was completed for three days, sending four passengers on a space tour.
It is worth noting that in 2021, SpaceX only used the new first stage rocket twice, and the rest of the launches used recycled rockets.
In addition, because New Zealand's launches use the "electron" rocket of the Us Rocket Lab, if you count New Zealand's 6 launches (including 1 failure), the United States completed 51 launches last year.
Russian, Indian and South Korean space launches
Last year's 6 launches in Europe and 3 launches in Japan were successful.
In 2020, affected by the epidemic, Russia launched only 17 launch vehicles. In 2021, Russia launched 25 launch vehicles, the same number of launches as in 2019. Of the 25 launches, he suffered 2 defeats.
However, Rogozin, president of the Russian State Space Corporation, said that in the active deployment of the "sphere" multi-satellite orbit constellation project satellite stage, Russia will launch 50-75 launch vehicles per year. Russia's "Sphere" multi-satellite orbit constellation project will deploy a total of about 380 satellites to space, and Russia will allocate 7 billion rubles per year in phases from 2022 to 2024 to support the "Sphere" project.
India had two launches last year. In February last year, India's One Arrow 19 star completed its first space launch of the year. India's polar satellite launch vehicle PSLV successfully put into orbit The Amazonia-1 remote sensing satellite independently developed by Brazil and 18 small satellites carrying it.
India suffered one failure in two launches. Last August, India's GSLV-F10 rocket carried the Earth observation satellite EOS-03 from India's Sadish Dawan Space Center. The indian-produced first-class hydrogen-oxygen engine had an abnormal technology, the first and second stages were successfully ignited, the third stage did not fly as planned, and the satellite was lost.
South Korea's only launch last year suffered a failure. Last October, South Korea's three-stage rocket, The World, was launched from the Roro Aerospace Center in South Korea. The rocket successfully separated from the satellite in a 700 km sun-synchronous orbit. But data analysis showed that the third stage engine stopped working early, resulting in the failure to send the satellite into a predetermined orbit.
The Ministry of Science, Technology, Information and Communications (Ministry of Science and Technology) of The Republic of Korea and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute released the results of the investigation into the reasons for the failure of the first flight of the "World" carrier rocket at the end of last year, because the helium tank inside the rocket's third stage oxidant tank was detached from its original position and collided everywhere under huge buoyancy, in the process the gas pipe of the storage tank was deformed and damaged, resulting in helium leakage, and then the oxidant tank also ruptured, resulting in oxidant leakage. As a result, the oxidant injected into the third stage engine is reduced, and the rocket flight stamina is insufficient.
In May this year, the "World" will carry out the second launch, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said that if the accuracy of the "World" can be further improved, to ensure independent space transportation capabilities, South Korea's "space age" is in front of us.