On the afternoon of December 7, 2021, the Shenzhou 12 astronaut crew officially met with the media and the public at Beijing Space City after successfully completing isolation and recovery and recuperation. Tang Hongbo, an astronaut who entered space for the first time, was interviewed by a reporter from the People's Liberation Army Daily.
Shenzhou 12 astronaut Tang Hongbo told about the first flying trip -
Live in space for 90 days
■ Zhan Kang Wu Yongjiang, a reporter of the People's Liberation Army Daily, An Puzhong, and Wang Lingshuo
The Shenzhou 12 astronauts took the group to pay tribute to the people of the whole country in the tianhe core module.
"Space, I'm finally here"
One night before his return to Earth, astronaut Tang Hongbo dreamed of returning to Beijing Space City to be reunited with his family.
"I want to show them my 'special function' - turning over a 'tendon bucket cloud', but how can not be as dashing and free as in space, the heart is suddenly a little lost..." Two months after returning to the ground, tang Hongbo recalled his life in space, and Tang Hongbo's face was full of nostalgia.
The time was set back to 9:22 on June 17, 2021, jiuquan satellite launch center. "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, ignition!" With the order of Commander 0, the orange-red tail flame lifted the rocket into the air. The dragon-like rocket carried Three astronauts, Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo, into the sky.
The comfort did not last long, as the rocket accelerated, the seat brought a violent feeling of pushing back, their facial muscles began to deform, breathing was difficult, and the whole person seemed to be pressed on the body by a jack-of-all-pound object.
Fortunately, after a long period of centrifuge overweight endurance training, the three have adapted to this overload, and Tang Hongbo strained his abdominal muscles to resist the acceleration. After about 10 minutes, the second stage of the rocket was smoothly shut down, and the "magic" of acceleration gradually disappeared.
After the ship and arrows separated, Tang Hongbo felt that his body suddenly became as light as a feather, and the objects around him slowly fluttered.
"Space, I'm finally here!" For this moment, Tang Hongbo fought for more than 4,000 days and waited for a full 11 years.
I remember that in the Shenzhou 11 mission, Tang Hongbo participated in the preparation as a reserve member. In the Qingtian Pavilion, he watched Chen Dong, who was also the second batch of astronauts, go out on the expedition. While blessing Chen Dong, he also harbored a dream of flying.
In the days of waiting, Tang Hongbo's mind recalled his past experience like a movie - entering the astronaut brigade, taking an oath in the face of the five-star red flag, returning to the classroom to learn the basic theory, and practicing skills at the training site... Challenge after challenge, round after round of assessment, and finally he successfully broke through the level and got the "ticket" for the Shenzhou XII flight mission.
In the spaceship, Tang Hongbo eagerly turned his head to the porthole. At this moment, the beauty of space that haunted his soul could be seen. In the quiet and vast expanse of space, the stars shine brightly, like gems embedded in a black curtain. In the distance, the transparent crystal earth emits a pale blue light, and the blue and white lines are intertwined, so quiet and soft, mysterious and magnificent.
Tang Hongbo couldn't help but take a deep breath and stare intently at the earth: there were his family, aerospace science and technology workers, and thousands of Chinese people. Thinking of this, a warm current surged in his heart.
"Such a big 'home'"
About 6.5 hours later, the spacecraft docked with the Celestial And Core Module. Nie Haisheng opened the hatch leading to the core module, and they "floated" into the space station in turn. This "new home" welcomed the first family members.
"What a big 'home'!" The first time I entered the "home door", the 3 astronauts sighed in unison. Regardless of the fatigue of the journey, they began to work non-stop: taking out supplies from the cargo ship, unpacking, placing the items in a fixed position, arranging the "space home"...
Tang Hongbo, who had just arrived, did not adapt quickly to the familiar space environment like the two brothers, and the fresh experience of weightlessness in space was gradually replaced by a feeling of dizziness, and he had a nausea in his stomach, and had to stop the work in his hands and quickly crawl into the bedroom that was preset for him to lie down. Soon, he fell into a deep sleep.
