Source: People's Daily - Strong Country Forum Original draft
Beijing, 20 Sep (People's Daily Online) -- The Long March 7 Yao-4 carrier rocket, which is carrying the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft, was ignited and launched at China's Wenchang Cosmodrome on 20 September.
It is reported that the Launch of the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft will carry out the fifth mission of the key technology verification and construction phase of China's space station. According to the mission plan, the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft was loaded with nearly 6 tons of supplies, including astronaut living materials, extravehicular spacesuits and exodus, space station platform materials, part of the payload and propellant. After completing the rendezvous and docking with the space station assembly, the spacecraft will transfer to the flight section of the combination, laying the foundation for the space station to build a follow-up mission in orbit.
On September 16, the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft and the Long March 7 Yao-4 carrier rocket combination were vertically transferred to the launch area; on the 17th, the Shenzhou 12 manned spacecraft returned to the capsule and landed smoothly; on the 18th, the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft completed the roundabout and forward rendezvous and docking; on the 19th, the launch mission of the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft was fully prepared; it is expected that during the National Day, the new "space travel trio" will set sail... China's aerospace industry is in full swing and its hooves are moving steadily.
What is the difference between the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft and the manned spacecraft?
Jiao Weixin, a professor at the School of Earth and Space Sciences of Peking University and deputy director of the China Space Exploration Professional Committee, said that one of the biggest differences between manned spacecraft and carrier spacecraft is that manned spacecraft must be useful to ensure the life support system for astronauts living in space, while the carrier spacecraft only needs to send cargo to space, without a life support system.
In addition, Jiao Weixin introduced that the manned spacecraft will definitely return to Earth. This is a more dangerous process in the entire manned flight, so after the return capsule and the propulsion module of the manned spacecraft are separated, they must enter the atmosphere at high speed, and the atmosphere will be violently rubbed and heated, "burning like a fire on the surface, about a thousand degrees." Therefore, it is required that the return capsule of the manned spacecraft should have a heat-proof design, and the outer layer should have thermal protective materials and thermal insulation materials to ensure that the astronauts live at a suitable temperature. When the carrier spacecraft returns to the capsule, it is basically loaded with waste instruments, astronaut garbage, etc., and it is burned when it enters the atmosphere. ”
So, what did Tianzhou-3 carry?
"Tianzhou-3 is a material supply for the Shenzhou 13 manned spacecraft." Jiao Weixin said that the capacity of Tianzhou-3 is the same as that of Tianzhou-2, with an upward carrying capacity of 6,500 kilograms and a downward carrying capacity of 6,000 kilograms, "but this time the carrying of daily necessities should be more than Tianzhou-2, because the Shenzhou-13 spacecraft will stay in space for half a year, and this time it will definitely bring more daily necessities to astronauts than the last time, at least twice as much as the last time." ”
"But there are some aspects of the material supply is less, such as the last time some space equipment has been brought over, this time there is no need to bring." Jiao Weixin analyzed that according to the design of the carrier spacecraft, as long as it is not more than 6500 kilograms, it is possible.
"After the Completion of the mission of Tianzhou-3, the discarded instruments or obsolete instruments, as well as the domestic garbage of the astronauts, etc., these things are placed in the cargo spacecraft, and on the way back through the atmosphere, they are burned, and the unburned blocks will fall in the uninhabited high seas area." Jiao Weixin said.