- A
- A
- A
At 11:23 a.m. on April 29, the Long March-5B Y2 carrier rocket lifted off with "Tianhe Core Module" of China's space station from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site.
This is another historic moment in the history of manned spaceflight in China, following the successful maiden mission of the Long March-5B Y2 carrier rocket in May 2020.
Yuan Jie, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and President of CASIC, before the launch, specially organized a manned space mission mobilization and deployment meeting to mobilize and deploy units participating research and test and personnel involved in the mission, and during the launch of the mission, went to Wenchang launch site in person, to check the operation of relevant equipment and extend condolences to the staff performing the task.
As the deputy commander-in-chief of the manned space project, in this mission, CASIC played its own advantages in science and technology innovation, took the initiative in accelerating scientific and technological self-reliance and self-improvement, strengthened the support role of national strategic science and technology forces, and developed and produced a series of high-performance, customized products, helping the mission to be a complete success.
Everything for a safe "flight"
CASIC has developed a variety of ground telemetry tracking and communication (TT&C) equipment for the Long March-5B Y2 carrier rocket to "monitor the status" of the mission during the rocket testing, transfer and launch. The portfolio of PXI and TT&C system is the key link to obtain various test parameters of the power system. It feeds back real-time status of the power system of the carrier rocket to commanders data collected by sensors, thus providing support data for the decision-making of rocket launch command. At the same time, the portfolio of PXI automatic test and TT&C system serves as key ground-based TT&C equipment of the carrier rocket, 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 carrier rocket and before launch, so as to ensure a favorable environment for the Tianhe Core Module.
The two fixed pulse measurement radars developed by CASIC kept tracking the trajectory of the Long March-5B Y2 carrier rocket during its liftoff. A faintly pulsating dot of light on the represents actually a thousand miles. These radars were specifically tasked with the measurement during the ascending of the rocket, providing precise coordinate information such as rocket distance, orientation, pitch and radial velocity data in real time, so that once the rocket flight has deviated from the orbit, they can detect immediately. 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 served dozens of flight missions including Long March-7 and maiden flight of Long March-5.
In this mission, the sound SAW filter and choke coil developed by CASIC provide communication support services for the transmission system, communication subsystem and other key parts of the rocket. 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. The SAW filter can effectively filter out various interfering signals in different flight phases to ensure clear communication signal back to the ground. The choke coil is used to resist sudden changes in current of the equipment circuit caused by environmental changes, to improve the equipment's resistance to electromagnetic interference and to protect equipment reliability.
In order to filter out unwanted signal interference, to ensure reliable signal between the probe and the ground, each qualified and highly reliable sound SAW device was examined under high-powered microscope, and processed and cleaned in ultra-clean chamber even with the thinnest line equivalent to a few hundredths of the diameter of a hair.
The "right attitude" of Tianhe Core Module after entering the preset orbit was achieved by quartz flexible accelerometer and IF converter circuit developed by CASIC. The quartz flexural accelerometer is responsible for measuring the weak acceleration generated by the Tianhe Core Module engines in orbit and outputting it as a current signal, while its partner IF converter circuit is able to accurately "translate" this signal into a pulse signal, thus enabling the inertial measurement unit to which they belong to "know" acceleration and even velocity and position.
In fact, this pair of "CP" is actually the standard configuration for all the missions led by China's Shenzhou and Lunar Exploration, and is also widely used in aviation, ships, weapons, oil, geotechnical engineering and many other fields.
Small size, big role in guarding the "heart" of the space station
CASIC provides hundreds of crystal components for this launch, which will build a reliable "heart" for China's space station, providing strong support for the successful launch of Tianhe Core Module. Crystal components are often called as the "heart" of an electronic device, generating the frequency signals in the electronic device. These products have excellent features such as high reliability, small size, excellent indicator, low aging rate, and long life, providing time and frequency references for communication, navigation, and control systems.
The supporting crystal components are all "battle-hardened" and have successful flight experience in various types of missions. Especially with the gradual improvement of the performance of the space station, new generation of products with higher frequency and better performance indicators are used in the space station, for example, a type of differential crystal oscillator, applied to a load in the module, can output high-frequency signals with lower jitter and better stability, to help high-speed transmission and processing of signals within the space station.
The series of products with high performance, high precision and high reliability developed by CASIC can be described as the "guardians" of this mission. Installation and construction of gas supply lines guaranteed the steady supply to meet the related needs of the launch base. Special valves, various pipelines and tens of thousands of pipeline composite sealing connectors are widely used in all important parts of the carrier rocket to ensure the normal flow of "blood" in the rocket body. Two products, passive port of small mooring mechanism and breakaway nut, are used for the folding and unfolding of the connection interface of Tianhe Core Module and the robotic arm mechanism. Meanwhile, CASIC supplied thousands of (sets of) high-performance electrical connectors and relays for this launch mission. Motors, precision gear transmission components and hundreds of thousands of high-performance fasteners, supported this launch mission. It can be said that every seemingly "ordinary" product is a representative of aerospace quality and is playing an extraordinary and important role.
A series of new "black technology" products aboard the core module
The CASIC developed microwave radar, urine treatment subsystem and electrolytic water purifier, gas flow control valve, a new generation of mass measurement instrument and other core products, launched with the Tianhe Core Module, will play an important role in the subsequent space station missions.
The new generation of microwave radar as a medium- and long-range measurement means, will provide accurate range, velocity, angle information and communication data, to achieve long-range capture, stable tracking, accurate guidance for rendezvous and docking.
The urine treatment subsystem and electrolytic water purifier are important components of the space station's environmental control and life support system subsystem, which are the landmark products for the manned space station mission to support long-term astronaut stay in orbit, and are called China's super "purifier" above the stars, and are of great significance for the recycling of water resources on the space station.
The gas flow adjustment valve is installed in the Tianhe Core Module, to adjust the ratio of condensate and heat exchange flow by controlling the valve opening, so as to change the air heat exchange amount and dehumidification volume, thus controlling the temperature and humidity in the module, and ensuring that the astronauts in the module have a suitable working environment.
In addition, a new generation of mass measurement instruments can be used to measure the mass of human bodies and objects in the space environment. Long-life pumps, special piping and other series of products will continue to play a role in the subsequent operation of the space station.
