At about 8:59 p.m. today (April 25), the Long March-2F Yao-18 carrier rocket carrying the Shenzhou-18 manned spacecraft was ignited and launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, successfully sending astronauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu into space, and the first manned mission this year was a complete success. The Shenzhou-18 astronauts will stay in orbit for six months and will complete tasks such as managing and caring for the space station.
The launch of the Shenzhou-18 manned spacecraft / from CCTV News
At about 8:59 p.m., the Long March-2F Yao-18 carrier rocket carrying the Shenzhou-18 manned spacecraft was ignited and launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The Chang-2F rocket has a total length of about 58.3 meters, bundled with 4 boosters, and has a take-off weight of about 500 tons, with a 100% launch success rate since its first flight.
Qin Tong of the First Academy of the Aerospace Science and Technology Group said that there are about 30 changes in the entire technical status of the Long March-2F Yao-18 carrier rocket, and in fact, not many new technologies have been adopted, but some improvements have been made to the reliability technology. In addition, some of the relatively large changes in the technical state lie in the rocket launch mission of one main and one backup, and the emergency rescue is carried out after the Yao-19 rocket enters the field, and the whole process has been optimized to a certain extent, which is more scientific and reasonable, and more compact.
The launch of the Shenzhou-18 manned spacecraft / from CCTV News
The Long March-2F rocket has the reputation of "magic arrow", undertakes manned launch missions, and has extremely high requirements for safety and reliability, so the Long March-2F rocket has a fault detection system and escape and life-saving system that other rockets do not have, so as to ensure the safety of astronauts at all times.
Qin Tong said that the fault detection system is used to diagnose the entire flight state of the rocket during the flight process, to see whether the rocket is working normally, whether there are some fatal faults that affect the lives of astronauts, and once the diagnosis of related fatal faults, it is necessary to start the escape and life-saving system to bring the astronauts to a safe area.
Once the rocket has a major failure during the flight, the escape and life-saving system will quickly take the astronaut's spacecraft away from the faulty rocket, and there are different escape plans in different flight stages, but since the first flight of the rocket, these two systems have never really played a role.
The Chang 2F rocket takes off/from CCTV News
The Shenzhou series of manned spacecraft is a "boat of life" for astronauts to realize the round-trip between heaven and earth, which is composed of an orbital module, a return module and a propulsion module, and is the spacecraft with the most stringent reliability and safety requirements on the mainland.
On the Shenzhou spacecraft, the power supply can be called the "heart" of the spacecraft, including the main power supply that provides electric energy for the entire ship's in-orbit flight, the emergency power supply that can ensure the safety of astronauts in key stages, and the return and landing power supply that provides electrical energy for the return capsule. On the Shenzhou-18 manned spacecraft, the main power energy storage battery was changed from a nickel-cadmium battery to a lithium-ion battery, with a battery capacity expansion of 30% and a weight reduction of about 50 kg.
Luo Guqing, the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Group, introduced that lithium batteries are smaller in volume and weight than nickel-cadmium batteries, more concentrated, faster charging time, wider temperature adaptability, and less harsh.
Shenzhou spacecraft launch/source CCTV news
After the Shenzhou-18 manned spacecraft is successfully put into orbit, three astronauts from Shenzhou-18 will be stationed in the core module of the space station, and six astronauts will realize the "space rendezvous". The Shenzhou-18 spacecraft once again carried out the difficult radial rendezvous and docking, which also marked the further maturity of the space rendezvous and docking GNC (guidance, navigation and control) technology independently developed by the mainland.
Luo Guqing said that there are still two docking interfaces left in the node module of the Tianhe core module, one is a radial docking interface and the other is a forward docking interface, and these two interfaces are used alternately by manned spacecraft. Last time, Shenzhou-17 docked at the forward docking interface, and the six astronauts were in orbit for the handover, first sending the three astronauts of Shenzhou-18 up, and then the Shenzhou-17 astronauts returned. The rendezvous and docking method adopted by the Shen 18 spacecraft this time is still autonomous and fast rendezvous and docking, and it is at the radial interface.
Shen 18 astronauts set out / from the People's Daily
This mission is the third manned mission in the application and development stage of the space station, and the three astronauts will stay in orbit for six months to complete the tasks of managing and caring for the space station, and will also implement the first in-orbit aquatic ecology research project in China.
Reporter Sun Yuan Editor Wang Chenchen Chief Editor Cheng Yan