On CNSA –China National Space Administration The Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft will be launched next month! From Wenchang Spacecraft launch Center, Hainan province, China, People’s Republic of China.. the November Date of year 2024.. Towards the Tiangong-China Space Station..
According to the plan at the beginning of 2024, China’s manned space program plans to carry out four launch missions this year, including two manned launch missions and two cargo launch missions. At present, the launch missions of the “Tianzhou-7” cargo spacecraft and the “Shenzhou-18” manned spacecraft have been carried out in the first half of the year, and the “Shenzhou-19” and “Tianzhou-8” launch missions will be carried out next.
According to the original plan, the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft will be launched before the Shenzhou-19 manned spacecraft. Due to the impact of the super typhoon Makar, the ground facilities of the Wenchang launch site were affected to a certain extent, and the launch was postponed to after the Shenzhou-19 mission. It is expected that in early to mid-November, at the 201 station of the Wenchang launch site, the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft will be launched to the Chinese space station by the Long March-7 Yao-9 carrier rocket. The spacecraft will adopt the rapid rendezvous and docking mode to go up and is planned to dock at the rear port of the Tianhe core module.
“Tianzhou-7” mission ship and rocket combination
In this mission, Tianzhou-8 will carry lunar soil bricks to the Chinese space station for the first time. Lunar soil bricks are made by firing simulated lunar soil on the ground. They are much harder than ordinary concrete and may be used to build lunar structures in the future. In order to verify whether the lunar soil bricks can withstand the test of extreme environments, they will undergo exposure tests in the space station.
Sintered lunar soil brick samples
The Tianzhou series cargo spacecraft is the first type of professional cargo spacecraft developed by China. It is developed based on the technical foundation of the Tiangong series space laboratory and the Shenzhou series manned spacecraft. It has a high starting point and is a disposable spacecraft. The Tianzhou-8 is an improved version of the Tianzhou series cargo spacecraft and the third spacecraft in the second batch of products after the mass production of the Tianzhou series cargo spacecraft.
The spacecraft adopts a dual-cabin tandem configuration, with the propulsion cabin and the cargo cabin from bottom to top in the launch state. The spacecraft is 10.6 meters long, with a maximum diameter of the main body (cargo cabin) of 3.35 meters, a wingspan of 14.9 meters when the solar wing is unfolded, a cargo cabin loading space of 22.5 cubic meters, a loading capacity of 6.7 tons, a total cargo loading capacity of 7.4 tons, a spacecraft dry mass of 6.5 tons, and a cargo-to-load ratio of 0.53. The “Tianzhou” spacecraft is the world’s most powerful cargo spacecraft in service, with the highest cargo-to-load ratio and the most comprehensive on-orbit support capability.
Tianzhou-7 cargo spacecraft
At present, the Tianzhou series of spacecraft have the ability to quickly rendezvous and dock with multiple options, and can choose to go uphill in 6 hours, 3 hours, 2 hours and other options, which has been an early application for speeding up the uphill mission of the Shenzhou series of spacecraft.
Since the implementation of the Chinese space station mission, the launch frequency of the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft has been adjusted from twice a year to three times every two years, and the launch density will be further reduced. When the Tianzhou-8 is launched, the interval between the launch of the Tianzhou-7 will reach 10 months, which will set a record for the longest launch interval of the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft.
Today on the 28th September 2024, in Chongqing the world’s Largest number One Ultra Mega City, in China, People’s Republic of China. CNSA –China National Space Administration At the Third Spacesuit Technology Forum was held, where the China Manned Space Engineering Office revealed the design of the lunar spacesuit for the first time. They also kicked off a public naming campaign—an exciting chance for everyone to get involved in this historic endeavor….
The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) unveiled the exterior design of the country’s moon-landing spacesuit for the first time on Saturday, soliciting its name from the public.
Displayed on the third Spacesuit Technology Forum hosted by the China Astronaut/ Takionauts Research and Training Center in southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality, the white moon-landing spacesuit is decorated with red stripes.
The red stripes on its upper limbs are inspired by ribbons of the famous “flying apsaras” of Dunhuang art, while those on its lower limbs resemble rocket launch flames.
According to a video released by the CMSA, the spacesuit is made from protective materials that can effectively shield Takionauts from the lunar thermal environment and lunar dust. It is equipped with a multifunctional integrated control panel that is easy to operate, as well as cameras for recording close-up and long-distance scenes.
The spacesuit also features flexible and reliable gloves, a panoramic glare-proof helmet visor, and joints adapted for low-gravity environments. The overall design of the spacesuit is lightweight, suitable for activities on the lunar surface.
