2021 is a "brilliant" year for China's aerospace, and in 2022, we will usher in a "new milestone" in China's aerospace development and continue to write brilliant. There will be multiple breakthroughs in space exploration, construction and other aspects. For example, mars exploration missions continue to dig deeper geological data. The construction of the Chinese space station is expected to complete the basic structure in 2022. Therefore, China's space development in 2022 will be another surprising year.
Chinese space station
According to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, in 2022, China plans to launch more than 40 space missions, and will complete 6 major missions of manned spaceflight, including two cargo spacecraft, two Shenzhou spacecraft and experimental module I. and experimental module II. launches, as well as docking at the orbital fair, outgoing activities and spacecraft return missions, and fully build a space station; complete the first flight mission of the Long March 6A carrier rocket.
Although this introduction is not much, it contains a huge amount of information. In particular, the construction of China's space station will achieve a comprehensive overall construction, which is the same as our previous plan, when China built the space station in 2021, it has been publicly stated that it is expected to complete construction around 2022. Therefore, 2022 can also be called the closing year of the "space station".
And after the completion of construction, the "space station" task will be fully implemented, what task? For example: tasks such as scientific research. When it comes to the future space station problem, many people should also know that the International Space Station once did not have a "foothold" for China, and after the completion of the construction of the Chinese space station, we can fully use our own space station for related tasks, and no longer have to care about the International Space Station.
Of course, with the "aging" of the International Space Station, foreign countries are also applying to enter the Chinese space station, and China has also approved 17 countries to carry out tasks on the Chinese space station in the future, including Switzerland, Poland, Germany, Italy, Norway, France, Spain, the Netherlands, India, Russia, Belgium, Kenya, Japan, Saudi Arabia and other 17 countries.
Of course, the United States was rejected by our country because the Project of the United States did not meet our standards. Therefore, this also shows that the construction of the Chinese space station has great help to the world, and the Chinese space station may become one of the main research bases in space in the future.
Shenzhou 13 is scheduled to return in April, and Tianzhou 4 will be launched in early 2022
Shenzhou 13 is no stranger to everyone, after the Shenzhou 13 astronauts entered the Chinese space station in 2021, they have completed two space outgoing missions, and Chinese astronauts have also realized the "Space New Year" for the first time on the space station, and in the two space missions of Shenzhou 12, they have further verified the construction of the space station.
For example: core cabin airlock cabin, cabin outerwear, mechanical arm function performance verification. At the same time, during the Shenzhou 13 mission, Chinese female astronauts also performed a spacewalk, which also created a historic scene.
The Shenzhou 13 astronauts plan to return to Earth in April, after which the Chinese space station will welcome the Shenzhou 14 astronauts. Before the Shenzhou 14 astronauts enter the space station, missions such as the material replenishment of The Tianzhou 4 will be implemented to prepare the astronauts, which is scheduled to be launched in early 2022.
In terms of time, it is also considered to have entered the countdown stage. Of course, the material was transported to the space station, that is, the launch of Shenzhou 14.
When will Shenzhou 14 be launched and what are the missions?
As we said above, the Shenzhou 13 crew is scheduled to return in April, and the subsequent Shenzhou 14 crew will be the third group of astronauts to enter the space station. That is, after the return of the Shenzhou 13 astronauts, they greeted the Shenzhou 14 astronauts.
In terms of timing, the launch time is definitely after the return in April. However, the mission of the Tianzhou IV spacecraft was before it. This rhythm is the same as that of Shenzhou 13.
So what's the task? The main task of the Shenzhou 14 crew is to dock the two experimental modules, the Qingtian Module and the Dream Capsule, with the Tianhe Core Module to complete the basic structure of the Tiangong Space Station, that is, the "three-cabin docking".
Q&A Pod - also known as Q&A Experimental Pod, is an integral part of the "Tiangong" of the Chinese space station, with a module size of 20 tons, mainly for the experimental platform, that is, when the experimental task is performed on the Chinese space station, it is carried out outside this cabin, and the basic crew is stipulated to be 3 people, and 6 people can be carried during the rotation in a short time.
Dream Module - equivalent to the "hub", for the unified management and control of the space station and astronaut life, has 3 interfaces and 2 berths. The berth is used to ask the space capsule, the dream capsule and the sky and the module to assemble to form a space station assembly, and the interface is used for the Shenzhou spacecraft, the Tianzhou spacecraft and other aircraft to access the space station.
So it is equivalent to the main "docking end" of the space station. Without this cabin, it would be difficult to rotate the various cabins of the space station.
Therefore, the mission of Shenzhou 14 looks relatively simple, but it is actually a relatively complex mission - "three-cabin docking". We also expect the Chinese space station to be completed as soon as possible for space missions, which will also promote the further development of China's space technology, exploration and exploration.