Tang Hongbo got up in the morning and felt that his body had returned to normal. Seeing that the two brothers had finished sorting out their internal affairs, he also hurried to get busy. He brushed his teeth with a disposable toothbrush with some toothpaste, wiped his face with a wet wipe, and washed it like this.
Living on the space station, water resources are particularly precious, mainly for drinking, toilets and electrolysis of oxygen, and are recycled. For example, condensate and urine collected in the air in the cabin, which are treated to produce up to standard water, will come in handy again.
Breakfast time came and the three of them opened the food package. Researchers have carefully developed more than 120 kinds of foods for them, divided into 6 categories: main food, side food, instant food, drink, functional food and condiment, and the recipe cycle is rotated once a week.
Space food is not as good as fresh food, but researchers use new food processes and techniques to try their best to make it as varied and delicious as possible. The recipe design focuses on both nutritional health and mission needs, as well as the astronaut's individual dietary preferences.
Tang Hongbo likes to coat white rice with a layer of chili sauce, Nie Haisheng loves to eat red braised pork chops and rice cakes, Liu Boming loves to eat brown sugar sticks... Zongzi is a common hobby of the three. Before they set off, the researchers carefully packed the food according to three meals per person per day for easy consumption.
Dining is their happy moment. The three of them meditated cross-legged in the air, chatting and eating. From time to time, small pieces of food flew out of the bag, and they performed aerial pick-ups.
The only food that is freshly made is yogurt – mix the pre-made yogurt with water, put it in the food heating unit, and wait for hours to drink the delicious fresh and delicious yogurt.
For Tang Hongbo, the small objects flying around in the cabin brought him endless fun. Sometimes I am concentrating on my work, and suddenly a small object pops up next to me, dreaming of having "vitality". Sometimes, small objects also "play hide and seek" with them, adding a lot of fun to the enclosed space capsule.
Once, Tang Hongbo showed apples while video talking to his son. But as soon as I turned around, the apple drifted away. Nie Haisheng and Liu Boming rushed over to help find it, and later found it in the open space behind a cabinet. Tang Hongbo couldn't help but tease: "What a 'peekaboo' little guy!" ”
In 3 months of space life, the crew workload is quite heavy. In the early stage, they spent more than 10 days installing the equipment of the core cabin in place, arranging the living and working environment, and often working overtime until midnight. Later, they completed two missions and carried out a series of space science experiments and technical experiments.
"The out-of-the-cabin event is unforgettable"
Referring to the space station's first out-of-cabin activity, Tang Hongbo was particularly excited. Before leaving the capsule, he recalled, he was worried about whether he would be scared in the face of unfathomable space. But after the actual departure, he completely forgot the tension and focused on the operations. When he had time to look around, he felt as if he was in the middle of science fiction.
Tang Hongbo supported the bulkhead and flew quickly around the earth with the space station. In the dark space, the stars shine brightly... That kind of beauty made him look away from God for a while.
With Tang Hongbo and Liu Boming's first joint flight in space, the new generation of "flying" cabin suits has been optimized and transformed by the space suit development team, and the support capabilities have been improved, and the mobility and comfort are better. Coupled with hundreds of hours of out-of-cabin training, they are already able to skillfully perform various out-of-cabin operations.
At a distance of less than 20 meters, Tang Hongbo carefully crawled forward. While pursuing speed, he also has to take into account safety - he must control his body posture and pay attention to avoiding various devices on the bulkhead. After more than 10 minutes, Tang Hongbo successfully climbed back into the cabin from the bulkhead, which was shorter than the ground simulation training.
In the space weightless environment, although the action is more flexible and labor-saving, it will also bring some trouble. When Liu Boming installed the extravehicular operating table, he held the ring armrest in one hand to fix himself, and held the operating table in the other hand to prepare to install it on the extravehicular toolbox. The shaking amplitude of the 1-meter-long operating table is particularly large, and Liu Boming's body is also shaking, and it is difficult to point one end of the operating table to the interface. Tang Hongbo tried unsuccessfully to help Liu Boming fix his body. Finally, after Liu Boming asked for ground command, he split the operating table and installed it section by section, which was successful.
