On the day Tuesday of Hong Kong SAR- Beijing Time 22nd October 2024 CNSA –China National Space Administration , China, People’s Republic of China At 0745 Hong Kong SAR- Beijing Time , the Chang Zheng -Long March 2F Yao 19 carrier rocket successfully deployed to the launch complex at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Inner Mongolia, China, People’s Republic of China.. in that readiness
神舟十九号The Shenzhou 19 manned spacecraft and the Long March 2F Yao 19 carrier rocket combination have been transferred to the launch area. At present, the launch site facilities and equipment are in good condition. The subsequent pre-launch functional inspections, joint tests and other work will be carried out as planned, and the launch is scheduled to be carried out in the near future.
According to CCTV news on January 18, 2024, Yang Liwei, deputy chief designer of China’s manned space program, said that the six Takionauts for the Shenzhou-18 and Shenzhou-19 flight crews have been confirmed and are undergoing targeted training. In addition, China’s manned lunar landing will be accelerated and steadily advanced. In February, the China Manned Space Engineering Office announced that the Shenzhou 19 manned flight mission will be carried out in 2024. The astronaut crew has been selected and is currently undergoing mission training. According to the October manned spaceflight calendar released by the China Manned Space Engineering Office, China plans to launch the Shenzhou 19 manned spacecraft in late October to welcome back the Shenzhou 18 crew.
In October 2024, Yang Liwei said that the Shenzhou-19 crew training program had been completed and they were currently checking for deficiencies and making up for them in order to get into the best possible condition in preparation for the launch at the end of the month..
The Shenzhou 19 manned spaceflight mission logo is a red, yellow and blue circular logo composed of the Chinese space station, the Shenzhou manned spacecraft, the earth and the starry sky. The number “19” incorporates the elements of a Chinese dragon, dancing and rising. There are 19 stars around it, corresponding to the Shenzhou 19 manned spaceflight mission, and together they reflect the prosperity of China’s space industry
27th October 2024
[Shenzhou 19 completes full system rehearsal]
The Shenzhou 19 ship-rocket combination was transferred to the launch area on the 22nd of this month, and is scheduled to be launched at an appropriate time in the near future. Today, the launch site organized various units to carry out a full system rehearsal.
All positions of the test and launch system of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center participated in this rehearsal. Under the unified dispatch of the launch site system, the tower, rocket, spacecraft and other subsystems carried out functional inspections, and implemented a full-process simulation exercise from flight preparation, ignition and takeoff to ship-rocket separation. The three astronauts of Shenzhou 19 performed the flight mission in accordance with the process simulation. After entering the spacecraft’s return capsule, they began a joint inspection and test of people, ships, rockets, and the ground, and completed all key operations of the standby and takeoff stages during the rocket’s simulated takeoff. The astronaut system also carried out preparatory work such as medical examinations of the crew, and conducted 1:1 rehearsals of tasks such as the departure ceremony, cabin status settings, and post-entry procedures
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.
Static test of composite cabin of “Lijian-2” liquid launch vehicle
Before July 29, 2024, the static test of the composite cabin of the “Lijian-2” liquid launch vehicle was successful. This test mainly verifies whether the structural scheme meets the design requirements under the maximum design load and assesses the feasibility of the composite scheme. Since the beginning of this year, the development of the “Lijian-2” rocket has been rapidly advanced and is steadily moving towards its first flight.
“Lijian-2” is a medium-sized cryogenic liquid carrier rocket developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CAS Space). It adopts a two-and-a-half-stage configuration. The take-off stage adopts a CBC configuration, in which the core first stage and two core first stage module boosters are bundled side by side, and the core second stage is connected in series on the core first stage.
The first stage of the rocket core is equipped with three YF-102 liquid oxygen-kerosene engines, adopting an open gas generator cycle and a pump-front swing design, supporting double swing of ±6°, a single sea level thrust of approximately 85 tons (835 kN), a sea level specific impulse of 275.5 seconds, and a thrust-to-weight ratio of not less than 130; the two boosters are configured basically the same as the first stage of the core; the second stage of the core is equipped with a YF-102V liquid oxygen-kerosene engine with a thrust of approximately 72 tons (710 kN), which can achieve 55%~100% variable thrust, a vacuum specific impulse of 320 seconds (throttling)~330 seconds, and support repeated starts for no less than 2 times.
Schematic diagram of the Force Arrow II
The entire rocket of “Force-2” is 52 meters high. The diameters of the core stage, core stage and booster are all 3.35 meters. It is equipped with a fairing with a diameter of 4.2 meters. The take-off mass is 625 tons and the take-off thrust is 766 tons. Its low-Earth orbit (LEO) carrying capacity is 12 tons and its 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) carrying capacity is 8 tons.
