Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition
Shenzhou-15 astronaut Fei Junlong transferred equipment before entering the capsule.
Hainan International Commercial Space Launch Center No. 1 launch station.
The Chang'e-5 probe displays the national flag on the surface of the moon. Xinhua News Agency
In 2023, China's aerospace will deliver a brilliant report card. In 2024, China's space station, which has entered the application and development stage, will welcome new "visitors", Chang'e-6 will bring the soil from the far side of the moon back to Earth for the first time, and commercial space is expected to continue its good development momentum...... China's aerospace industry will continue to be brilliant and innovative, and make new contributions to promoting the progress of human civilization and enhancing the common well-being of mankind.
"Tiangong" will usher in four launches
Since entering the Chinese space station on October 26, 2023, in the blink of an eye, about 1/3 of the Shenzhou-17 crew's six-month space station "business trip" has been completed. In more than two months, the three astronauts, Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin, have successively completed the scheduled tasks such as platform maintenance, scientific experiments, and experimental maintenance of the solar wing of the Tianhe core module for the first time. During the orbit, the "space vegetable garden" in the space station enjoyed a bumper harvest, and the astronauts picked and tasted the vegetables cultivated by the two crews in orbit, and packaged the fresh vegetables they picked separately. Next, the Shenzhou-17 crew will also carry out a series of space station missions as planned.
In 2024, China's manned space flight will carry out four missions, namely the Tianzhou-7 cargo spacecraft, the Shenzhou-18 manned spacecraft, the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft and the Shenzhou-19 manned spacecraft. Among them, the crews of Shenzhou 18 and Shenzhou 19 are composed of 3 astronauts. This means that this year, the space station will stage two in-orbit "shifts", and six astronauts will be stationed in the "space home" one after another.
According to reports, after the Tianzhou-7 and Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft are launched at the Wenchang Space Launch Site, they will be docked to the backward port of the Tianhe core module respectively. The Shenzhou-18 and Shenzhou-19 manned spacecraft will be launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, with the former docking at the radial port of the Tianhe core module after launch, and the latter docking at the forward port of the Tianhe core module after launch.
At present, the Tianzhou-7 cargo spacecraft and the Long March-7 Yao-8 carrier rocket have arrived at the Wenchang Space Launch Site, where they are undergoing final assembly and testing, and are waiting for their launch at the beginning of the year.
Starting from the Tianzhou-6 launched in 2023, the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft adopts an improved cargo compartment, with an increase in loading space by about 24% and a loading weight increase of about 22%, from the previous 6.9 tons to 7.4 tons, making it one of the most powerful cargo spacecraft in the world.
With the accumulation of in-orbit data in the construction phase, the replenishment efficiency of the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft has been continuously improved. According to reports, the in-orbit inventory at the launch of Tianzhou-7 and the uplink volume of the cargo spacecraft can support the astronaut crew to stay in orbit for one year. Therefore, the supply of materials during the launch of Tianzhou-7 can support the two astronaut crews of Shenzhou-17 and 18 to carry out tasks in orbit.
Chang'e 六号将月背取土
In 2023, China will launch the lunar landing phase of the manned lunar exploration project, planning to achieve the first landing of Chinese on the moon by 2030. According to the China National Space Administration, around 2024, the Queqiao-2 relay communication satellite and the Chang'e-6 lunar probe will be launched, and Chang'e-6 will carry out a sample return mission on the far side of the moon.
Chang'e-6's lunar exploration trip has recently been shortlisted for the annual event of concern published by foreign media such as Nature magazine and the New York Times. So far, 10 lunar sample returns have been carried out by human beings, all of which are located on the front side of the moon, which is older than the front side of the moon as a whole, and there is one of the three major bodies of the moon, the Aitken Basin, which has important scientific research value. The Chang'e-6 mission chose the Aitken Basin as a pre-selected landing area, in order to discover and collect lunar samples from different regions and ages, and improve human understanding of the moon.
In terms of international cooperation, the Chang'e-6 mission carried payloads and satellite projects from four countries, including France's radon gas detector, ESA's negative ion detector, Italy's laser angle mirror, and Pakistan's CubeSat.
In order to successfully complete the communication between the spacecraft on the far side of the moon and the Earth, China's newly developed Queqiao-2 relay communication satellite is scheduled to be launched in the first half of 2024. After the completion of the Chang'e-6 mission, Queqiao-2 will adjust its orbit at the right time to continue to provide services for Chang'e-7, Chang'e-8 and subsequent lunar exploration missions. At the same time, Queqiao-2 will also relay Queqiao, providing relay communication services for Chang'e-4 and Yutu-2, which are exploring on the far side of the moon. In addition, Queqiao-2 also carries a scientific exploration mission.
At present, China is speeding up the large-scale scientific project of the International Lunar Research Station, working with relevant countries, international organizations and international partners to expand the boundaries of human cognition, and contribute to the peaceful use of space and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Commercial aerospace innovation and development
Recently, the first launch station of the Hainan International Commercial Space Launch Center was officially completed, which marks the key progress made in the process of forming the launch capacity of China's first commercial space launch site.
Hainan International Commercial Space Launch Center is located in Wenchang City, Hainan Province, and its No. 1 launch station is a special station for the new generation of domestic medium-sized rocket Long March 8, with a tower height of 83 meters, including 11 types of equipment and facilities such as fixed service towers and launch pads. Compared with the traditional launch station, it cancels the diversion groove and adopts the modular steel structure launch tower scheme, which shortens the construction period by half.
In 2024, the Hainan International Commercial Space Launch Center is expected to usher in its first commercial launch. At the same time, the No. 2 launch station of the launch center has also completed the capping of the main body of the diversion trough, and it is planned to complete the on-site installation and commissioning of the equipment by the end of May 2024.
In recent years, China's commercial aerospace industry has developed rapidly. The Central Economic Work Conference held in 2023 proposed to build a number of strategic emerging industries such as commercial aerospace. In 2023, the Suzaku 2 Yao-2 and Yao-3 rockets were successfully launched, becoming the world's first liquid oxygen methane rocket to successfully put a payload into a predetermined orbit. The second flight test mission of the Hyperbola-2 reusable liquid oxygen methane verification rocket was also successful.
In 2024, China's commercial aerospace is expected to continue its impressive performance. This year, the Suzaku 2 rocket is planned to be launched three times, which will increase the capacity of the rocket through full supercooled filling technology, engine thrust improvement, and two-stage engine double ignition technology, so as to reduce the cost per kilogram of load into orbit. Hyperbola 2 is scheduled to conduct a recovery test at sea in 2024 in preparation for the first flight of the Hyperbola 3 rocket by the end of 2025. (Reporter Liu Yao)
(Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition)