Today is a special day, we ushered in the ninth "China Aerospace Day", this year's theme is "Polar Eyes Chutian, Together with the Stars and Han", the on-site event was held in Wuhan, Hubei, and foreign guests from more than 50 countries, regions and international organizations participated in the Space Day activities.
As a beautiful scenery in Wuhan, the celebration of "China Space Day" can be described as rich and colorful, including the launching ceremony, the China Space Conference, the Aerospace Culture and Art Forum, and the series of exhibitions of aerospace science popularization.
At the launching ceremony, the promotional video on the theme of this year's Space Day was first broadcast, major aerospace information such as the Chang'e-7 mission international payload carrying project was released, the 2024 "China Aerospace Public Welfare Image Ambassador" was announced, and the 2023 China Space Foundation Qian Xuesen Highest Achievement Award was awarded.
When you see the official report, do your hearts also fly out of the clouds?
Don't worry, there's more news!
According to the announcement of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, the mission headquarters of the space station application and development stage has decided that the Shenzhou-18 manned spacecraft will be launched at 20:59 on April 25, and the astronaut crew of the mission is composed of three astronauts, Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu, with Ye Guangfu as the commander.
That's right, the Shenzhou-18 manned spacecraft is about to fly into space again.
I remember that on October 26, 2023, the Shenzhou 17 astronaut crew entered the Chinese space station.
In the past few days, the Shenzhou 17 astronaut crew and the ground flight control team have carried out various work to prepare for the space journey of Shenzhou 18.
On the morning of April 24, the space station had completed its second phase adjustment during the mission. Through these two phases, the space station is ready to welcome the Shenzhou-18 spacecraft.
In the early stage, for the Shen-18 manned flight mission, the flight control team conducted more than 10 mission deduction and collaborative drills, covering routine procedures, emergency procedures and handling of unexpected situations.
Thinking that the mainland is going to complete another space feat tomorrow, Brother Youli is in the same mood as many netizens, and he is very excited.
Breaking through the clouds and building dreams of aerospace, from "Zhurong" to explore the fire, "Xihe" to the sun, to "Tianhe" to travel to the stars, China's aerospace has created one after another achievements that have attracted worldwide attention.
China's aerospace industry officially started in 1956, and in the same year, China's first missile research institute, the Fifth Research Institute of the Ministry of National Defense, was established. The institute was the predecessor of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), which currently undertakes most of China's aerospace research and development tasks.
At the Second Session of the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 1958, Chairman Mao announced that China should also follow the Soviet Union and the United States, which had successfully launched satellites, and launch its own artificial satellites. Twelve years later, on April 24, 1970, China successfully launched its first artificial satellite, Dongfanghong 1, into orbit.
Since then, China's aerospace industry has flourished.
"Chang'e" lunar exploration
In January 2019, China's Chang'e-4 lunar probe successfully landed on the far side of the moon, achieving the first soft landing of a human probe on the far side of the moon. Previously, only probes flew over the far side of the moon, and no probe landed on the far side.
Chang'e-4 also transmitted the first close-up image of the moon's back. Commenting on the historic achievement of the first landing on the far side of the moon, the China National Space Administration said that the successful landing "unraveled the mystery of the ancient lunar back" and "opened a new chapter in human lunar exploration".
In fact, the Chang'e-1 orbiter was successfully launched in 2007 and started China's lunar exploration program, and the soft landing on the far side of the moon in early 2019 proved that China has fully advanced deep space exploration capabilities.
Manned spaceflight
In 2003, China became the third country to conduct manned spaceflight, after the United States and Russia. Astronaut Yang Liwei flew in space for about 21 hours aboard the Shenzhou-5 spacecraft.
Since Yang Liwei's successful first space flight, China has now achieved 12 manned space flights.
The most recent manned flight was in October 2023, when Shenzhou-17 astronauts Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie, Jiang Xinlin and the Shenzhou-16 crew carried out the third in-orbit rotation of the manned spaceflight project, and successfully completed the docking and evacuation of visiting vehicles such as auxiliary cargo spacecraft and survey telescopes, the normal rotation and supply of personnel and materials, the on-orbit health management of astronauts, on-orbit scientific experiments, science popularization and public welfare activities, etc.
On February 9, 2024, the Shenzhou-17 astronaut crew who are on a business trip in space specially recorded a video to greet everyone at the Chinese space station, and the pride and scientific and technological atmosphere of the Chinese people are full.
Tiangong space station
Since 2021, China has begun construction of the Tiangong space station, which is the third large-scale in-orbit space experiment platform built by mankind since the Mir space station in 1986 and the International Space Station in 1998, and is one of the two space stations currently in orbit.
The basic configuration of the Tiangong space station is composed of three modules: the Tianhe core module, the Wentian experimental module and the Mengtian experimental module, one horizontal and one vertical, forming the "T" shape for traveling in space, creating a monument in the history of China's manned space program and the world.
The glory of the past only belongs to the past, and the mainland's aerospace industry is still looking forward to the future and forging ahead.
In 2023, China successfully carried out nearly 70 space launch missions and launched more than 200 spacecraft, setting a new historical record. This year, from 26 to 41 satellites in one rocket, with an interval of only eight days, China's aerospace twice set a record of multiple satellites in one rocket; the space station entered the stage of application and development, completing one cargo spacecraft, two manned spacecraft launch missions, and two return missions.
In the same year, the lunar landing phase of the mainland manned lunar exploration project was approved by the central government to start implementation, with the overall goal of landing Chinese on the moon by 2030, and the development and construction of various systems are currently being carried out as planned.
In addition, various manned lunar landing work is also being carefully prepared, and the Long March 10 carrier rocket, Mengzhou manned spacecraft, lunar lander, lunar landing suit, and other major flight products have completed the program development work, and the production of initial samples and various tests are being carried out in an all-round way.
The spacecraft and lander have basically completed the development of mechanical and thermal test products, the rocket is carrying out various types of engine ground test vehicles, the construction of the Wenchang manned lunar exploration and launch site has been fully launched, and the manned lunar rover and lunar surface payload plan are openly solicited from the whole society, and the competition is currently being carried out.
China's eye-catching space program has always been hated by the United States.
U.S. analysts have described China's construction of a manned space station as "pushing the economic, technological and geopolitical competition between China and the United States into space."
Why are some American politicians so anxious?
Because for many years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States had no competitors in the field of space and was firmly in a dominant position. But in recent years, China has rapidly developed its own space capabilities, and American dominance is being challenged by China.
Isn't the "China Space Threat Theory" hyped up by some American politicians in recent years just a move to jump over the wall in a hurry?
However, everything the United States does is to live the belly of a gentleman with the heart of a villain, and China's development of the space industry is for the benefit of all mankind, not an "American-style hegemonic mentality".
In the future space station mission, China's manned space flight will actively carry out international exchanges and cooperation in equipment development, space application, astronaut training, joint flight and aerospace medicine with a more open attitude, and share the achievements of China's manned space development with other countries, especially developing countries.
Space will surely become a new starting point for mankind to achieve long-distance voyages!