In the past year, China has completed a record 67 launches. In 2024, China has set a new goal in space missions and strives to achieve a "daytime meteor". Now that another "giant dragon" in China has taken off, countless people are undoubtedly excited.
1. The Feitian combination successfully joined the division
On April 24, 1970, the mainland successfully launched its first artificial satellite and named it "Dongfanghong 1".
Although the satellite has long since completed its mission, it kicked off China's exploration into space.
Later, in order to commemorate this important achievement, China established April 24 as "China Space Day".
Less than 24 hours after the 9th "China Space Day", China "showed its sword" to outer space, which undoubtedly attracted widespread attention from the outside world.
(Shenzhou 18 was successfully launched and successfully stationed in Tiangong)
On the evening of April 25, the Shenzhou-18 manned spacecraft soared into the sky at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, and on April 26, it successfully rendezvoused with the crew of Shenzhou-17 in Tiangong, and also sent a "family photo of 6 people" to the earth.
From the image, we can see that 6 Chinese astronauts are shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand, and at the same time give a thumbs up to the camera.
This "6 consecutive praise family portrait" not only represents another success of China's space launch mission, but also represents the completion of a six-month space flight mission by the Shenzhou 17 crew, and will set off for return after completing the in-orbit rotation and handover with the Shenzhou 18 space crew.
(Tiangong sent "6 consecutive praise family photos" to the earth)
Second, there are highlights in the process of mentoring
In the process of the successful launch of Shenzhou 18 and the smooth rendezvous, there are three details worthy of our attention.
First, Shenzhou 18 lifted off with a load.
This time, the launch of the Shenzhou-18 manned spacecraft was different from usual, and it was the first time that it was lifted off with additional armor, which obviously many people will be puzzled by this.
Shenzhou-18 plans to stay in space for six months, during which time it will carry out two to three out-of-cabin walks, in order to complete an important task - to install armor on the outer shell of the space station.
As the first module launched into orbit of China's space station, the Tianhe core module has been in use for three years.
In the past three years, China's space station has not only been hit by space debris many times, but also left varying degrees of impact damage in many parts.
Now, Shenzhou 18 has been launched with additional armor, undoubtedly to enhance the space station's ability to protect against space debris and "extend its life" for Tiangong.
Second, the Shenzhou-17 space crew is in the same posture
In the face of the smooth launch of Shenzhou 18, the crew in Tiangong was also very happy, and they were waiting for the meeting with Shenzhou 18 for a long time.
Some netizens asked, during the waiting period, the three astronauts were in the same posture, all of them crossed their hands and embraced, is this the habitual action of astronauts?
Later, some professionals explained that after people enter space, they are in a state of weightlessness, and if they don't hold their hands, they will involuntarily float forward.
The posture of floating forward with the hand is not only unsightly, but also likely to affect work efficiency, so more often, astronauts will cross their hands to play a role in binding their arms.
(Weightless astronaut crosses his hands and embraces)
Third, Tiangong hugged each other excitedly after the meeting
After Shenzhou 18 was successfully stationed in Tiangong, the six astronauts also hugged each other excitedly.
This is not only to show the success of China's space mission to Earth, but also to express the excitement of the Shenzhou-17 crew that they are about to "go home" half a year after leaving their "hometown".
Obviously, it reflects the hardships of astronauts in completing space missions.
Third, the security protection of the space station has attracted attention
Nowadays, human beings are advancing space exploration more and more frequently, and space debris, as a product of human space activities, has gradually accumulated in the earth's orbit, forming the world's largest garbage dump.
These so-called "space junk" include not only failed spacecraft, rocket wreckage, operational debris, and disintegration debris, but also some small anomalous debris that is difficult to count.
Today, only 10 per cent of all man-made objects in space are operational, while the remaining 90 per cent are space debris.
Of all man-made objects in space, 12 per cent are failed spacecraft, 8 per cent are rocket wreckage, and 8 per cent are operational debris.
These space debris collide in space, causing disintegration to form disintegrated debris. And these disintegrated debris accounts for 60%, which is also the largest space debris in space.
There are even 2% of anomalous debris in space.
Previously, on the Canadian robotic arm of the International Space Station, a hole with a diameter of a few centimeters was punched by space debris of a few millimeters.
Thankfully, space debris only hits the robotic arm, and if it hits the core area of the space station, it is even likely to threaten the lives of astronauts.
Obviously, the security problems faced by space stations in various countries are becoming more and more serious.
(The security of the space station is becoming more and more serious)
Fourth, China is committed to the well-being of mankind
Obviously, with the current level of human technology, there are only three things that humans can do to temporarily alleviate the security problems of the space station, and China has clearly made achievements in this regard.
First, to minimize space debris.
The Space X Falcon 9 rocket is designed to be a recyclable medium-sized launch vehicle.
But in fact, the recyclable part is only the first-stage rocket, and the second-stage rocket has sent the satellite into space, and there is no way to recycle it.
Although it is not possible to fully recycle, the development of recyclable launch vehicles is based on the current technology mastered by mankind to alleviate the safety and protection of the space station to the greatest extent.
Not long ago, the chief designer of the Gravity-2 rocket of the Eastern Space Corporation revealed that the Gravity-2 recoverable medium and large launch vehicle is expected to have the first flight capability by the end of 2025.
Obviously, China's research and development on recyclable launch vehicles is also trying to achieve "corner overtaking".
Second, active defense.
In June 2016, when China launched the Long March 7, there was another "big guy" that accompanied it to space, and that was the Aolong-1.
AURON-1 is a space debris cleaning vehicle that China has successfully developed to control and reduce space debris as a signatory to the Outer Space Convention.
In space, it has successfully carried out space debris exploration, identification, tracking and operational experiments.
According to some sources, Aolong-1 is equipped with a robotic arm that can grab abandoned satellites and large pieces of space debris in space and bring them to the atmosphere to burn up.
This has undoubtedly laid the foundation for China's subsequent active purge.
(AURON-1 provides conditions for China's subsequent space debris cleanup)
Third, passive protection.
China's space station has already taken five passive protection measures.
First of all, it is necessary to use radar and other advanced equipment to improve spatial perception capabilities, reduce reaction preparation time, and make timely maneuvers to evade.
The second is to optimize the high-resolution optical inspection of the appearance of the space station, and check whether the outer wall of the space station falls off and cracks in time, so as to avoid risks in time.
Thirdly, based on the available data, it is necessary to predict in advance the vulnerable areas of the space station to be hit and add new protective devices.
Then there is the installation of a new impact leak detection and positioning system for the space station, which greatly increases the time for emergency response.
(China has adopted 5 passive protection measures for the space station)
Finally, it is necessary to seek international cooperation, regularly release the orbital parameters of the space station to the world, and establish close ties with the space of other countries.
Obviously, China's series of measures have effectively enhanced the common well-being of all mankind, and has continuously made new contributions to the world and played a positive role in promoting human development.