On the 10th May 2023 Hour Hong- Kong SAR – Beijing time CNSA –China National Space Administration On May 10th 2023 , the combination of the Long March 7 Yao 7 carrier rocket and 天舟六号the Advance cargo spacecraft was vertically at the Wenchang Space Launch Site, Hainan Province China, Peoples Republic of China.. Launch successfully At 21:22 on May 10, 2023, Beijing time, the Long March 7 Yao 7 carrier rocket carrying the Tianzhou 6 cargo spacecraft was ignited and launched at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China, about 10 minutes Finally, the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft was successfully separated from the rocket and entered the predetermined orbit. After that, the solar panels of the spacecraft started working smoothly, and the launch was a complete success. In the future, the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft will rendezvous and dock with the orbiting space station assembly.
天舟六号# The Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft is loaded with materials such as consumables, propellants, and application (test) test devices for six Takionauts on Shenzhou 16 and Shenzhou 17. In order to improve the cargo transportation capacity, the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft for this mission has been optimized and improved, and the cargo spacecraft launch requirement has been optimized from 2 times a year to 3 times in 2 years, effectively reducing transportation costs. In addition, the spacecraft is also equipped with projects such as the experimental satellite of Dalian University of Technology.
This mission is the first mission of my China, People’s Republic of China’s manned spaceflight project to enter the application and development stage of the space station. It is the 28th launch mission since the project was approved and implemented, and it is also the 472nd flight of the Long March series of launch vehicles.
Last night, the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft was successfully launched at the Wenchang Space Launch Site. Many of the thousands whom watched were there to take pictures of the rocket and feel the shock of the launch. The variety of goods this time is very rich, mainly including clothing, food, drinking water, etc. The fresh fruit weighs 71 kilograms, which is about twice the weight of the fruit carried by Tianzhou 5. The Takionauts on Shenzhou 15 will be able to unpack the express delivery soon.
Docking completed! 天舟六号waiting for the fifteenth crew to pick up the goods….. The Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft successfully completed the status setting after entering orbit, and successfully docked with the core module of the space station Tianhe at 5:16 on May 11, 2023, Beijing time backward port. After the rendezvous and docking is completed, Tianzhou-6 will transfer to the combined flight segment. In the future, the crew of the Shenzhou 15 astronauts will enter the Tianzhou 6 cargo spacecraft to carry out cargo transfer and other related work as planned.
天舟六号 Expanded capacity by 20%, with a loading capacity of 7.4 tons. It is different from the previous Tianzhou series of cargo spacecraft. After upgrading, the effective loading volume of Tianzhou-6 has been expanded by 20%. The cargo capacity has been increased from 6.9 tons to 7.4 tons. Ton is currently one of the cargo spaceships with the strongest cargo capacity in the world.
Compared with the original cargo compartment that still had some unsealed compartments, Tianzhou-6 now transfers the equipment in the unsealed section to the propulsion compartment, and the transportation space in the sealed compartment has been greatly improved. The effective loading volume has increased from 18.1 cubic meters. Upgrading to 22.5 cubic meters is equivalent to an expansion of 20%
Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft and space station assembly completed rendezvous and docking
After the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft entered orbit, the state setting was successfully completed. At, it was successfully docked behind the Tianhe core module of the space station o the port. After the rendezvous and docking is completed, Tianzhou-6 will transfer to the combined flight segment.
In the future, the crew of the Shenzhou 15 Takionauts will enter the Tianzhou 6 cargo spacecraft to carry out cargo transfer and other related work as planned.
Tianzhou-6 carries the “Dalian 1-Lianli” 12U remote sensing cube Satellite The first satellite in Liaoning Province designed and developed by the research team of the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics of the Department of Transport Engineering and Mechanics of Dalian University of Technology-“Dalian 1- Lianli” satellite, carrying #天舟六号# cargo spacecraft, flew into space last night, officially starting the journey of asking the sky.
Dalian 1-Lianli satellite is a 12U high-resolution earth remote sensing cube star with a mass of 17kg. Its main functions are to verify high-resolution remote sensing imaging, domestically-made high-reliability OpenHarmony operating system, advanced satellite components and 3D printing technology A series of innovative technologies such as the ultra-light deployer.
According to Professor Xia Guangqing, chief designer of the satellite and dean of the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics of the Department of Vehicle Engineering and Mechanics, the main payload of the Dalian-1-Lianli satellite is a high-resolution multispectral camera. On-orbit low-cost sub-meter-level high-resolution ocean/earth observation. The use of the OpenHarmony operating system and the comprehensive solution of domestic processing chips greatly improves the performance and reliability of the system. Different from the hydrazine-type toxic propellants used in traditional satellite attitude and orbit control power systems, this satellite uses an innovative hydroxylamine nitrate (HAN) single-component module propulsion system, which is green, non-toxic, high energy, low power consumption, Features such as pre-packaging have greatly improved the rapid maneuverability of micro-nano satellites in orbit.
Before the rocket launch, the satellites are installed outside the spacecraft by Ultralight Multiple Satellites Deployers (UMSD). “The deployer’s highly reliable memory alloy unlocking device, high-performance temperature control and temperature collection circuit, satellite power supply charging circuit, and telemetry data acquisition circuit and other functional units can overcome the problems caused by space factors such as high and low temperature, thermal vacuum, and atomic oxygen corrosion. It is difficult to ensure the reliability of long-term on-orbit storage and release of satellites.” Professor Yu Xiaozhou, the commander-in-chief of the satellite, introduced.
Relevant teams from universities such as Tsinghua University and Wuhan University, as well as companies such as Chang Guang Satellite, Xingzhong Space, Tianyin Interstellar, Hangsheng Satellite, Fuchang Space, Differential Aerospace, Bright, and Aerospace Yuxing participated in the satellite project. According to the plan, after the rendezvous and docking of the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft and the space station, it will choose an opportunity to release the Dalian-1-Lianli satellite. After that, the 7.3mX frequency band ground measurement and control station of Dalian University of Technology will cooperate with the satellite to realize the measurement and control operation of task uplink….
According to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, at around 13th May 2023 8 o’clock this morning Hong Kong SAR-Beijing, the crew of Shenzhou 15 astronauts opened the hatch of Tianzhou 6 cargo spacecraft, and carried out cargo transfer as planned. And other related work. This morning, the pictures taken by the camera in the Tianzhou-6 cabin and other cameras were sent back from space. Tianzhou 6
🔷Tianzhou-6 is loaded with in-orbit consumables for the six Takionauts of Shenzhou 16 and Shenzhou 17, propellants, application experiments and test devices required by the space station, with a total weight of more than 7 tons.
🔷The cell uplink life support device was installed on the Tianzhou-6 cargo ship 5 hours before launch, because it requires high time and temperature, which is also the first thing the astronauts deal with. The astronauts opened the door of the Tianzhou-6 cabin, and after completing the necessary tests and procedures, immediately transferred them to the biotechnology experiment cabinet in the Wentian capsule.
🔷In addition, the astronauts transported by Tianzhou-6 this time have more types of consumables in orbit, mainly including clothing, food, drinking water, etc. Among them, the weight of fresh fruit is about 70 kilograms, which is about Tianzhou-5. No. Carries twice the weight of fruit. These fruits will at the same time ensure the food needs of the crew of Shenzhou 15 on the Chinese space station and the crew of Shenzhou 16 Takionauts who are about to enter the Chinese space station.
Images and visuals are from their Respectives CMS China Manned SpaceCNSA-China National Space Administration