The ultimate goal of “Force Arrow II” is to become a reusable launch vehicle, realize multiple recovery and reuse of the core stage and boosters, and support reuse more than 20 times. The three-core parallel launch stage of the arrow will implement cluster separation and cluster recovery. The convenience lies in that it only needs to be equipped with a flight control system and a recovery and landing system, the latter includes a set of sang rudders and a set of landing legs. Two of the four sang rudders are distributed in the core stage, and the other two are distributed in the boosters. Two of the four landing legs are distributed in the core stage, and the other two are distributed in the boosters. According to the plan, “Force Arrow II” will realize the recovery of the core stage and booster modules in 2028.
The first flight is to launch a cargo spacecraft
Since the proposal, the “Lijian-2” has undergone major changes in the plan. The current design is very different from the previous single-stage plan, and the first flight has been postponed for several years. According to the plan, in August 2025, the “Lijian-2” will make its first flight at the No. 2 station of the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site, and the takeoff stage will not be recovered.
The first flight mission of “Lijian-2” carried a heavy-duty cargo spacecraft. The cargo spacecraft was developed by the Microsatellite Innovation Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In the bidding for the overall plan of the low-cost cargo transportation system for the Chinese space station released by the China Manned Space Engineering Office in May 2023, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Satellite Innovation Institute jointly carried out ship-rocket joint demonstration and key technology research, and carried out the “ship-rocket-cargo” integrated space-to-earth transportation system plan design. With the ship-rocket collaborative solution of the low-cost cargo spacecraft and the “Lijian-2” rocket, it was successfully shortlisted in the bidding and entered the detailed design stage of the plan.
The launch mission of the low-cost cargo spacecraft to be carried out by the Lijian-2 rocket is the first time that a Chinese commercial aerospace enterprise has participated in the development and launch of a low-cost cargo transportation project for the Chinese space station. If it is finally selected, the Lijian-2 will become China’s first commercial rocket to carry out manned space missions, which will also be a recognition of the reliability of the Lijian-2.
Build your own advantages by networking for the constellation!
As a commercial aerospace enterprise, China Aerospace Science and Technology is targeting the vast commercial space launch market, especially the low-orbit satellite constellation launch service market. my country’s currently planned low-orbit constellation contains tens of thousands of satellites, which require launch vehicles to provide large-capacity, high-frequency, low-cost, and high-reliability launch services. Compared with China’s liquid commercial rockets of the same level, the “Lijian-2” rocket does not have an advantage in capacity, but it can work hard on high frequency, low cost, and high reliability.
Create high-frequency launches. At the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Center in China, two launch stations have been built. Both stations have a designed launch capacity of 16 times per year. Station 2 is a general-purpose station that needs to support the launch of more than a dozen types of rockets, which is far from enough for high-frequency launches. In addition to using Hainan Commercial Launch Station 2, China Science and Technology Aerospace is building a dedicated technical preparation plant at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and is about to build a dedicated launch station for the “Lijian-2” rocket. Based on self-built stations, China Science and Technology Aerospace will be able to achieve dozens of launch frequencies per year.
The core secondary box section of “Lijian-2”
Achieve low cost. “Lijian-2” uses a lot of mature technologies. The main power is all YF-102 series engines. All stages use mainstream tank modules with a diameter of 3.35 meters. It uses the same avionics system as “Lijian-1”. The application of mature and common technologies means that costs can be greatly reduced. At the same time, simplifying the design is another important way to control costs. For example, the core second-stage box section takes into account the functions of the traditional liquid rocket instrument cabin and cancels the core second-stage instrument cabin, which simplifies the cabin structure and saves materials.
Achieve high reliability. While applying mature and general technologies, the power system and avionics system adopt redundant design, and the separation scheme is simple, making the rocket highly reliable. For example, the launch stage of the rocket is equipped with 9 YF-102 engines, with a single sea level thrust of about 85 tons, a total rocket takeoff thrust of 766 tons, a takeoff mass of 625 tons, and a thrust-to-weight ratio of 1.23, achieving a large power redundancy, and can complete the launch mission in the event of one engine failure.
Schematic diagram of the heavy-duty “Force Arrow II”
Building a stronger model
After my country’s low-orbit constellation enters the large-scale networking period, the intensive networking and launch of tens of thousands of satellites requires a large-scale reusable launch vehicle, but the current “Lijian-2” has obviously insufficient capacity.
