At 5:46 p.m. today (April 30), the return capsule of the Shenzhou-17 manned spacecraft successfully landed at the Dongfeng landing site. Astronauts Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie, and Jiang Xinlin were in good health, and the Shenzhou-17 manned mission was a complete success.
The astronaut crew successfully exited the capsule/CCTV news photo
At 4:56 p.m., the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center issued a return command through the ground tracking and control station, and the orbital module of the Shenzhou-17 manned spacecraft was successfully separated from the return module. After that, the spacecraft returned to the braking engine for ignition, and the return capsule separated from the propulsion module. Before each return to Earth, astronauts need to be well prepared.
Luo Guqing, the Fifth Academy of the Aerospace Science and Technology Group, said that the Shenzhou-17 spacecraft cabin will be inspected one or two times during the standby period of half a year, and all the equipment of the spacecraft will be turned on, and the equipment of the spacecraft will be powered on before evacuation, and the status of each equipment will be checked, and preparations will be made and the return will begin after reaching a safe distance.
The return of the Shenzhou-17 spacecraft/China Manned Space Office
After successfully entering the Earth's atmosphere and the re-entry capsule was about 10 kilometers above the ground, the recovery and landing process began, and as the parachute opened step by step, the re-entry capsule also landed firmly on the ground.
Jia He of the Aerospace Science and Technology Group introduced that the entire recovery and landing subsystem started to work from an altitude of 10 kilometers, first ejecting the parachute hatch cover to pull out the guidance parachute, and the guidance parachute pulled out the deceleration parachute, decelerating the speed of the return capsule from 200 m/s to 90 m/s. At this time, the parachute separates and pulls out the main parachute, so that the astronauts have a good feeling of the return process. Finally, the re-entry capsule slows down to 7-8 m/s, and the landing thrust reverser engine is activated by altitude judgment before landing, achieving a near-zero speed landing.
Parachute deceleration for the return capsule / China Manned Space Office photo
At 5:46 p.m., the return capsule of the Shenzhou-17 manned spacecraft successfully landed at the Dongfeng landing site, and the search and rescue team responsible for the search and rescue recovery task found the target in time and arrived at the landing site. In this process, various marking devices and communication equipment play an important role.
Jia He said that when the return capsule landed on the ground, it was equipped with a marking subsystem, as well as a related flash marking device, which realized the rapid marking of the return capsule at night through flashing lights. The capsule is equipped with seawater dye, and the position of the capsule can be determined by dyeing the water when it falls on the surface of the lake or on the water. The return capsule is also equipped with measurement and control communication equipment, including beacon machines and transponders, to ensure instant communication and rapid search and rescue of the return capsule.
The opening of the hatch of the return capsule / Photo of the China Manned Space Office
After this mission, astronaut Tang Hongbo flew in orbit for a total of about 279 days in two missions, setting a new record for the longest flight time of a Chinese astronaut in orbit. The three astronauts flew in orbit for 187 days, during which they carried out two out-of-cabin activities, and completed the maintenance of extravehicular facilities of a spacecraft in orbit for the first time.
Reporter Sun Yuan, Editor-in-Chief Zhao Mingcong, Editor-in-Chief Cheng Yan