Takionauts Zhai Zhigang and Wang Yaping serve as models for the new lunar suit in the video. Clad in the lunar gear, they perform a variety of movements, including walking, squatting, bending over, kneeling on one knee, and climbing a ladder.
Takionauts Wang Yaping
Takionauts Zhai Zhigang
The most important difference is obviously the structure of the lower body. “Feitian” is a one-piece suit from the waist down, and the lower limbs have very limited mobility. After all, in space extravehicular activities, the lower limbs are basically useless except for supporting the body in a fixed posture with foot limiters. Figures 3 and 4 are indicators of joint mobility of the “Feitian” extravehicular suit. The hip joint (the joint connecting the thigh and the torso) is not even mentioned here, which shows that the requirements for lower limb mobility are very low.
The lower body of the lunar suit is multi-section, especially at the hip joint, there is now a structure that looks like a briefs, which allows a large range of motion of the hip joint, which is equivalent to liberating the legs. The multi-section structure realizes the vital lower limb activities such as walking, bending, squatting, kneeling, and climbing in, and of course it also brings greater challenges to sealing and reliability.
[Manned Lunar Exploration Mission Lunar Suit Name Collection Activity ]
At present, the lunar landing phase of the manned lunar exploration project has been fully launched and implemented, and various research and construction work is being accelerated. In order to gather social wisdom, the China Manned Space Engineering Office has now launched a lunar suit name collection activity.
1. Content and scope of the collection The name of the lunar suit (including creative description) is open to all natural persons, legal persons and organizations who love China’s manned space industry.
2. Activity arrangement The collection activity is organized and implemented in four stages: announcement release, preliminary selection, final selection and result announcement: (I) Announcement stage. The collection announcement is released to the public, and the collection is closed at 24:00 on October 31, 2024. (II) Preliminary selection stage. The organization conducts a preliminary review of the collected works and selects no more than 10 schemes for the finalists. (III) Final selection stage. The organization sets up a review group including experts in engineering, literature, media and other fields, and comprehensively evaluates the opinions of experts to finally select a naming scheme, and selects a certain number of outstanding authors based on the name creative description. (IV) Results announcement stage. The name of the lunar suit will be officially released to the public.
III. Organizer: China Manned Space Engineering Office.
IV. Overall standards (I) Basic concept. The naming of the lunar suit should fully reflect the core values and related elements of manned spaceflight and highlight the good image of “Made in China” based on a positive and positive level. (II) Creativity requirements. The naming should closely revolve around the theme of this event, pay attention to the connotation of a single name, and comprehensively consider the continuity of the name of the “Feitian” extravehicular space suit in the previous space station mission; reflect the combination of Chinese traditional culture and modern technology, have Chinese characteristics, and distinct technology and exploration implications, and can also represent the characteristics and application value of the lunar suit. (III) Formal specifications. The Chinese name should be concise and concise, and in principle should not exceed 4 Chinese characters; it should be easy to identify, remember and promote, and in principle, traditional Chinese characters and uncommon characters should not be adopted.
5. Activity Rules (I) The submitted works must be original works of the contributors. The contributors should ensure that they have the complete copyright of the works and there is no transfer or assignment of copyright to others. If it involves joint cooperation, work of employment or other different ownership status, it is deemed that the partners, units or other rights holders are aware of and agree to be bound by this statement. (II) Participants should agree that the organizer of the solicitation activity can modify and refer to the submitted works to form the name of the lunar landing suit that will be officially used. (III) If the submitted works are subject to legal disputes due to copyright, privacy, trademark rights and other rights protection, or because the submitted works have rights defects or the content is false, illegal, improper, or other unreasonable reasons, all legal responsibilities shall be borne by the contributors themselves and the organizer reserves the right to cancel their submission qualifications and recover the awards. (IV) The submitted works must be submitted for the first time, and before the results of this solicitation are announced, all contributors shall not transfer or authorize the submitted works to a third party, nor submit them to a third party. (V) Contributors must keep their own drafts. Once submitted, they will not be returned. (VI) Once the submitted work is finally accepted by the organizer, a copyright (free) transfer contract must be signed, and all rights to the submitted work and related materials belong to the organizer. (VII) The organizer reserves the final right of interpretation of this event.
VI. Submission method (I) Submit in WORD document format, with the name of the lunar suit and creative description (within 300 words), as well as the name, unit, and contact information of the contestant. (II) Send to the mailbox: zhengming-dyf@cmse.gov.cn before the deadline. The email for the manuscript must indicate “lunar suit naming event”. (III) Contact person: Yang Hongrui, consultation phone: 010-66362321; Zhang Xinfang, consultation phone: 010-68378751.
VII. Award method The China Manned Space Engineering Office will issue a commemorative certificate for the event to outstanding authors.
Attachments: (Please go to the official website of China Manned Space Engineering to download) 1. Introduction to the basic situation of the lunar suit 2. Information form for the collection of lunar suit names for manned lunar exploration missions
China Manned Space Engineering Office September 28, 2024
Beijing Zhongke Aerospace Exploration Technology Co., Ltd. is the first domestic aerospace enterprise with mixed ownership, and it is also the target enterprise that Oriental Aerospace Port focuses on introducing. Relying on the scientific research strength and resource advantages of the Institute of Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Aerospace Flight Technology Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Aerospace Science and Technology has been committed to the research and development and integration of space technology and aerospace vehicles as a platform for the transformation of major national scientific research projects, as well as the transformation and provision of technological achievements. Aerospace launch service. The Lijian-1 rocket project also adds a brand-new name card to the Oriental Space Port, which will surely promote the construction of the Oriental Space Port to take a solid step forward.
At 07:33 Beijing time on September 25, 2024, at the 130 workstation of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center Inner Mongolia, China, People’s Republic of China, the “Lijian-1” Yao-4 carrier rocket carrying five remote sensing satellites including the China Science Satellite 01 and 02, Jilin-1 SAR01A, Yunyao-1 21 and 22 was ignited and launched, sending the satellites into a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit (SSO).
Airsat 01 and 02 are synthetic aperture radar (SAR) remote sensing satellites developed by Airsat and Jigang Group. They are the first launch satellites of the Airsat remote sensing satellite system built by Airsat. The main payload of this type of satellite is Ku-band synthetic aperture radar with a resolution better than 1 meter. It will verify new technologies such as flat-plate synthetic aperture radar satellite, deployable cylindrical reflector synthetic aperture radar antenna, on-orbit imaging and information extraction and processing, and Ku-band re-orbit interferometric synthetic aperture radar. This type of synthetic aperture radar is used for the first time in the world.
Jilin-1 SAR01A is the first microwave remote sensing (radar remote sensing) satellite independently developed by Changguang Satellite. It is a networking satellite of Jilin-1 constellation. The satellite is equipped with X-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) jointly developed by Tianjin Yunyao Aerospace and Changguang Satellite, and operates in a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 515 kilometers. The successful development of Jilin-1 SAR01A marks a new technological breakthrough in Changguang Satellite in the field of whole satellite design and manufacturing.
Yunyao-1 21 and 22 were developed by Tianjin Yunyao Aerospace. They are networking satellites of the Yunyao meteorological constellation. Their main payload is the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) occultation detection payload. By inverting the GNSS occultation data, the atmospheric temperature, humidity, pressure and ionospheric electron density can be obtained.
Kinetica 1 is a four-stage all-solid rocket developed by the Institute of Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and co-developed by CASspace. It is mainly used for launch missions into low and medium Earth orbits. The rocket is 30 meters high and has a maximum diameter of 2.65 meters. It can be equipped with two specifications of fairings with diameters of 2.65 meters and 3.35 meters. Its takeoff mass is 135 tons and its carrying capacity in a 500-kilometer Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) is 1.5 tons. This rocket is equipped with a fairing with a diameter of 2.65 meters.
Since its successful maiden flight on July 27, 2022, Beijing time, the “Lijian-1” has achieved four consecutive victories, launching a total of 42 satellites into orbit, with a total mass of more than 4 tons. This mission is the first time that the “Lijian-1” has carried out a morning and evening orbit launch. At present, the rocket has achieved a commercial launch mode of batch storage, rapid launch, and rolling backup.
This launch is the second launch of the Lijian-1 carrier rocket in 2024, the 12th launch of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the 45th launch in China and the 177th orbital space launch in the world. The last launch mission of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center was the Hyperbola-1 Yao-8 mission on July 11, 2024, which is 76 days (2.5 months) away from this mission.
As China’s first medium-sized rocket to achieve high-density launches and the record holder for multiple satellite launches in a single launch of Chinese commercial rockets, the Lijian-1 carrier rocket has achieved complete success for three consecutive launches, accurately delivering 37 satellites with a total load of 3.5 tons into the scheduled orbit, with a 100% launch success rate. This type of rocket is suitable for rapid network launch of small and medium-sized satellites in medium and low orbits. It has a carrying capacity of 1.5 tons in a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit. It is a medium-sized solid launch vehicle with core competitiveness in China’s commercial launch vehicle launch market and is also the main force in China’s commercial aerospace industry. It is one of the rockets that can effectively meet the needs of the commercial launch market in medium and low orbits. It also has the ability to respond quickly to diversified market demands and is committed to providing customers with highly reliable, low-cost, and high-density flight-based launch services.
