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Chang'e-5 probe was launched by Long March-5 Y5 launch vehicle from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site at 4:30 on November 24, starting the conclusion of China's current three-step lunar exploration program of orbiting and landing, and bringing back samples. As China's first lunar probe bringing samples back to Earth, Chang'e-5 will land on the moon and then return to Earth after collecting moon samples. This is the most technically challenging space mission with the most complicated system composition in China.
In this lunar exploration mission, a series of high-performance and customized products, such as rendezvous and docking microwave radar, high-precision accelerometer and gamma shutdown sensor, developed and produced by CASIC, will play an important role in orbiting and landing, and bringing back samples in the Chang'e-5 mission. At the same time, as the "golden partner" of the Long March-5 launch vehicle, a series of products including fixed pulse instrumentation radar and high-performance composite materials developed by CASIC also once again contributed to the success of this launch mission.
Be a qualified "health monitor" of launch vehicle
CASIC has developed a variety of test and control equipment for Long March-5, and performed real-time "health monitoring" for such equipment during test, transfer and launch of the launch vehicle.
The PXI test combination of the power measurement and control system is the key link to obtain various test parameters of the power system. It feeds back real-time health condition of the power system of the launch vehicle to commanders through collection of data from sensors, thus providing support data for the launch command decision-making process of the launch vehicle. At the same time, the PXI automatic test, measurement, and control combination of measurement system serves as key ground-based TT&C equipment of the launch vehicle, realizing real-time monitoring of test and launch control signals and control of power supply and distribution. The environmental test combination for fairing is intended to always monitor the temperature and humidity in the fairing after the assembling of satellite and launch vehicle and before launch, to ensure that Chang'e-5 is always in a good environment.
Create the "first eyes" of flying observation
Within a few minutes after the liftoff of Long March-5 with tail flame, two fixed pulse instrumentation radars quickly collected the flight information of the launch vehicle to ensure that the command and control center could get the whole picture in the first time.
This is the first step of radar measurement. From the moment of ignition, the detection radars kept a close watch on the launch vehicle, just like two pairs of "eagle eyes". These two instrumentation radars are mainly used for exterior ballistic measurement of the ascending section during the launch, to provide the command and control center at the launch site with real-time accurate coordinate information (such as distance, azimuth and pitch) and radial velocity data of the launch vehicle.
Since the instrumentation radars are not affected by weather factors such as rain, snow and typhoon, they play a vital role in the initial stage of rocket flight observation, and have participated in dozens of flight missions including Long March-7 and maiden flight of Long March-5.
Guarantee "smooth flow between heaven and earth" by the filter
In this mission, Long March-5 and Chang'e-5 are both equipped with the SAW filters developed by CASIC. These filters are mainly used in TT&C, transponder and other subsystems to fully guarantee the signal receiving, processing and clutter filtering during flight.
Once there is any signal interference in spacecraft launching, it is difficult to distinguish accurate information received on the ground, just like you have a crossed line. SAW filters can effectively filter out higher harmonic, image information, transmission leakage signals and parasitic clutter jamming, ensuring that the command and control center at the launch site can clearly receive accurate signals.
To filter out unwanted signal interference and ensure smooth signal between the probe and the ground center, each filter has been crafted with great care. The narrowest line of SAW filter is 0.3 μm wide, equivalent to 1/200 of the diameter of hair. Every accepted high-quality SAW device must pass the test under a high-power microscope and undergo ultrasonic or plasma cleaning many times to ensure the reliability of its components.
Be an extraordinary "screw"
Long March-5, as the largest launch vehicle with the largest carrying capacity in China, is composed of thousands of complex systems. It can be said that every screw on the launch vehicle is the representative of CASIC's product quality. The series of products with high performance, high precision and high reliability developed by CASIC can be described as the "golden partner" of Long March-5. The high-performance composite thermal insulation materials with excellent thermal insulation performance are applied to the gas pipeline of the rocket engine to effectively protect the equipment and parts around the pipeline. The hydrogen turbine pump provides high-power hydraulic energy for the servo mechanism of the liquid hydrogen/oxygen engine of the launch vehicle. At the same time, CASIC has provided nearly 6,000 high-performance electrical connectors, relays, fans and motors for Long March-5, developed more than 40 types of metal hoses for the rocket engine piping system and servo mechanism, and provided more than 70,000 pipeline connectors, and special pipelines and valves of various models, as well as tens of thousands of high-performance fasteners. All these have provided support for this Long March-5 launch mission.
