At 7:55 on January 8, 2022, the Shenzhou 13 astronaut crew, in close coordination with ground scientific and technological personnel, adopted a hand-controlled remote operation method in the core module of the space station, and successfully completed the rendezvous and docking test of the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft and the space station assembly.
Hand-controlled remote operation is a function specially equipped by the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Group (hereinafter referred to as the Fifth Academy of Aerospace) for unmanned aircraft, and is part of the GNC (Guidance, Navigation and Control) system of the spacecraft. So, what are the similarities and differences between hand-controlled remote operation and hand-controlled rendezvous docking and automatic rendezvous docking? The reporter of this newspaper specially invited experts from the Fifth Academy of Aerospace to explain to everyone.
Schematic diagram of the previous robotic arm indexing test
Similar to the hand-controlled rendezvous and docking of the Shenzhou manned spacecraft, the hand-controlled remote operation rendezvous and docking is a backup means for the automatic rendezvous and docking of the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft, and the astronauts sit in the core cabin of the space station and "pilot" the cargo spacecraft to dock with the space station remotely.
"Throughout the 'pilot' process, the astronaut's perspective is from the spacecraft to the space station, just like the astronaut sitting in a cargo spacecraft 'driving'. The instrument system and operation handles faced by astronauts are similar to the two hand-controlled rendezvous and docking previously implemented by China on the Shenzhou spacecraft, which minimizes the difficulty of astronaut training and reduces the burden of operation and recognition. Zhang Qiang, deputy chief designer of the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft of the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Group, introduced.
However, experts also pointed out that compared with the hand-controlled rendezvous and docking of manned spacecraft, the manual remote operation of the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft also has its own characteristics and difficulties. For example, in terms of responsiveness and agility to operations, a hand-controlled manned spacecraft is like driving a car, while a hand-controlled remote-operated cargo spacecraft is like driving a truck. There are two main reasons for this: first, the hand-controlled remote operation of the cargo spacecraft needs to transmit the image of the camera on the cargo spacecraft to the space station, and then the astronauts in the space station will transmit the instructions back to the cargo spacecraft, which will cause the astronauts to react and execute the instructions for delay; the second is that the cargo spacecraft is heavier than the manned spacecraft, and the translation acceleration is small, so the action is not agile enough. Liu Zongyu, chief designer of the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft of the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Group, said that the developers comprehensively considered these problems in the program design stage, combined with China's existing technical foundation and future development and use needs, through innovative design to achieve accurate control under long-delay conditions, and special training was carried out for this difference when training astronauts.
It is reported that this test is the first time that astronauts have used hand-controlled remote operation equipment in orbit to control the rendezvous and docking of cargo spacecraft and space station, which has preliminarily verified the function, performance and rationality of the cooperative work procedure between space station and visiting aircraft. Let's look forward to the next wonderful performance of the Shenzhou 13 astronaut crew on the Chinese space station!
(Guangming Daily all-media reporter Zhang Lei)
Source: Guangming Daily all-media reporter Zhang Lei
Editor-in-charge: Zhang Yongqun
Editor: Wu Yaqi Xing Yanyan