The Shenzhou-18 spacecraft has been on standby for more than 5 months, and it can carry out rapid launch missions at any time, which may be something that many netizens did not expect, right?
Shenzhou-18 has been on standby for more than 5 months
The situation that spacecraft and rockets are on standby has already appeared as early as 2021. In June 2021, three astronauts took the Shenzhou-12 spacecraft to China's space station and began a three-month space journey. During the flight mission of the Shenzhou-12 spacecraft, there was also a Long March-2 carrier rocket and a Shenzhou manned spacecraft quietly guarding the launch site, ready to go, with rapid launch and emergency rescue capabilities, this spacecraft is actually the Shenzhou-13 spacecraft.
Compared with general space missions, the requirements for manned spaceflight will be higher, because there are astronauts in manned spacecraft and space stations to carry out flight tasks, and the safety and reliability requirements for spacecraft flight are very high, especially after entering the space station era. After all, in the era of space stations, a single flight lasts for several months, and during a long flight, the spacecraft and space station may face more risks.
Because during the flight in low earth orbit, the environment in which the spacecraft and space station are located is very harsh, the cosmic radiation is quite strong, and there are countless small space debris and space junk, the size of these small fragments may be small, but their flight speed is very fast, which means that the kinetic energy of the impact will also be large, and if it collides with spacecraft and space stations, it may cause damage to the spacecraft.
In the previous inspection, it was found that the solar wings of the Tiangong space station had been hit by small space particles many times, and the solar wings were damaged. This is actually something that cannot be avoided, and the International Space Station is also facing such a problem. Later, the Shenzhou-17 astronauts carried out two out-of-cabin activities and repaired the solar wing of the Tianhe core module extravehicular to solve this problem.
Therefore, it is not 100% safe to fly for a long time in outer space, and if the spacecraft and space station encounter an emergency during the flight mission in orbit, the ground must quickly launch a spacecraft to space to pick up the astronauts.
If the spaceship is not prepared in advance, this rescue process will take a long time. If there is a spacecraft on standby on the ground, it can be launched into the space in the shortest possible time to carry out rescue missions. That's why, in the era of the space station, we have a "rolling backup" launch mode of "launch 1 launch, backup 1" to ensure the safety of astronauts in orbit.
Of course, during the in-orbit mission, if there is no emergency situation in the space station or spacecraft, the spacecraft on standby will wait quietly, and when the next launch window arrives, it will move to the launch process of the next stage of the mission. At present, the Shenzhou 18 spacecraft and rocket have been on standby for several months, will it have an impact on the spacecraft and rocket?
The researchers said that this will not have an impact on the spacecraft and rocket, and for safety reasons, some of the rocket's batteries and pyrotechnic devices in the standby state will not be installed in advance, but will be stored in a special warehouse, and these devices will be quickly installed in place if a rapid launch mission is required. Therefore, rockets and spaceships that are on standby will not be affected and can carry out launch missions normally.
When the Shenzhou 17 spacecraft was launched, the Shenzhou 18 spacecraft and the rocket entered a state of standby, and now the Shenzhou 17 spacecraft has been flying in orbit for more than 5 months, which also means that the Shenzhou 18 spacecraft has been on standby for more than 5 months.
According to the plan, the Shenzhou-17 spacecraft will return to Earth at the end of this month, and the Shenzhou-18 spacecraft will also be launched later this month. Although the official has not yet announced the specific launch time, it is certain that the launch time of the Shenzhou 18 spacecraft is getting closer and closer, and now the good news about the Shenzhou 18 spacecraft is coming again.
According to reports, the Shenzhou-18 spacecraft and the Long March-2 rocket assembly have been transferred to the launch area, and it is planned to be launched at an opportune time in the near future to go to China's space station. When the Shenzhou-18 spacecraft arrives at the Chinese space station, our space station will be filled with six astronauts again, and the two astronaut crews will complete the handover work in orbit, and then the Shenzhou-17 spacecraft will be evacuated from the Chinese space station and returned to Earth.
Shenzhou-18 was launched at the right time
Previously, it was rumored on the Internet that the Shenzhou 18 spacecraft was planned to be launched on April 25, and now the Shenzhou 18 spacecraft has been transferred to the launch area, this time may be accurate, and the error may not be very large. Because the previous missions were in a similar situation.
For example, the Shenzhou-17 spacecraft and rocket assembly will be transferred to the launch area on October 19, 2023, and will be launched on October 26, 2023, with a time interval of 7 days from the transfer launch area to launch.
The Shenzhou-16 spacecraft and rocket assembly will be transferred to the launch area on May 22, 2023 and launched on May 30, 2023, with a time interval of 8 days from the transfer launch area to launch, and the Shenzhou-15 spacecraft and rocket assembly will be transferred to the launch area on November 21, 2022 and launched on November 29, 2022, with an interval of 8 days from the transfer launch area to launch.
Judging from the previous flight missions, the time interval between the spacecraft and rocket assembly from the transfer launch area to the launch is basically about a week. Now the Shenzhou-18 spacecraft and rocket have also been transferred to the launch area, and it is expected that it will be launched in another week.
Now the Shenzhou-19 spacecraft has also completed the test work, and the Chang-2F Yao-19 carrier rocket used to carry out the Shenzhou-19 mission is waiting in the final assembly test plant, and when the Shenzhou-18 is launched to carry out the flight mission, the Shenzhou-19 spacecraft will enter the standby state.