"The first few minutes of entering the atmosphere was what we usually call a 'black barrier area', at this time we could not contact the ground, it was a few thousand degrees of heat outside, and I saw from the porthole that the fire was very red..."
The black barrier area mentioned by astronaut Wang Yaping in the interview is a key stage in the return of Shenzhou 13, because the plasma formed by the high temperature shields electromagnetic waves, and ground communications may be affected and interrupted. At this point, ground-based optical equipment is extremely important, and the images captured are the key data of the mission.
"The image of No. 62 must be on CCTV." Lin Dongwei, a director of optical equipment, said confidently.
"No. 62" is the code name of an optical device at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, and they are responsible for the optical measurement task of this critical period.
"Number 62 starts tracking!" The small highlight in the image of the device is the Shenzhou XIII return capsule.
"Manual servo correction." The device lens kept up with the target steadily.
As the capsule approaches the atmosphere, the bright spots in the image become brighter and brighter and form a tail, like a meteor in the night sky.
At the same time, this "shooting star" appeared on the live broadcast screen of CCTV.
"Image 62 has been on CCTV!" Operators at each position work closely together to ensure image quality by constantly adjusting parameters.
"Tracking 62 is over!" The equipment room resounded with thunderous applause.
"Just now I didn't dare to look up at the live broadcast, staring closely at the operation interface, this picture is all over China, but there can be no slight instability." Servo operator Gu Yanming said with a smile.
Behind the successful completion of the mission is the hard work of countless astronauts. From the formulation of the task plan, to the honing of the post operation, and then to the anticipation of emergency disposal, the equipment personnel repeatedly studied and trained, so that all aspects of the task were continuously optimized and improved.
Incredibly, on the afternoon of the day before the mission, severe "sandstorm" weather enabled visibility of only 10 meters, and if the weather conditions persisted, the optics would not be able to complete the task. However, the equipment personnel did not get discouraged, continued to maintain a high morale for equipment protection and plan planning, took the initiative to coordinate with the meteorological department to jointly study and judge the situation, and prepared for various situations.
Luckily, the weather picked up 3 hours before the mission approached. Under the "time, place, and people", the equipment has achieved flawlessness, perfect victory, and handed over qualified answers to the people of the whole country.
Source: Our Space
Author: Gan Ge, Wang Ran, Han Jiawei