Today, the Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft was successfully launched at the Wenchang Cosmodrome, which is the fourth mission of the Continental Tianzhou series of cargo spacecraft, and this mission is the first cargo replenishment mission in the construction phase of the Continental Space Station.
The launch of Tianzhou-4 opened a new phase of the continental space station - the construction phase.
Looking back at the key technology verification stage of the space station, the mainland's manned space industry has made great progress. The mainland has successively launched the Tianhe core module, the Tianzhou-2 and Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft, and the Shenzhou-12 and Shenzhou-13 manned spacecraft. At this stage, Shen XiII made various breakthroughs, the cumulative "space travel" time of astronauts was constantly refreshed, and the number of space launches reached a new high...
These are not only breakthroughs in the number of manned spaceflight undertakings on the mainland, but also the progress of strength.
Shenzhou XIII: The fastest return time and the longest stay in orbit
On April 16, the Shenzhou 13 manned spacecraft launched on October 16, 2021, carrying three astronauts, Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu, landed steadily at the Dongfeng landing field.
For the first time, the Shenzhou 13 spacecraft adopted a rapid return scheme. Compared with the return mode of 11 laps of Shenzhou XII, Shenzhou 13 adopts a 5-lap fast return scheme. This scheme shortens the return time of the Shenzhou XIII manned spacecraft from 28 hours to about 9 hours. From separation from the space station tian and core module to return to the ground, it is nearly 20 hours shorter than Shenzhou XII.
In fact, not only was the return time short, but the entire process of Shenzhou XIII's journey to the space station took only 6.5 hours.
Shenzhou 13 is the 13th mission since the launch of the Shenzhou series of spacecraft in 1999, and it is also the 8th manned mission of the Shenzhou series. In these 13 missions, the mainland's manned space industry has continuously made breakthroughs and progress.
From Shenzhou 1 to Shenzhou 13, the time in orbit of Shenzhou spacecraft has increased by about 208 times, of which Shenzhou 1 has the shortest time in orbit, 21 hours and 11 minutes, while Shenzhou 13 has the longest time in orbit, 182 days, 9 hours and 32 minutes.
In the 23 years since the launch of Shenzhou-1, the mainland Shenzhou series of spacecraft has continuously refreshed the duration in orbit. Shenzhou 11 launched in 2016 reached one month in orbit for the first time, while Shenzhou 12 launched in 2021 broke through another month to 92 days; Shenzhou 13 launched in the same year further exceeded three months, once again refreshing China's manned space record with 182 days in orbit.
Wang Yaping: The astronaut who has traveled the longest
In 23 years, a total of 13 astronauts have "traveled to space" in the mainland manned space project.
Among them, many astronauts have "traveled to space" more than once, so which astronaut has the longest "business trip"? Which astronaut performs the most missions?
After the end of the Shen Thirteen mission, Wang Yaping became the longest-orbit astronaut on the mainland, accumulating 197 hours. Liu Boming is the astronaut with the longest outgoing time on the mainland, accumulating 13.12 hours.
In addition, Nie Haisheng and Jing Haipeng each carried out three missions, becoming the astronauts who carried out the most "space business trips". In 2021, there are two batches of astronauts on the mainland, with a total of 6 astronauts in the sky, which is the year with the most astronauts on "space travel" on the mainland.
The number of space launches on the mainland has reached a new high, and it has been ranked first in the world for many years
The mainland, including the Long March series of rockets, the Kuaizhou series of rockets and the rockets developed by private space enterprises, carried out a total of 55 launch missions throughout the year, ranking first in the world. However, this is not the first time that the mainland has ranked first in the world in the number of launches.
According to the space enthusiast "Aviation Xiaoyu", 2018 is the 100th space launch carried out in the world, which is also the number of global space launches since 1990. In 1990, there were 121 space launches in the world, of which China launched 5, accounting for about 4.1% of the world.
Between 2018 and 2021, the number of Chinese space launches in 2021 increased significantly, and it ranked first in the world for many consecutive years.
