1:56 a.m. on May 10
Long March 7 carrier rocket
Ignition and takeoff at wenchang cosmodrome in China
Subsequently, the Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft was successfully sent into space
The curtain on the construction phase of the Chinese space station was officially opened
▲Long March 7 rocket ignition and take-off (Wu Tong Xiaoyu photo)
▲Long March 7 rocket rushing into space (Lin Jiaxin photo)
The Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft adopts the mode of autonomous rapid rendezvous and docking, and after flying for about 6.5 hours, it docks backward with the Tianhe core module and enters the three-cabin (ship) combination flight state.
▲Tianzhou-4 and space station combination rendezvous and docking demonstration animation (provided by the Fifth Academy)
▲Tianzhou No. 4 in the factory (provided by the fifth courtyard)
Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft is the first spacecraft in the construction stage of the continental space station, developed by the Fifth Academy of The Aerospace Science and Technology Group, the role of the space station is to transport materials, replenish fuel, downstream waste, with grid-connected power supply, emergency communications and other capabilities, to ensure the smooth operation of the space station assembly in orbit.
▲The combination of fairing and cargo spacecraft transport (Photo by Hu Lanyue)
In this mission, the total uplink materials of the Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft are about 6 tons, which will provide material support for the Shenzhou 14 crew to stay in orbit for half a year, assemble and build the space station, carry out material science, aerospace medical experiments and other space station applications.
This year, China's manned space project will also carry out five space launch missions, sending 2 manned spacecraft, 2 space station experimental modules, and 1 cargo spacecraft into space to complete the construction of the continental space station in orbit.
▲Long March 7 rocket in the factory building (Wu Tong Xiaoyu photo)
The Long March 7 carrier rocket is a new generation of medium-sized carrier rockets in the mainland, developed by the First Academy of The Aerospace Science and Technology Group, which is a two-and-a-half-stage, all-liquid oxygen kerosene propellant rocket that can send 14 tons of payload into low Earth orbit that can rendezvous and dock with the Chinese space station.
▲The Long March 7 rocket is ready to go (Wu Tong Xiaoyu photo)
In this launch, the Long March 7 carrier rocket has 17 technical status improvements, and the China Beidou satellite navigation system has been upgraded to the first priority of satellite positioning, and the flight reliability of the rocket has been increased to 0.9838, reaching the world's advanced level.
▲Young people of the Long March 7 rocket test team at work (Photo by Gao Wenhao)
The Long March 7 carrier rocket test team optimized the test and firing process, reduced the number of detection and firing days to 27 days, realized the parallel filling of liquid oxygen and kerosene propellants for the first time, shortened the pre-launch working time by one-third, and effectively improved the work efficiency of the launch site.
This launch is the 420th launch of the Long March series of carrier rockets.
Source: China Aerospace Science and Technology Group's official WeChat public account
Text/Hu Lanyue
Editor/Yang Sishuang
Audit/Yang Jie
Executive Producer/Xu Chunmei
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