With the successful launch of the Shenzhou 18 manned spacecraft into orbit, two crews of six astronauts conducted a space rendezvous, five of the six are post-80s, and it can be seen that the astronauts of China's manned space program are getting younger and younger.
The three astronaut crews of Shenzhou 18 entered the Chinese space station for the first time, and the space rendezvous of the crew of the Shenzhou 17 manned mission can only be regarded as a welcome ceremony, and the task handover of the two crews is even more ceremonial!
On April 28, the Shenzhou 18 flight crew, which has gradually adapted to the space station flight mission, and the Shenzhou 17 crew officially carried out a handover ceremony, in which the Shenzhou 17 crew commander Tang Hongbo handed over the symbol key of the Chinese space station to the Shenzhou 18 commander Ye Guangfu, which also means that the Shenzhou 17 manned mission has officially ended successfully, so the established task has been completed.
At the same time, it also means that the 6-month garrison mission of the Shenzhou 18 flight crew has officially begun, in addition to the conventional space test (experimental) project, it is also necessary to carry out multiple spacewalks, complete the reinforcement of the space station's meteorite particle protection plate mount, and also carry out the out-of-cabin inspection work according to the situation.
We know that the Shenzhou 17 crew carried out two key out-of-cabins during the orbit, and they completed the repair of the solar wing of the "Tianhe" core module, because the impact of meteorite particles caused damage to the surface of the solar wing, although it did not affect the normal working state, but through the experimental maintenance of the damaged position, we can accumulate experience, after all, the space station is not completely safe in space!
Now that the Shenzhou-17 mission in orbit has been successfully completed, there is only one key link left in the end, that is, packing up and going home.
According to the latest news, on April 26, the Dongfeng landing site has completed the last system-wide comprehensive drill of the Shenzhou-17 search and rescue recovery mission in accordance with the whole system, all states, and all processes. The search and rescue detachments and equipment and facilities are in good condition, and all the search and rescue personnel are ready, so it can be said that everything is ready to wait for the Shenzhou 17 crew to return safely!
On October 26, 2023, the Shenzhou 17 manned spacecraft was launched, so far the three astronaut crews of Shenzhou 17 have been in orbit for 187 days, and they will return to Earth on April 30, and are expected to land at the Dongfeng landing site at around 17 o'clock!
According to the plan, the Shenzhou-17 return will still adopt a rapid return and downlink plan of five laps and seven and a half hours, and the entire return process will take 50 minutes to complete the four stages of braking off the orbit, free coasting, re-entering the atmosphere, and opening the parachute landing. But the subsequent critical steps such as re-entry, passing through the black barrier and flying the parachute are crucial!
When the re-entry capsule re-enters the atmosphere, it will rub against the atmosphere at high speed due to its high velocity, and as a result, the surface of the capsule will heat up rapidly.
In the process of re-entering the atmosphere, the temperature of the re-entry capsule rises, and the highest local area can even exceed 1000 degrees Celsius.
However, the role of the return capsule is to bring three astronauts back to Earth smoothly, and it is naturally impossible to let the high temperature affect the astronauts!
Technicians apply specially designed materials on the surface of the re-entry capsule, which will sublimate and take away a lot of heat under the action of high temperature, which can also greatly reduce the temperature of the re-entry capsule, so even after the high temperature burning, the astronauts will not be affected, but the surface of the re-entry capsule will be burned black.
On April 30, Shenzhou 17 carried out the return mission, three astronauts have been in orbit for six months, successfully completed all the scheduled tasks, Shenzhou 17 manned spacecraft has also gone through six months of testing since its launch in October 2023, in fact, at the same time as the launch of Shenzhou 16, Shenzhou 17 is ready and on standby at the launch site.
Welcome the three astronauts of Shenzhou 17 to return safely in advance!
文/奇点三分钟，图片来源网络侵删。