Good news! The Chinese space station has ushered in new news, which can be called the "first turn of 2022". According to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, at 6:59 on January 6, 2022 Beijing time, after about 47 minutes of cross-system close coordination, the space station robotic arm transposition cargo spacecraft test was a complete success, which is the first time that China uses the space station robotic arm to operate a large orbiting vehicle for transposition test.
The success of this transposition test means that China has fully mastered this technology and has strong feasibility. At the same time, the space station's segment transposition technology and robotic arm large-load control technology are verified, laying the foundation for the complete completion of the construction of the space station in 2022.
Of course, many people see that the chinese space station robotic arm is so powerful, but also caused a lot of people to discuss, that is, such a powerful mechanical arm, is it really possible to grasp the satellite? Let's take a step-by-step look.
How strong is the Robotic Arm of the Chinese Space Station?
The Chinese space station robotic arm is indeed relatively strong, and this "space station robotic arm transposition cargo spacecraft test has been a complete success", which is enough to prove its strength. And the whole process took only about 47 minutes to complete the powerful transformation of the space station.
According to the report, the whole process is that after the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft is unlocked and separated from the Tianhe core module, the plane is transposed with the core capsule node capsule as the center of the circle under the drag of the mechanical arm; then, the reverse operation is carried out until the cargo spacecraft and the core cabin are re-docked and locked.
From the perspective of this process, it is a transformation that belongs to the "fulcrum". The space station's outer cabin is not completely detached, the "center of the circle" fulcrum, the plane transposition. Of course, this is a preliminary test, and subsequent robotic arm operations may be different. So how strong is the Robotic Arm of the Chinese Space Station?
The robotic arm of the Chinese space station is the "space intelligent machinery" system with the highest complexity, the largest scale and the highest control accuracy compared with similar aerospace products. The entire robotic arm is 10.2 meters long, can carry up to 25 tons of weight, can assist in moving an experimental module, and can also assist astronauts in the outgoing activities. The Shenzhou 13 astronauts proved this when they were on a space mission.
At the same time, the robotic arm of the space station's core module has a total of 7 joints, with a configuration of "shoulder 3 + elbow 1 + wrist 3", which can perform multiple tasks. Robotic arms can be realized to crawl autonomously on the surface of the space station. At the same time, it is also equipped with multiple sensors and vision systems, and through the internal central controller, it is possible to automatically formulate action plans and complete precise actions.
Therefore, the robotic arm of the Chinese space station is very powerful, and it is not as simple as we think. This also shows that in fact, doing this task may also be a simple task for the robot arm.
Can the Robotic Arm of the Chinese Space Station grasp satellites?
Seeing that the above is so powerful, it seems that everyone's brain hole has not decreased. Since you can move tens of tons of space, it is not a problem to catch satellites? It's not like that.
When the US satellite appeared in front of the Chinese space station, everyone was talking about using the robotic arm to grab it, can it really be caught?
Definitely not. When the space station's robotic arm carries out the task, it is also necessary to provide an "induction system" and have a "docking device" to be possible. And the satellites in space are still in motion relative to the space station, or the robotic arm, to achieve "fast capture", can it be done? Definitely not.
Therefore, in order to catch a satellite, we need at least two conditions, that is, there is a mechanical arm alignment, and there is a relatively static. When the robot arm is converted into a space station space, it grasps firmly and steadily, that is, there is a pair of interfaces. At the same time, the start is relatively static. So if these two most basic conditions cannot be met, how to catch satellites? Obviously, it can't be done.
If they are docked with each other at high speed, it must be "damaged". So, can a robotic arm grasp a satellite? In fact, it is impossible to do it for the time being. Science and technology are developing, and if you want to use a robotic arm to grasp the active satellite, this needs to be further studied.
summary
No matter what the space station's robotic arm can do, this is a milestone in the history of China's space technology development. The construction of the Chinese space station is "unstoppable". In 2022, we will usher in a historic year for the Chinese space station. After the full opening up, it will usher in the settlement of many countries in the world.
You should also hear that the Chinese space station has agreed to India, Japan and other 17 countries to join, although the United States has been rejected, but in the future when the project is compliant, it is still possible to join the Chinese space station.
At the same time, astronauts who join the Chinese space station are also learning Chinese, hoping to adapt to the Chinese space station as soon as possible, because many of the systems in the Chinese space station use Chinese. So, let's wait and see.
The completion of the construction of the Chinese space station in this test will also usher in a new chapter, and the next launch tasks such as the Shenzhou 14 manned spacecraft and the Shenzhou 15 manned spacecraft will also be carried out quickly, which is the general situation.