Shenzhou spacecraft development site. Courtesy of the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
At 1:16 Beijing time on November 8, 2021, after about 6.5 hours of outgoing activities, Shenzhou 13 astronauts Zhai Zhigang and Wang Yaping safely returned to the core module of the Chinese space station "Tianhe", and the outgoing activities were a complete success.
This is the third spacecraft out of the space station stage, the first out of the cabin activity of the Shenzhou 13 astronaut crew, and the first time in the history of China's aerospace that female astronauts have participated in the cabin activity, which has attracted national attention.
What is less known is that behind every action and every detail made by astronauts in the sky, it is inseparable from the hundreds of simulations and drills conducted by the team of spacecraft engineers of the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation on the ground. This team is the closest simulator to the astronauts, also known as the "cosmic test drivers".
Astronaut's "stand-in"
Manned spaceflight, human life is at stake. From the design and production of The Shenzhou manned spacecraft, to the launch and return, the team of spacecraft engineers has always been the closest companion of the spacecraft.
In fact, since the development of the Shenzhou manned spacecraft model, the special team of spacecraft engineers has been born. The spacecraft engineer is not a separate position, and is often served by the overall designer of the system, the overall designer of electricity and the overall designer of machinery in the Shenzhou team.
Gao Xu, deputy chief designer of the Shenzhou manned spacecraft system of the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, told reporters that the various complex operating platforms and operating interfaces in the spacecraft cannot rely solely on the astronauts themselves to explore or carry out cold paper tutorials to learn, at this time, the spacecraft engineers have become the most vivid bridge between the spacecraft and the astronauts.
He said that the spacecraft engineers will use themselves as "stand-ins" for astronauts, and will replace astronauts in various testing work when the model is tested on the ground to verify whether the instrument display, manual operation, fault disposal and other aspects meet the requirements.
"As designers and improvers of aerospace products, we must be aware of every detail, and be familiar with every component on the spacecraft and every manual command in the test." Gao Xu said.
Testing is a routine job for spacecraft models, but for spacecraft engineers, entering the cabin often requires a change of role, operating the spacecraft as if they were astronauts.
Ming Zhangpeng, head designer of the Shenzhou manned spacecraft system of the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Group, compares this process to test driving, this car is not good to drive, you need to try again and again, ask questions, adjust, improve, help astronauts understand and be familiar with the "temperament" of the spacecraft, and ensure that every "boat of life" is safely returned.
"When we interact with spacecraft again and again, it's not just a product, we're connected to it." Ming Zhangpeng said, "In order to meet the design requirements of ergonomics and enable astronauts to work better, we need to shift from the role of designer to the role of the user, find problems with spacecraft products, and give feedback to the design team to achieve further optimization of product design." ”
More than a thousand times in ten years
From 2011 to the present, in the past ten years, the team of spacecraft engineers has guaranteed the launch mission of 6 models from Shenzhou 8 to Shenzhou 13 with zero mistakes, accumulating more than 1,000 times into the cabin.
"Since the beginning of the manned space industry, in the face of a large number of technical gaps, the manned spaceflight development team has not flinched, but has faced difficulties, with independent breakthrough technology as the goal, step by step, independent breakthrough and mastery of the core key technology of manned spaceflight." Zhang Bainan, deputy chief designer of China's manned spaceflight project, said.
Gao Xu, who graduated with a doctorate in 2011, has taken root in the overall position of the fifth model of the Aerospace Science and Technology Group since Shenzhou 9, and has also served as a spacecraft engineer. In the eyes of everyone, he is desperate for work.
"The team of spacecraft engineers, as well as the entire Shenzhou team, have always maintained high combat effectiveness, the manned spacecraft has 14 subsystems, more than 600 devices, in the face of such a complex system, we are always like a tightly united barrel, no one retreats, only rush forward, push things forward." Gao Xu said.
Spacecraft engineer Ren Changwei previously continued to enter the cabin for more than ten hours in order to cooperate with the test schedule. During that time, in addition to being exposed to electronic radiation, he also had to face the discomfort caused by the noise in the cabin and the heating of the equipment.
After all the models of Shenzhou spacecraft, Chen Tongxiang, who is currently the person in charge of product assurance of Shenzhou manned spacecraft, is very pleased to see the growth of young people, and at the same time, he is also distressed about these technical backbones that have grown up in experience.
She told reporters, "These young people all have a sincere heart and a pure child's feelings, and they can do whatever it takes to get the job in their hands, sleep less, and just for the sake of success." ”
"The work of each of us is directly related to the safety of astronauts, there is no similar option, we are all pursuing the ultimate!" Ren Changwei said.
"This year's young people can carry things"
According to China's manned space project plan, the space station construction stage will launch a total of 4 manned spacecraft from Shenzhou 12 to Shenzhou 15 to meet and dock with the core module of the space station, and perform the round-trip transportation tasks of astronauts and goods from space to space.
In this critical stage of decisive victory, the Shenzhou XII manned spacecraft returned safely, the Shenzhou XIII was successfully launched, and the Shenzhou XIV was on standby, and as the "rolling launch" mode was gradually established, the working pressure of the spacecraft engineers increased exponentially, but they were always optimistic about facing every mission challenge.
After xiao xuedi in the 90s, after graduating from Tsinghua University in 2020, he entered the overall design department of the fifth academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Group and quickly assumed the heavy responsibility of spacecraft engineer.
The operation of the manned spacecraft is complex, each task is often a combination of hundreds of manual commands and more than a hundred operating actions, and the instruction release requirements are extremely demanding, the minimum command interval is 5 seconds, each instruction must be minute by second, and there is no room for hesitation and sloppiness.
In the face of harsh operations that are difficult for ordinary people to deal with, after a year of experience, Xiao Xuedi has become a "veteran". Just after finishing the flight control mission of the Shenzhou XII manned spacecraft, Xiao Xuedi rushed to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center without stopping, and on the stage of manned spaceflight, he went from toddler to solid.
"The secret to the success of the mission is to carefully check the spacecraft operation guide before each time entering the cabin, leaving a dense mark on the detailed rules to ensure that the order and operation after entering the cabin are foolproof." Xiao Xuedi said.
Yang Haifeng, head of the flight control of the manned spacecraft of the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, was a little moved when mentioning these young spacecraft engineers: "This glorious concurrent work is accompanied by a heavy responsibility. The post-85s and post-90s who have recently joined the space team can carry things. ”
He still remembers the day when Shenzhou VIII was about to launch, at 5 o'clock in the morning, only 3 hours before the rocket launch, he and his colleagues climbed into the cabin through a connecting pedal on the launch tower to carry out the final status setting and inspection.
"Tens of meters in the air, rockets filled with hundreds of tons of flammable propellant, huge gaps around the connecting plate..." Yang Haifeng used several key words when describing this scene, "At that time, my heart beat very hard, excited, proud!" No worries because the whole team is protecting you and accompanying you through any dangerous moments. ”
In his view, it can be said that it is rare to be able to devote himself to the major project of manned spaceflight and personally improve the spacecraft that accompanies astronauts to the sky.
"It's historic work and it's a great honor for us as spacecraft engineers." Yang Haifeng said.
China Youth Daily, China Youth Network reporter Qiu Chenhui Source: China Youth Daily
Source: China Youth Daily