In 2018, there were 114 launches worldwide, of which 39 were launched by China, accounting for about 34.2% of the total number of global launches, ranking first in the world;
In 2019, there were 103 launches worldwide, of which 34 were launched by China, accounting for about 33% of the total number of global launches, ranking first in the world;
In 2020, there were 114 launches worldwide, of which 39 were launched by China, accounting for 34.2% of the total number of global launches, ranking first in the world;
In 2021, there were 146 launches worldwide, of which 55 were launched by China, accounting for 37.7% of the total number of global launches, ranking first in the world;
Compared with 1990, the number of space launches on the mainland increased by about 90.9%, and the number of launches increased by as much as 8 times to the global total.
Not only did the number of times reach new highs, but the quality of the launches also reached new highs. According to the "Blue Book of China's Aerospace Science and Technology Activities (2021)" released by The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the total mass of the 55 launch missions carried out by China in 2021 also reached a new high, reaching 191.19 tons, an increase of 85.5% year-on-year.
In addition, the launch success rate of the space launch vehicle Long March rocket is also rising. In 2021, the Long March series of carrier rockets completed 48 launches in 2021, and the number of annual launches reached the highest "40+" in history for the first time, with a launch success rate of 100%. Earlier, at a press conference held by the State Council's new office on January 28, Wu Yanhua, deputy director of the China National Space Administration, pointed out that from 2016 to December 2021, a total of 207 launches were carried out, and the success rate of the Long March rocket launch was 96.7%.
The number is breaking through, and the strength is improving
These are not only quantitative breakthroughs, but also reflect the progress and breakthroughs in the strength of the mainland's aerospace industry, the execution of space missions and the overall scientific and technological strength of the country.
Chang'e "Running to the Moon", Zhu Rong "Exploring the Fire", Xi He "Day by Day", Wukong "Learning the Scriptures"...
The Chang'e-4 probe relays communications through the Queqiao satellite to achieve a soft landing of the spacecraft on the far side of the moon and a patrol survey. This is not only the first time that human beings have achieved a soft landing and patrol survey on the far side of the moon, but also the first relay communication between the back of the moon and the earth.
The "Tianwen-1" Mars probe was successfully launched to achieve Mars orbit and landing, and the "Zhurong" rover carried out inspection and exploration, leaving a Chinese mark on Mars for the first time, marking China becoming the second country to successfully land the rover on the surface of Mars.
In addition, the "Wukong" dark matter particle detection satellite acquired the fine structure of cosmic ray electron, proton and helium nuclear energy spectra; successfully launched the "Wise Eye" hard X-ray modulation telescope satellite to achieve cosmic magnetic field measurement and panoramic observation of the black hole double star explosion process; successfully launched the "Xihe" solar exploration science and technology test satellite, and obtained a number of solar spectral images of different wavelength points in the Hɑ band.
The space station's key technology verification phase was successfully completed
The success of the Shenzhou 13 mission marked the successful completion of the key technology verification phase of the Chinese space station, and the successful launch of Tianzhou 4 opened the construction phase. Hao Chun, director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, said at a press conference held by the State Council's new office on April 17: "Since 2020, the mainland has successfully implemented the first flight of the Long March 5B carrier rocket, the space station Tianhe core module, the Shenzhou 12 and Shenzhou 13 manned spacecraft, and the Tianzhou 2 and Tianzhou 3 cargo spacecraft a total of 6 missions, successfully completing the mission objectives of the key technology verification stage." Hao Chun, director of China's Manned Space Engineering Office, said.
This year, the mainland will also carry out 5 missions and complete the construction of the space station in orbit.
The 5 missions are:
In June, the Shenzhou 14 manned spacecraft was launched, and 3 astronauts were stationed in the core module and stayed in orbit for 6 months;
In July, the space station was launched to dock with the Tianhe core module;
In October, the Montien experimental module was launched to dock with the core module, and the construction of the Chinese space station was completed;
This will be followed by the launch of the Tianzhou-5 cargo spacecraft and the Shenzhou-15 manned spacecraft;
The Shenzhou 15 flight crew composed of 3 astronauts stayed in orbit for 6 months after rotating with Shenzhou 14 astronauts.
In the next five years, the mainland will continue to implement manned spaceflight projects. Chinese the pace of exploration of space will go bigger and farther.