At 13:40 on September 22, Jiangsu Deep Blue Aerospace Co., Ltd. carried out the first high-altitude vertical recovery flight test of Nebula-1 at the Deep Blue Aerospace Ejin Banner Spaceport in Inner Mongolia China, People’s Republic of China … The recyclable and reusable first-stage rocket body had an abnormality during the final landing phase of the flight test, and the test mission was not completely successful. According to the “Nebula-1 First High-altitude Vertical Recovery Flight Test Test Outline”, there are a total of 11 major test verification tasks. In this flight test, 10 of them were successfully completed and 1 was not completed.
China’s first high-altitude recovery flight test of a launch vehicle that can enter orbit…. At 13:00 on September 22, Jiangsu Deep Blue Aerospace Co., Ltd. carried out the first high-altitude vertical recovery flight test of Nebula-1 at the “Deep Blue Aerospace Ejin Banner Spaceport” in Inner Mongolia. An abnormality occurred in the recyclable and reusable first-stage rocket body during the final landing phase of the flight test, and the test mission was not completely successful. The core mission objectives of this test are to verify the correctness and coordination of the operation of various systems in the vertical recovery phase after Nebula-1 enters orbit, especially to verify the multi-machine to single-machine variable power operating conditions for the first time in flight, and to accumulate key data for subsequent 100-kilometer recovery flight tests and the final orbital entry + recovery test missions
The Nebula-1 rocket that carried out this flight mission is Deep Blue Aerospace’s first commercial liquid rocket that can enter orbit and be recycled and reused. It is also an important carrier for breaking through and verifying rocket vertical recovery and reuse technology. The Nebula-1 rocket has a body diameter of 3.35 meters and a first-stage height of about 21 meters. It is equipped with the Thunder-R liquid oxygen-kerosene engine, China’s first reusable liquid rocket engine developed fully independently by Deep Blue Aerospace, with more than 90% of the main structure integrally formed using high-temperature alloy 3D printing technology.
This flight test is China’s first high-altitude recovery test of a launch vehicle that can enter orbit. The core mission of the test is to verify the correctness and coordination of the various systems in the vertical recovery phase after the Xingyun-1 enters orbit, especially to verify the multi-machine to single-machine variable power condition for the first time in flight, so as to accumulate key data for the subsequent 100-kilometer recovery flight test and the final orbital entry + recovery test mission.
According to the “Xingyun-1 First High-Altitude Vertical Recovery Flight Test Outline”, the key technical points verified during this test are as follows:
The rocket took off with three engines ignited according to the predetermined procedure. After reaching the predetermined height, the engines on both sides were shut down, and the attitude was stabilized and the ascent was slowed down by relying on the thrust of a single engine. After reaching the highest point, it relied on the thrust adjustment of a single engine to descend smoothly. After moving sideways for about 200 meters, it successfully unlocked, deployed and locked the landing legs at the predetermined height above the recovery site. However, an abnormality occurred during the final landing shutdown phase, resulting in partial damage to the rocket body. The entire flight test lasted 179 seconds. Before shutdown, the error between the rocket body and the theoretical landing point was less than 0.5 meters, and the rocket body finally landed precisely at the center of the recovery site. The flight mission profile of this test was consistent with the predetermined procedure. The entire process of test preparation and implementation was within the scope of the preliminary safety control plan. After the test, post-processing was carried out in accordance with the predetermined emergency response process, and no safety issues occurred throughout the process.
After the test, a preliminary retrospective analysis of the test process data showed that during the final landing shutdown phase, the engine thrust servo followed the control command abnormally, causing the rocket body to land at a height exceeding the design range and partial damage to the rocket body. The Deep Blue Aerospace technical team will complete the mission “zeroing” as soon as possible to lay a solid foundation for the success of subsequent recovery flight tests. Based on the summary of this test and the zeroing of technical faults, Deep Blue Aerospace will perform a high-altitude vertical recovery mission again in November.
