Sure enough, there was no mistake, after the Shenzhou 13 astronauts successfully returned to the ground, within a few days, the Chinese space station assembly had a new maneuvering operation, on April 20, the Tianzhou-3 spacecraft flew around and docked with the Chinese space station, and the Tianzhou-4 combination was about to be launched, so why did the Tianzhou-3 spacecraft do this?
The Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft is from the rear-facing intersection of the Tianhe core module to the forward-facing interface, and successfully completed the docking task after 4 hours and 4 minutes, which means that the Chinese space station has made all preparations and waited for the arrival of the Tianzhou-4 assembly.
If viewed from the perspective of space, the docking mission looks very sci-fi, first of all, the Tianzhou-3 spacecraft and the Tianhe core module backwards intersected, tianzhou-3 slowly moved away from the tianhe core module through reverse braking, temporarily parked 400 meters away from the berthing point, 400 meters parking point is a relatively safe distance.
Tianzhou-3 brakes again, flying upwards to the 5 km far berthing point behind the Tianhe core cabin, flying down from the 5 km distance berthing point to the 2 km parking point in front of the Tianhe core cabin, and then flying upward from the 2 km ahead parking point to the 400-meter parking point in front of the Tianhe core cabin, slowly moving to the 19-meter parking point, and then completing the docking with the forward intersection of the core cabin.
On April 12, there was news that the Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft and the Long March carrier rocket are in the process of merging, counting the time, it has now passed more than a week, it should be the end of the integration, it is estimated that it has now entered the test stage before the launch, and the living materials in the Tianzhou-4 have long been prepared, waiting for the launch.
When the Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft is about to launch, why should the Tianzhou-3 spacecraft go around and dock with the Chinese space station? Is it to test the docking technology of the space station again? In fact, this is not the case, but this shows that China Aerospace has used the Tianzhou-3 spacecraft to the extreme.
Let's first understand the structure of the tianhe core cabin, the front of the tianhe core cabin is three sleeping areas and a sanitary area, the middle of the tianhe core cabin is the work area, dining area and physical exercise area, and the rear is the item storage area, so it is natural for the rear intersection in the tianhe core cabin to dock the cargo spacecraft.
Tianzhou No. 4 cargo spacecraft is to Shenzhou 14 and Shenzhou 15 astronauts in advance to deliver daily necessities, before, Tianzhou No. 3 cargo spacecraft has been docked in the Tianhe core module of the rear intersection, now, Tianzhou No. 3 cabin has been empty, to make room for Tianzhou No. 4 docking.
In September 2021, before the launch of the Tianzhou 3 cargo spacecraft, the Tianzhou 2 cargo spacecraft also circled around the docking forward intersection from the rear intersection of the Tianhe core module, and the Tianzhou 3 orbited the docking space station this time, and there was another purpose, that is, to become the "garbage collection station" of the space station.
Tianzhou 3 cargo spacecraft does not have the ability to return to the ground, many people think that the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft is worth tens of millions of dollars, and it is a pity not to return to the earth to repeat the launch, in fact, this is not that we do not have this technology, but there is no need for this at all.
Friends who have watched the live broadcast of the return of the Shenzhou 12 and Shenzhou 13 spacecraft must know that the return of the spacecraft to the ground is not a simple thing, it is necessary to go through a series of complex maneuvers, to experience more than 2,000 degrees of heat, but also a large number of ground personnel cooperation, and the last landing is a burned black return capsule, there is no reuse value.
The purpose of the Shenzhou spacecraft's return capsule is to send astronauts home safely, and if we spend a lot of money to build the Return Capsule of the Tianzhou Spacecraft, what is the purpose? Therefore, there is no need for this at all, even if the cost of the Tianzhou spacecraft is very expensive, what should be discarded must be discarded.
After docking with the anterior interface of Tianhe core module, Tianzhou 3 can also become a "garbage recycling station" of the space station, close to the toilet and sleeping area, which is very convenient for astronauts to transfer some waste domestic garbage, discarded food packaging bags, skin care products, waste clothing, etc., as well as solid excrement.
Before the Shenzhou 14 astronauts return to the ground, the "garbage collection station" will be cleaned up, so that the Tianzhou 3 spacecraft will burn in the atmosphere. Over the past few decades, the is how the is garbage from the International Space Station is disposed of, stored on cargo ships and then burned when the spacecraft re-enters the atmosphere.
In short, the purpose of Tianzhou-3's sudden orbit around the docking space station is twofold, one is to give up the unloading position to the Tianzhou-4 spacecraft, and the other is to become the "garbage recycling station" of the space station, which is simply to use the function of Tianzhou-3 to the extreme, even if the ultimate fate of Tianzhou-3 is to burn in the earth's atmosphere, which is not a pity. Interesting and informative scientific content, please pay attention to the only WeChat public account: Interesting Exploration