The Shenzhou-17 astronaut crew is scheduled to return to the Dongfeng landing site on April 30, and the air detachment responsible for the search and rescue mission has completed various preparations to welcome the astronauts home.
The search and rescue recovery air detachment shoulders the heavy responsibility of arriving at the scene first, and they must visually discover the return capsule as soon as possible, transmit image signals as soon as possible, and arrive at the landing site as soon as possible. Manned space search and rescue work requires high timeliness and accuracy, which not only requires search and rescue forces to provide accurate positioning with the help of scientific and technological means, but also requires rich search and rescue experience and sufficient training and drills to ensure that nothing goes wrong.
↑ During the preliminary training, the helicopter formation flew to the predetermined airspace. Photo by Chen Kai
Before this mission, the air detachment selected the best of the best, the echelon was matched with flight, maintenance, and support forces, the command aircraft adopted the "double captain" system, and the other crews were equipped with air navigators and mechanics to form the strongest lineup. They also carried out a "cultivated land" survey of the search area of the Dongfeng landing field, and accurately marked the information of obstacles such as power lines and jungles, providing a reliable basis for efficient selection of routes.
After being transferred to the Dongfeng landing site in late March, the air detachment conducted more than 10 training sessions, including airspace survey of the landing site, retraction flight training, night flight search and rescue training, and comprehensive system-wide search and rescue drills, to ensure that it could respond to various emergencies at any time.
↑ Helicopter training in the field. Photo by Chen Kai
"At present, whether it is the technical level of personnel or the performance status of equipment, we have the ability to complete the mission and are ready to welcome the astronauts home. Wang Yifan of the Shenzhou 17 search and rescue recovery air detachment said. (Li Guoli, Gao Rui, Li Hao)
↑ Maintenance crews perform maintenance on the helicopter. Photo by Chen Kai
Source: Xinhua News Agency People's Liberation Army Branch