Text: Zhao Gongzi
Editor|Zhao Gongzi
Sources: All of the information stated in this article is based on reliable sources, and is detailed at the end of the article
Preface
Whenever the development of China's aviation industry is mentioned, it always makes the Chinese people feel proud, and it is not easy to develop into the world's leading position in just a few decades.
From poverty to self-research of today's technology, the difficulties and twists and turns experienced can be imagined, and "successful launch" has also become synonymous with China's aerospace.
But in 2020, the mainland's launch vehicle failed twice in less than 30 days.
At that time, these were two major losses and lessons for the mainland's aerospace industry, and the reasons behind them were also embarrassing.
So, what happened back then, and what was the reason for the failure of the rocket?
The lesson of two failed launches
On March 16, 2020, this was the first flight mission of the mainland's Long March 7A rocket, which was located at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China.
In fact, as a launch vehicle with very mature technology, the stability and safety of the Long March 7 have been verified by time.
As early as 2016, the Long March 7 was successfully launched, which can be said to be a generation of medium-sized launch vehicles with relatively advanced technology in the mainland.
But what I never expected was that during this launch, there was an accident, and under the watchful eyes of all the aerospace staff, the Long March 7A rocket was successfully ignited.
Because the rocket technology is based on the original rocket, a new generation of medium-sized high-orbit three-stage liquid bundling technology is used, so there is a third-stage propulsion after ignition.
According to the monitoring data, the flight data of the rocket was perfect at the beginning, but more than 2 minutes after launch, there was a problem with the flight curve.
In the end, the Long March-7A rocket failed to take off, and after the launch failed, the staff did not have time to clean up their depressed mood and immediately plunged into fault analysis.
At that time, the First Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology immediately set up a team to analyze the possible causes of the failure as quickly as possible, and completed the scaling test.
Such operational efficiency directly provides a guarantee for the return to zero as soon as possible, and also ensures the normal progress of the resumption of the Long March-7 rocket to the Yaoyao-2 rocket.
But less than a month later, China's aerospace industry came out with shocking news, and on April 9 of the same year, another rocket launch failed.
At that time, at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, the Long March-3B carrier rocket carrying Indonesia's PALAPA-N1 satellite was about to be launched.
Screenshot from the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Group of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission in the Ministry of Justice
The above content is referred to from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission in the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Group of the Ministry of Justice on April 24, 2020 on the content of "Observation丨Forever Dongfanghong".
Screenshot from the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Group of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission in the Ministry of Justice
You must know that as a high-orbit carrier rocket with the largest launch capacity on the mainland and a very mature technology, the safety of the Long March-3B carrier rocket is guaranteed.
However, under the clear sky this time, after the three-stage booster of the Long March-3B carrier rocket separated, the rocket was abnormal.
Screenshot from Beijing Daily client
The above content is referenced from the Beijing Daily client on December 23, 2021 on the report on "Chang-7 series rockets: from the failure of the first flight to four launches in a year".
Screenshot from Xinjing.com
The above content is based on a report on April 9, 2020 on the "PALAPA-N1 satellite launch failed, and the wreckage has fallen".
In the end, the Long March-3B carrier rocket crashed, and the wreckage of the third stage of the rocket and the satellite fell to the ground, and the satellite launch was also declared a failure.
This time, he smashed his family's "signboard", and the two successive launch failures also made people mutter, what is the reason for this?
In fact, space launch is a very sophisticated and full of unknowns, and although the success rate of the continent's launch is very high, science is not 100% of the thing.
Just over 20 years ago, there was a major space accident on the mainland.
Once a shocking accident
In the early morning of February 15, 1996, the mainland was preparing to launch the Long March-3B carrier rocket.
Just a few tens of seconds after the rocket lifted off, the rocket was launched in a different direction, and finally the rocket crashed into a nearby hillside.
The crash is said to have caused a huge explosion and hundreds of casualties, but the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation immediately refuted the rumors.
