Main information source: Jiemian News - China's first space power station experimental base has been built, and the "Three Gorges in Space" is coming
Shangguan News -- A major breakthrough has been made in the development of the mainland's heavy-duty rocket! The "Long March 9" will make its first flight around 2030
Preface
As the mainland's first heavy-duty rocket, the Long March 9 has been pinned on great hopes by mainland engineers.
The Long March 9 also has a major breakthrough compared with the previous one, and has also laid a very solid foundation for the follow-up mainland heavy launch vehicle project!
This time, the purpose of the Long March 9 is also to investigate whether the "Three Gorges in Space" project can be realized.
So, can the "Three Gorges in Space" proposed by the mainland be realized?
长征九号重breakthrough
The Long March-9 carrier rocket is also a new generation of heavy-duty launch vehicle that the mainland is demonstrating.
The diameter of this rocket reached the 10-meter level, the total height exceeded the 100-meter level, and the take-off mass exceeded 4,000 tons.
Today, the take-off mass and carrying capacity of the Long March 9 are close to five times that of the Long March 5, the largest launch vehicle in the mainland!
Launch vehicles are currently the only tool for human beings to overcome the gravitational pull of the earth and enter space.
The mainland's launch vehicles began in the 60s of the last century, and after a total of 5 stages, 18 types of launch vehicles of 4 generations were developed.
In recent years, the United States, Russia, and other space powers in the world have also regarded the development of more advanced carrier rockets as an important national strategy.
That's why the mainland has put so much effort into carrier rockets, and the Long March 9 has lived up to expectations and achieved breakthroughs in technology one after another.
Some time ago, mainland aerospace engineer Long Lehao revealed in a lecture that the Long March 9 will also be officially approved at the end of this year, with its first flight around 2030.
The YF-215 multi-engine parallel connection and the 200t-class full-flow refueling cycle methane machine YF-215 have completed the technical verification and carried out a test run for up to 1,000 seconds!
In fact, the key mission of the Long March 9 is mainly to be able to build a "space solar power station", also known as the "Three Gorges of Space".
So, what is the purpose of this "Three Gorges of Space", and why did the mainland go to space to build a solar power station?
"Three Gorges in Space"
In 1968, Dr. Peter Glaser of the United States proposed the "conversion of space solar energy into electrical energy", in the power system that transmits energy to the ground through microwaves or lasers.
After this theory was proposed, it has also received wide attention from the international community, but because of the relatively large scale and high technical difficulty of this system, no country has been able to realize it so far.
However, in the world today, enterprises led by the US Air Force Research Laboratory have also increased their research and development efforts in this field.
They plan to carry out spatial verification of key technologies in 2025.
With the support of the state, the mainland officially began the research of space solar power stations in the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan".
Although the investment funds are limited, after more than ten years of independent research, some research results have been achieved.
In recent years, the mainland has made many major breakthroughs in the field of aerospace and has truly entered the ranks of space powers.
If a "space solar power station" can be built, it will also greatly promote the leapfrog development of low-cost transportation and large-scale space construction.
This will also play a very big role in promoting our future aerospace development, and our "dream of becoming a space power" will also be realized earlier.
The main mission of the Long March 9 is to pave the way for the construction of the "Three Gorges in Space" on the mainland, and if this project is successful, then the mainland's use of energy will cross a level.
However, this "Three Gorges in Space" is not as simple as we imagined, and the construction is very difficult.
How hard is it?
It is very difficult to build
In fact, the construction of "space solar power stations" is not as simple as we imagined, after all, it is to develop "solar energy" in space, which is still very different from the ground.
The first is the module of the "space solar power station", which is much heavier than the continental space station, and will be launched into a geosynchronous orbit at an altitude of 36,000 kilometers.
And after entering orbit, it will be assembled, and this technical requirement will be higher.
Given that the continental space station already has space module technology, for the "space solar power station", as long as these devices can be launched into the predetermined orbit, the assembly should be completed.
Another point is the problem of funding, the launch of these power station equipment, also means that the mainland will launch more heavy rockets.
The cost of a heavy rocket is already very high, not to mention the fact that there is more such equipment and a more intensive launch of rockets.
In addition, the high-power, long-distance and unlimited transmission technology used by the "space solar power station" is also a difficult point that the mainland must solve.
Otherwise, we would simply not have been able to transmit and receive information from the ground to space.
If the construction can be carried out very smoothly, the later maintenance of the "Three Gorges in Space" will also be a very difficult problem.
Not only that, but we also need to consider the impact of the "Three Gorges of Space" on the ecology and biology on the earth.
These are all issues that we have to consider, but now we can still presuppose morality, and in the process of construction in the future, there will definitely be incurable diseases that we do not expect.
In recent years, the mainland has made remarkable achievements in space technology, and its exploration has not only reached the moon, but also to Mars.
After all, compared with the United States and the West, the mainland's aerospace project started late, but a late start does not mean that it will never be able to catch up with them!
China's aerospace achievements
In 2023, China's aerospace industry can be said to be "colorful", and the number of mainland space launches this year is approaching 70, which is also a milestone step in the history of mainland aerospace.
In the past year, Continental has made a very significant breakthrough in the research and development of launch vehicle engines and solid-fuel rockets.
In the field of manned spaceflight engineering, the mainland has successively carried out three manned spacecraft missions and two cargo spacecraft missions within one year!
The astronauts of the mainland have also been stationed in the mainland space station many times, and at the same time, they have also carried out many out-of-cabin missions.
There is a saying that "how big the rocket is, how big the stage of astronautics is"!
Last year, from April to June alone, the mainland first successfully tested the 700-ton liquid rocket engine test bench with the largest thrust in Asia.
On October 20, the Continental Aerospace Science and Technology Group also released six solid propellant rocket engines.
Compared with liquid rocket engines, solid rocket engines have a simple solid structure, so the cost will be lower.
If the rocket can be equipped with this engine, the preparation cycle can also be shorter, and the reaction capability will be enhanced.
Adhering to peaceful use, equality, mutual benefit and common development is also the principle that China has always adhered to in the development of its manned space industry.
The mainland is also very willing to share research results with countries that want to cooperate with the mainland and jointly promote the development of space technology in the world!
Sources of information:
China Science News - Ge Changchun: The mainland should actively build space solar power stations
China Youth Network - Nearly 70 space launches completed throughout the year China Aerospace has delivered a brilliant report card
Douyin Encyclopedia - Long March 9 launch vehicle
Shangguan News - 2024 China Aerospace, two major missions are → "spoilers" in advance