Tang Hongbo himself also encountered a "troublesome matter". After the end of the work outside the cabin, he carried the equipment to the cabin, and accidentally, it was suspended in the middle of the cabin, and it was not "on the side" up and down. After more than 10 minutes, he slowly drifted to the vicinity of the cabin...
"The space station out of the cabin activity is unforgettable in this life..." Tang Hongbo brilliantly recounted the outgoing activity, as if he had returned to the beautiful space, and his face was full of excitement, excitement and pride.
Halfway through life in space, it is also the most difficult time for astronaut crews. Living in an enclosed and limited space for a long time will inevitably be boring. Fortunately, in their leisure time, the three of them can call their families and colleagues and watch news, movies and television movies. They also often take photos and videos as souvenirs. After a set of "space blockbusters" they filmed were transmitted back to the ground, netizens gave a warm response. Tang Hongbo turned the comments of netizens over and over and read them many times.
On the space station, Tang Hongbo especially misses life on earth and the feeling of being down-to-earth. As soon as he had time, he would lie down by the porthole and stare at the earth. During the day, blue oceans, golden deserts, white snowy mountains, green grasslands, brown mountains... The earth is like a transparent crystal ball; at night, when the lights are connected, the earth is like a bright pearl of night.
"It was a great place to stay home"
The days seem to be slowing down at times, and accelerating at times. As the countdown to returning from space enters, time becomes more precious. In the final week, they had to sort and pack all the garbage, vacuum it, put it back on the spacecraft, and sort out the contents of the cabin.
The day of return arrived as scheduled, and the group entered the return module of the Shenzhou XII spacecraft. When the local "return" command is issued to the spacecraft, the spacecraft begins to "brake" in orbit. When the orbit returns to separate, the spacecraft descends smoothly. The three of them talked and laughed, and the atmosphere was very relaxed.
When pushed back to separate, the spacecraft gradually enters the atmosphere, accelerating more and more. Due to atmospheric drag, the spacecraft began to rock and slowed down sharply. Tang Hongbo's sense of weightlessness gradually disappeared, and he deliberately pointed to the camera, picked up the pen on the flight manual, and as soon as he released his hand, the pen fell. When gravity gradually recovered, Tang Hongbo felt that the whole person was falling on the seat, and he quickly tightened his seat belt again.
Entering the black barrier area, the thrilling moment begins to arrive. The fast-flying spacecraft rubbed violently against the atmosphere, producing a high temperature of one or two thousand degrees Celsius, burning the porthole red. The anti-ablation layer on the outer surface of the spacecraft was constantly peeling off, and the flames splashing everywhere were like countless meteors, and the whole person was like sitting in a fireball. Liu Boming joked: "True gold is not afraid of fire refining!" ”
Flying out of the black barrier area, the speed of the spacecraft gradually decreased. Next, a key action, "opening the umbrella", is about to begin. When the spacecraft is 10 kilometers above the ground, the spacecraft throws off the parachute cover and quickly takes out the guide parachute. With a "bang", the parachute hatch is opened and popped out, while taking the guide parachute out. Although the process of opening the umbrella is only more than 20 seconds, it is very torturous. At this time, the spaceship shook very badly, like a cauldron caught in a net, allowing several forces to pull in the air.
When the umbrella is completely opened, the spacecraft stops shaking irregularly and falls smoothly like a swing. At this point, there was applause from the ground in the headphones - this showed that the spacecraft was safe and could land smoothly, and the three people looked at each other and laughed.
With a loud noise, the spacecraft finally landed, and Liu Boming decisively cut the umbrella. When Tang Hongbo unfastened his seat belt and was about to get up, he found that his body was like lead, and it was very difficult to raise his hands and feet.
Not long after, Tang Hongbo heard someone talking outside. They finally returned safely to the embrace of the motherland and the people.
Tang Hongbo said excitedly, "It feels so good to go home!" ”
This article was published on the 11th edition of the People's Liberation Army Daily on January 14
Column Editor-in-Chief: Zhang Wu Text Editor: Song Yanlin Caption Source: Xinhua News Agency Photo Editor: Su Wei
Source: Author: People's Liberation Army Daily