All content in this article is based on official and reliable sources, and the specific information is detailed at the end of the article
-< > foreword-
Last month, a satellite on the mainland exploring the Earth-Moon space was detected with abnormal flight signals, but finally failed to enter the scheduled satellite orbit.
However, what people didn't expect was that these two satellites actually "came back to life", and after the miracle was resurrected, they climbed 220,000 kilometers alone, making the last effort to land on the moon.
So, why will the satellite save itself after it is launched? How good is China's space strength?
-< Satellite Launch Abnormal >-
The road to success is not smooth sailing, and the same is true for China on the road of space industry.
On the 13th of last month, the DRO-A/B satellite, which undertook important tasks, was launched from the Xichang launch site on the upper stage of the Long March-2C rocket and the Yuanzheng-1S rocket.
Let's first understand what DRO is, in fact, it means "long-distance retrograde orbit around the moon."
It is a type of periodic orbit in Earth-Moon space, and this orbit has a good characteristic, that is, it is stable for a long time, and the energy required to enter the orbit is not so large.
Because of these characteristics, the DRO orbit is also expected to serve as a transit station for manned lunar and Martian missions in the future.
Chang'e-5, which has the ability to go to the front of the moon and take samples back to Earth, has previously carried out various missions in this orbit, making the mainland the first country in the world to launch satellites into a far reverse orbit.
In other words, the DRO-A/B satellite, this mission is also extraordinary, and it plays a very important role in our exploration of unknown space.
At the 100-day mobilization meeting before the launch of the satellite, the mission of the DRO satellite was emphasized, which is enough to prove the importance of this mission.
Moreover, the Long March-2C carrier rocket has joined hands with the upper stage of the expedition-1S more than once to complete various satellite launch tasks, and people are also full of expectations for this time.
However, on the day of the launch, the accident happened.
Everyone was relieved when they saw the data that the Long March-2C rocket was working normally, but there was a problem with the upper stage of the Expedition-1S, which also caused the DRO-A/B satellite to fail to accurately enter the predetermined orbit.
If the satellite cannot be deployed in accordance with the specified orbit designed, then the subsequent tasks will be difficult to complete.
This also means that the mainland has failed to launch satellites.
So, will our astronautics admit defeat?
-< staged a shocking scene in the midst of ridicule>-
After the failure of the satellite launch, it was also complained about and ridiculed by many people, some people said that the United States has successfully landed on the moon for the second time, and the implication is full of distrust of our own country.
Some people also ridiculed the failure of the lunar exploration project before it started, whether it was of poor quality.
However, these people ignore the fact that there is no 100% certainty in anything, and that there are so many uncertainties in space.
We can reflect and learn from our failures, but at least don't fall into the trap.
So is this really the end of this satellite launch?
Naturally not, China's aerospace industry has the strength to not admit defeat or admit defeat.
At a time when many people no longer have hope, DRO-A/B has brought people a surprise.
At that time, the U.S. Space Force had been tracking the data of the two satellites, and they were surprised to find that the satellites were still rising in altitude, crawling 220,000 kilometers, and even trending upward.
In other words, the DROA/B satellite still has the opportunity to enter the corresponding orbit with its own engine.
But one more thing to make important is that these campaigns need to burn fuel, and if there is enough fuel at that time, we will have a better chance of moving to the end goal and providing stronger support for the lunar exploration operation.
Of course, whether this mission is successful or not, it brings us a lot of useful information.
And to have such an achievement, it is because of China's aerospace from uncompromising persistence to the present......
-< China's aerospace never compromises>-
Also in March, the third launch of SpaceX's Starship, the second-class Starship spacecraft, also burned up in the atmosphere, and finally ended in failure.
Japan's small commercial solid-state rocket, launched the day before, failed miserably, and its small satellites used for intelligence-gathering experiments were also wiped out in the explosion.
But everyone seems to only focus on China's "mistakes", in fact, it is normal for these space exploration missions to fail.
One thing we should know is that it took us just a few decades to start from nothing, and we have experienced failure and setbacks again and again.
In October 2002, after the launch of the Resource-2 mission, the 02 satellite experienced a major mistake that caught everyone off guard.
At that time, after the launch of the satellite, it also successfully entered orbit, and everything was normal during the first two mission flights, but the satellite suddenly lost its signal in the third circle.
When Academician Ye Peijian learned of this, he was riding a car on Luliang Mountain to carry out a mission, but his first reaction was to hope that the car would fall down the mountain and kill him.
He said that everyone had done so much work, and there should be no problems with the satellite, and he could not explain that the satellite was lost.
In his heart, satellites are even more important than his life.
Fortunately, the cause of the loss of contact with the satellite was found, and the satellite also returned to normal thanks to everyone's efforts, and in the two years of work, this satellite has delivered us a lot of clear images and also provided useful information for various departments on the mainland.
Moreover, even if this satellite reached the design life, it finally entered the overdue service.
Doesn't that prove that we're strong? Aviation workers want all missions to be a success more than anyone else, because that's their work.
With the efforts of astronauts, our aerospace industry is also rising, and China's strength has been seen by people in miracles again and again.
-< can't hide China's strength>-
The fact that the DRO-A/B satellites can "come back to life" may be a reflection of China's strength.
Back in 2021, another satellite also suffered such a thing, and that time was even more serious than this one.
At that time, the Yunhai-1 02 satellite was hit by an unknown object and was smashed into multiple fragments, but I did not expect that a year later, the Yunhai-1 and 02 satellites were still in operation.
This is enough to prove how good the quality of our satellites is.
Just yesterday, the previously high-profile Queqiao-2 also came with new news again, the relay satellite has completed the in-orbit communication test, and everything is operating normally.
And this also provides infinite possibilities for us to explore the moon in the future, and the sea of stars is waiting for us to explore.
Looking back at the history of China's aerospace industry, from the successful launch of the first artificial satellite Dongfanghong 1 to the present day, we are making various preparations for the authors of manned spaceflight.
Everything is like a lifetime, and everything is like fate.
It is not easy for us to get to where we are today, step by step, and China's aerospace industry continues to overcome difficulties and create our own "flying miracle".
Even Elon Musk has said: "China's space program is far ahead of most people's realizations."
In the future, China's aerospace will continue to surprise people and pay tribute to all Chinese astronauts!
Resources:
China's strength cannot be hidden! The faulty satellite was miraculously resurrected, and it climbed 220,000 kilometers to the moon alone
Chen Lan: Japan, China and the United States rockets have lost one after another, which is better or worse in zeroing or trial and error?
The Queqiao-2 mission was a complete success