April 24 is China's Space Day. According to the press conference of the Shenzhou 18 manned mission held on the same day, the Shenzhou 18 manned spacecraft was launched at 20:59 Beijing time on April 25, and the astronaut crew consisted of astronauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu, all of whom were "post-80s".
Shenzhou-18 will also take zebrafish and goldfish algae as research objects to implement the first in-orbit aquatic ecology research project in China. The press conference also revealed that the mainland will step up research to promote foreign astronauts and space tourists to participate in space station flights.
According to reports, after the space station mission enters the normalized duty, the Shenzhou 18 astronaut crew will manage and take care of the space station and application payloads as planned, carry out space station maintenance and maintenance and status inspection, and ensure the safe, reliable and efficient operation of the space station. The crew will use the in-cabin scientific experiment cabinet and extravehicular loads to carry out more than 90 experiments in the fields of microgravity basic physics, space materials science, space life science, aerospace medicine, and aerospace technology.
For example, Shenzhou-18 will implement the first on-orbit aquatic ecology research project in China, taking zebrafish and goldfish algae as research objects to establish a stable space self-circulating aquatic ecosystem in orbit, and achieve a breakthrough in the continent's cultivation of vertebrates in space;
Lin Xiqiang, spokesman for China's manned space program and deputy director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, said on the 24th that up to now, China's space station has implemented more than 130 scientific research and application projects in orbit, and has made important achievements in space life science, aerospace medicine, space materials science, microgravity fluid physics and other directions, and published more than 280 papers in international first-class journals.
The construction of China's space station and the large-scale space science experiments and technological experiments with long-term manned participation can greatly promote the comprehensive development of space science, space technology and space applications, and promote the technological progress of related industries. Using the manned missions from Shenzhou 12 to Shenzhou 16, more than 300 scientific experiment samples were carried out in five batches, and more than 500 scientific research institutes at home and abroad participated in the research.
"On the whole, the development of these space experiments and the scientific research carried out after the sample is down, and the new results that have been continuously obtained, through the promotion, transformation and application, will gradually play a more important scientific and technological and economic benefits. Lin Xiqiang said.
According to reports, the use of high-temperature scientific experiment cabinet to carry out the new material space growth research project, the mainland for the first time in the space to obtain high-quality crystal materials that are difficult to prepare on the ground, has a guiding role in the preparation of high-performance multi-semiconductor alloy materials; The prevention and treatment of metabolic diseases provides a new solution.
"In the field of aerospace medicine experiments, a series of original mechanism explorations and applied basic research have been carried out, and a number of important innovations have been produced. Among them, the world's first artificial vascular tissue chip research was selected as one of the top ten advances in China's life science field in 2023. Lin Xiqiang said, "In the future, we will continue to adhere to the application as the key link, benefit first, give full play to the advantages of the national space laboratory platform, and continue to produce more high-level results." ”
Landing Chinese on the moon by 2030The three astronauts who "flew to the sky" this time are all "post-80s," among whom Ye Guangfu has carried out the Shenzhou-13 manned mission, and Li Cong and Li Guangsu have both carried out their first flight mission; Li Guangsu is also the only liberal arts student among the third batch of 18 astronauts, and after more than three years of hard training, he has completed the transformation from pilot to astronaut. He likens himself to a "snail running into space."
Lin Xiqiang revealed that the mainland is about to complete the selection of the fourth batch of astronauts. Together with the active astronauts, they will carry out the follow-up mission of the space station and realize the landing of Chinese on the moon. "Manned lunar exploration is a highly challenging, innovative and leading major scientific and technological project, and the follow-up will make overall plans for the development and construction of various tasks to ensure that the mission objectives are achieved as scheduled. He said.
At the same time, the construction of the Wenchang manned lunar exploration and launch site was fully launched. According to reports, the lunar landing phase of the manned lunar exploration project will be approved by the central government in 2023, and the overall goal is to achieve Chinese landing on the moon by 2030, and various systems are currently being developed and constructed as planned. The Long March 10 carrier rocket, the "Mengzhou" manned spacecraft, the "Lanyue" lunar lander, the lunar landing suit and other major flight products have completed the development of the program, and the production of sample products and various tests are being carried out in an all-round way.
China's self-developed reusable kerosene and liquid oxygen engines are also expected to power the Long March 10. At present, the China Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology, a subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, which is responsible for the research and development of the engine, is undergoing repeated tests. The Long March 10 is a new rocket for manned spaceflight, including future manned missions to the moon, and the rocket's first test flight could take place as early as next year.
Focus on tackling recyclable rocketsReusable rockets are a key direction in the development of space technology. Globally, tech tycoon Elon Musk's SpaceX has taken the lead in recovering rockets on land and at sea. The recycling and reuse of rockets is essential to reduce the cost of launch. SpaceX previously said that reusable rockets could reduce launch costs by about 30%.
