Beijing, 8 Nov (China News Network) -- On 8 November, astronauts Zhai Zhigang and Wang Yaping carried out the first outgoing activity of the Shenzhou 13 astronaut crew and successfully completed the installation of the mechanical arm cascade device. Behind every action of the astronauts is the effort of the spacecraft engineer team of the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Group to conduct hundreds of simulation exercises on the ground.
"Spaceship Test Driver"
Since the development of the Shenzhou manned spacecraft model, the special identity of the spacecraft engineer has been born. The spacecraft engineer is not a separate position, and is often concurrently served by the system general, electrical and mechanical overall designers in the Shenzhou team of the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Group.
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. The various complex operating platforms and operating interfaces in spacecraft cannot be learned only by the astronauts themselves or by comparing paper tutorials. The spacecraft engineers will act as a stand-in for the astronauts, and will replace the astronauts in various tests 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, the overall deputy chief designer of the Shenzhou manned spacecraft system of the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Group, 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 an astronaut. Ming Zhangpeng, the chief designer of the Shenzhou manned spacecraft system of the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Group, compared this process to a test drive, helping astronauts understand and familiarize themselves with the "temperament" of the spacecraft and ensuring the safe return of each "boat of life".
"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 user, identify problems with spacecraft products, and provide feedback to the design team to achieve further optimization of product design." Ming Zhangpeng said.
"This year's young people can resist things"
Shenzhou XII returned safely, Shenzhou XIII was successfully launched, Shenzhou XIV was on standby, and as the "rolling launch" mode was gradually established, the working pressure of the spacecraft engineers multiplied, but they were always optimistic about facing every mission challenge.
"Post-90s" Xiao Xuedi, just entered the overall design department of the fifth academy of the Aerospace Science and Technology Group in 2020, and quickly took on the heavy responsibility of spacecraft engineers. 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 the harsh operation that is difficult for ordinary people to deal with, Xiao Xuedi, who is already a "veteran" after a year of training, is full of confidence, "the secret to ensure the success of the mission is to carefully check the spacecraft operation guide before each entry into the cabin, and leave a dense mark on the detailed rules to ensure that the order and operation after entering the cabin are foolproof." ”
"This glorious part-time job is accompanied by a mountain of heavy responsibilities. This year's young people can resist things. Yang Haifeng, head of flight control of the manned spacecraft, was a little moved when he mentioned these young spacecraft engineers. 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 was historic work and their supreme honor as spacecraft engineers.
In the past ten years, it has entered the cabin more than 1,000 times
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 space project, looks back on the glory years and is confident.
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. 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 said, "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." (End)
Source: China News Network