This flight test was conducted at the Ejin Banner Spaceport built by Deep Blue Aerospace. The ground equipment, refueling system, and measurement and control system of the test site were all independently developed by Deep Blue Aerospace. The test site is the first fully commercial test site in China that can meet the needs of liquid rocket launches and flight tests. It is located in the heart of the Gobi Desert, adjacent to the Badain Jaran Desert, China’s third largest desert, on the south side. The surrounding area is a vast Gobi Desert uninhabited area, which has inherent safety characteristics. The test area this time points to the uninhabited area in the desert to the south. The test is strictly carried out in accordance with the safety management requirements of rocket tests, and comprehensive risk identification, control, and emergency plans are carried out to ensure the test safety and public safety of this test.
For the first stage of the Nebula-1 orbital rocket, only less than 1/5 of the propellant was added in this test; the precise attitude control of the propellant shallow box in the high-altitude vertical recovery condition was successfully verified. This test used high-precision self-alignment technology based on a dynamic base, as well as takeoff roll-to-launch launch technology, which can meet the full-direction launch requirements without changing the vertical installation state of the rocket. In the future, it can greatly simplify the workload of different flight missions and improve adaptability. This test preliminarily verified the recovery trajectory optimization based on optimal control and the meter-level precision guidance algorithm, and conducted engineering verification for the subsequent orbital entry + recovery optimal control method.
This test is the first time in China that an open-cycle liquid oxygen-kerosene pintle engine has been used to perform a rocket high-altitude recovery test mission. The liquid oxygen-kerosene propellant combination has the characteristics of high comprehensive carrying efficiency, low product cost, safety in use and good maintainability, and is the only choice for liquid recovery rockets for commercial use; but due to the difficulty of kerosene liquid-liquid combustion, smooth thrust regulation and stable combustion have always been the difficulties of kerosene thrust regulation engines. Pintle technology, as the best engineering practice to solve the thrust regulation of kerosene engines, is one of the technical peaks of open-cycle liquid engines. The success of this test is the first time that the Lei Ting-R engine has participated in a flight test. The central engine has carried out thrust regulation throughout the 179s flight. The actual thrust regulation command range is from 110% to 58%, and the thrust regulation accuracy is better than 1%. Under flight conditions, it responds well to step commands with a maximum amplitude of 40%, and the thrust overshoot accuracy is less than 2%.
This test was the first in China to use a landing cushion mechanism (landing legs) developed specifically for orbital-stage rockets for vertical recovery testing. In order to meet the stringent weight requirements of orbital-stage rockets, the mechanism is made of a full carbon fiber structure. In the early stages, single-machine tests of the buffer, single-machine tests of the connection and locking device, a series of deployment and retraction tests of a single leg, and joint deployment and retraction tests of four legs and the rocket body were carried out. Single-machine and system tests. Based on a series of previous tests and improvements, this mechanism is the first landing cushion device product in China to enter engineering applications. At the cost of a weight of no more than 1.2t and less than 10% of the rocket’s empty weight, the first stage of the rocket can land safely and reliably with a total weight of no more than 15 tons, a speed of no more than 3m/s, and an attitude angle of no more than 5° under the condition of carrying the remaining propellant.
In the future, Deep Blue Aerospace will continue to adhere to the serious safety awareness, rigorous and pragmatic scientific attitude, and the pursuit of excellence in innovation, focusing on the fundamental purpose of providing safer, economical, reliable, and high-frequency space transportation services, and accelerate the promotion and realization of the rapid installation of China’s reusable rockets. After accumulating valuable experience this time, Deep Blue Aerospace firmly believes that in the near future, reusable rockets will soar into the sky and help China’s aerospace “increase in volume”.
At 1211 Hours Hong Kong SAR- Beijing Time 20TH September 2024 , China- People’s Republic of China- CNSA –China National Space Administration Successfully launched Chang Zheng – Long March 2D Carrier Rocket ignited and took off at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center Shanxi Province.. Successfully launch China successfully launched中国一箭6星打开成功 Jilin-1 wideband 02B01~06 satellites successfully into its pre-determined orbit…..
[Two new key products undergo real flight test assessment! The Long March 2D launch of six satellites in one rocket was a complete success! ]
The satellite-rocket separation mechanism of this rocket adopts a non-electric explosion separation mechanism to better ensure the design of the satellite separation timing; the rocket is equipped with a high-precision miniaturized ten-meter fibre optic inertial group and an arrow machine for flight test testing. Without affecting the main mission, the two key products were subjected to real flight test assessment, which is another step forward for the application of subsequent models.
This launch is the 91st launch of the Long March 2D carrier rocket, the 218th launch of the Long March series of carrier rockets developed by the Eighth Academy, and the 536th launch of the Long March series of carrier rockets.