In China, tackling reusable rockets has also become one of the key tasks of commercial aerospace enterprises. A number of commercial aerospace companies are already investing in R&D. Recently, Ding Yongbing, vice president of China Long March Rocket Co., Ltd., revealed that the company is carrying out the reusability of liquid launch vehicles with a diameter of 5 meters relying on the rocket institute (Aerospace First Academy).
According to Blue Arrow Aerospace news, on April 15, the Blue Arrow Aerospace Suzaku 3 reusable rocket vertical take-off and landing recovery test arrow completed the "10-kilometer flight" transformation and assembly work, and will be fully transferred to the final final final test and factory stage.
Gao Yonghong, vice president of Blue Arrow Space Technology Co., Ltd., also said that this year, the company completed a 100-meter vertical take-off and landing flight test, and a 10-kilometer flight test will be conducted in June. Next year, the Suzaku III reusable rocket is expected to make its first flight.
The first financial reporter learned at the Blue Arrow Aerospace Space Center in Jiaxing that the subsequent test rocket will be transferred to the general testing stage, and is expected to arrive at the Blue Arrow Space Liquid Oxygen Methane Rocket Launch Site of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in May, and the launch mission will be carried out in June. According to the Blue Arrow Aerospace 10-kilometer vertical recovery flight test plan, the modified test arrow will take off with a thrust of 80 tons and fly at an altitude of about 10 kilometers after about 200 seconds.
According to the Blue Book of China's Aerospace Science and Technology Activities (2023) released by the Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, China's aerospace is expected to have 100 launch missions in 2024. In the eyes of many people in the aerospace industry, this year will be the most intensive year for China's launch program. In 2023, a number of commercial companies successfully launched medium and large liquid rockets, making breakthroughs, proving the feasibility of reusable rocket launch schemes in China.
Liu Baiqi, founder and chairman of Galaxy Power Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd., told the first financial reporter that there are still challenges in technology and management for rockets to achieve "flight-based" launches. He believes that from a technical point of view, rockets need to be recycled and reused many times, and even need some intelligent capabilities and health monitoring management, which can predict and predict failures; from the management point of view, the management mode also needs to be innovative, such as the management of launch plans, the management of launch permits, the management of satellite frequency orbit resources, including manned market access, airworthiness, etc., all need to do a lot of research.
All localities are actively arranged, and the construction of "Rocket Street" will also be startedCommercial aerospace was "named" by the Central Economic Work Conference in December last year. Since then, Beijing and Shanghai have issued action plans and programs to promote the development of the commercial aerospace field. Shanghai issued the "Shanghai Action Plan for Promoting the Development of Commercial Aerospace and Building a Highland for the Space Information Industry (2023-2025)", which proposes that by 2025, a full-coverage industrial chain from rockets, satellites, ground stations to terminals will be formed.
The plan released by Shanghai also said that the development of a new generation of medium and large launch vehicles, low-cost and high-integration satellites, intelligent application terminals three major products, the formation of an annual output of 50 commercial rockets, 600 commercial satellites of mass manufacturing capacity, to build "Shanghai Star" and "Shanghai Arrow" as the goal, to provide satellite development, launch, in-orbit delivery and management chain service model. Promote the formation of independent construction capabilities such as ground stations, measurement and operation control centers, and application terminals. Establish multi-structure industry funds and improve relevant industrial support policies. We will introduce and cultivate 10 key commercial aerospace enterprises, cultivate 5 hard-core enterprises with the conditions for listing on the Science and Technology Innovation Board, and support a number of private enterprises with "specialized, special and new" advantages, so as to achieve a scale of more than 200 billion yuan in the space information industry.
The Beijing Action Plan for Accelerating the Innovation and Development of Commercial Aerospace (2024-2028) clearly proposes to promote the construction of local commercial satellites and rockets from multiple aspects, overcome key technical problems such as reusable rockets, and accelerate the construction of satellite constellations.
On April 21, at the China Aerospace Day Commercial Aerospace Seminar held in Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone, Li Ting, deputy director of the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone Automobile and Intelligent Manufacturing Industry Class, said that Beijing is building a "rocket street" and striving to start construction at the end of April this year, with a construction area of 140,000 square meters, covering rocket research and development tests, manufacturing and other sites, including more than 10 shared experimental platforms.
"Through this sharing and sharing method, the cost of each enterprise is reduced, the burden of the enterprise is reduced, and the utilization efficiency of these equipment is also improved, and the duplicate construction is reduced. Li Ting revealed.
The first financial reporter learned that the production and manufacturing of rockets often involve hundreds of parts supply chain enterprises. Taking Suzhou as an example, Suzhou has gathered more than 300 key enterprises in the aerospace industry chain, and the output value is expected to exceed 40 billion yuan.
Shen Yan, founder and CEO of Yidong Aerospace, told the first financial reporter: "The situation of space competition is intensifying, and countries around the world are increasing investment and efforts to compete for the first opportunity in the development of space resources. ”
He further said that commercial aerospace is a strategic force to enhance the competitiveness of the national space field, involving the manufacturing, launch, operation and related technologies and services of spacecraft, and has an important driving role in downstream industries such as communications, remote sensing, and navigation.
(This article is from Yicai)