In fact, the "2.15" incident did cause casualties, and the Associated Press reported on it, but the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation said that the Associated Press did not need to announce it.
As the most tragic accident in China's aerospace industry so far, the impact of "2.15" on China's aerospace industry is huge.
However, Long Lehao, who was the chief rocket engineer at the time, believed that if the mission was successful, it would be a great thing, and even if it failed, it would be a great thing.
Screenshot from China Youth Network
The above content is based on a report on China Youth Network on February 19, 2016 on "What happened to the first flight of the Long March 3B rocket 20 years ago?".
Screenshot from China Youth Network
After a series of improvement measures, the mainland finally relied on its own strength to complete the investigation of the rocket failure, and on August 20, 1997, it was successfully launched again.
It is the optimistic and persistent spirit of Chinese astronauts that has enabled China's aerospace industry to come step by step to where it is today and has a place in the world.
The Chinese astronauts have always adhered to a sentence that is: we cannot afford to fail, there is no way back, we can only succeed!
Before 2016, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation launched a total of 86 rockets and 138 satellites, with a launch success rate of 97.7%, creating the world's highest space launch success rate.
Screenshot from the website of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China
The above content is referred to from the website of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China on February 18, 2016 on "China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation:" The first flight of the Changsanyi rocket failed in 1996, killing 500 people
Therefore, every successful launch is particularly important for the development of the mainland's space industry, and even if the launch fails, it is not all a bad thing.
Nowadays, the mainland's launch vehicles are getting smarter and smarter, and they are able to intelligently correct errors.
Find the reason, and get better and better
At first, when there was an accident with these launch vehicles on the mainland, there were all kinds of messages uploaded on the Internet, and some people even thought that it was related to the interference of other countries.
It has even been pointed out that the U.S. Space Force completed the deployment of jamming systems before the two rockets were executed on the mainland in 2020.
But is this really the case? Not to mention whether the so-called jamming system of the United States can really interfere with the launch of the launch vehicle, it is not enough to just guess out of thin air without evidence.
Screenshot from Qin'an Strategy
The above content is referenced from the Qin'an Strategy report on April 24, 2020 on "What is the connection between the deployment of space interference by the US military in March and the subsequent failure of the Long March rocket launch".
What's more, after these accidents, the staff of mainland aerospace also actively investigated the causes of the accidents, and the iron still needs to be hard.
In fact, the two rocket launch failures also had their own reasons, such as the accident of the Long March 7A rocket, and the Jupiter Society published an analysis.
Screenshot from Qianjiang Evening News
Screenshot from Qianjiang Evening News
The above content is referenced from the Qianjiang Evening News on March 17, 2020 on "The failure of the first flight of the Long March 7A rocket is not necessarily a bad thing for China's aerospace".
The most mature technology of the mainland is the space engine, and the previous launches of the Long March 7 have been no problem, so the problem is likely to appear in the "tremor".
This phenomenon, also known as "longitudinal coupling vibration", is due to the fact that the thrust generated by different engines is different, and the resulting vibration phenomenon is very deadly.
Screenshot from Beijing Daily client
The above content is referenced from the Beijing Daily client on May 10, 2023 on "Intelligent error correction can be done in case of failure, and the Chang-7 rocket will be smarter in the future".
Today, the mainland's rockets have developed the Long March-7 Yao-7 carrier rocket, which is a big step forward in the direction of "smart rockets."
The smart rocket can ensure that even if there is a problem in the smallest details during the launch of the rocket, it can be quickly and intelligently corrected.
At present, the prototype has been developed, and it is believed that the rocket developed by the mainland will be able to go more smoothly on the road of aerospace in the future.
epilogue
The reason why the carrier rockets of the mainland's aerospace industry are named "Long March" is because they want to inherit the spirit of their ancestors and overcome difficulties and win victories.
Shao Yetao, the overall chief designer of the seventh model team of the rocket president, once said that we just have to go step by step, and the goal of smart rockets will definitely be achieved.
On the journey of the sea of stars, the mainland has never stopped!