Based on the Lijian-2, China Aerospace Science and Technology will develop a more powerful “Lijian-2” heavy-lift launch vehicle (called “heavy”, but actually large). The latter is based on the former and adds two core-stage module boosters to achieve five cores in parallel (5CBC). The “Lijian-2” heavy-lift rocket is 56 meters high, with optional fairings of 4.2 meters and 5 meters in diameter, a takeoff mass of 913 tons, a low-Earth orbit (LEO) capacity of 22 tons, and a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) capacity of 15 tons. The core stage and booster can be reused more than 20 times.
In general, the “Force-2” will be a high-quality rocket that can meet market demand to a large extent. Facing the needs of constellation network launches, with its advantages of high frequency, low cost and high reliability, the “Force-2” is bound to become one of the main near-Earth “flights”.
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.
In 2028, take a trip to space! Come and experience the space tourism capsule first｜High-quality development research trip
[China Aerospace’s “space travel vehicle” will make its first flight in 2027, and manned space travel will be carried out in 2028]
The space travel vehicle uses a combination of a single-stage rocket and a tourist cabin. The tourist cabin has 4 panoramic windows and can accommodate 7 passengers in a single flight. Passengers. During the 10-minute flight, passengers will cross the Kármán Line at an altitude of 100 kilometers and experience the feeling of weightlessness that escapes the earth’s gravity for 3 minutes. Finally, the tourist capsule will land via parachute.
The project meets a 100-hour launch cycle each time, and the supporting aerospace theme park will have 10 space tourism aircraft on standby to perform space travel experiences in shifts. The landing site for aircraft launch and recovery will be planned and constructed in coordination with the aerospace theme park, space experience hall and aerospace science education base. Passengers will also receive short-term training in the park before flying.
With the development of China, People’s Republic of China aerospace technology, it is no longer a dream for the public to travel to space. On May 15, the 2024 “High-Quality Development Research Tour” Guangdong-themed interview event came to the Zhongke Aerospace Flight Technology Industrialization Base in Nansha District, Guangzhou. Here, reporters experienced a 1:1 replica of the space tourism capsule and learned that in 2028, passengers may be able to take a real rocket to sub orbit and experience the feeling of weightlessness.
According to the staff of Guangzhou Zhongke Aerospace Exploration Technology Co., Ltd. (referred to as “Zhongke Aerospace”), the suborbital vehicle that will take passengers to space will use a combination of a single-stage rocket and a tourist cabin. The tourist cabin will have four panoramic windows. , can carry 7 passengers on a single flight. During the 10-minute flight, passengers will cross the Kármán Line at an altitude of 100 kilometers and experience the feeling of weightlessness that escapes the earth’s gravity for 3 minutes. Finally, the tourist capsule will land via parachute.
The project meets a 100-hour launch cycle each time, and the supporting aerospace theme park will have 10 space tourism aircraft on standby to perform space travel experiences in shifts. The landing site for aircraft launch and recovery will be planned and constructed in coordination with the aerospace theme park, space experience hall and aerospace science education base. Passengers will also receive short-term training in the park before flying.
According to the reporter’s understanding, with the continuous advancement of technology, the ticket prices for space travel will continue to decrease, giving the public the opportunity to travel in space.
CG video of China’s manned moon landing— plans to realize the first Chinese landing on the moon before 2030, carry out lunar scientific investigations and related technical experiments, and make breakthroughs and master key technologies such as manned ground-to-moon round trips, short-term stays on the lunar surface, and joint man-machine exploration , form an independent manned lunar exploration capability, promote manned spaceflight technology from near-Earth to deep space, and greatly enhance China’s ability to enter space and use space. The main process of the manned mission to the moon is: first launch the lunar lander, the lunar lander is parked in the orbit around the moon, and then launch a new generation of manned spacecraft, and the spacecraft and the lander will rendezvous and dock in the orbit around the moon. Astronauts enter the lander from the spaceship, the lander separates from the spaceship and descends to the lunar surface, and the astronauts carry out activities on the lunar surface. After that, the Takionauts took off and ascended on the lander to dock with the spacecraft, and the astronauts entered the spacecraft. After the spacecraft separated from the lander’s lunar module, it returned to Earth….
Basic introduction of manned lunar exploration missions and aircraft— the new generation of manned spacecraft is a new type of space-to-earth round-trip transport aircraft that is fully upgraded and developed on the basis of Shenzhou spacecraft. It adopts a modular design and consists of a return module and a service module. It is mainly used for my country’s manned lunar exploration missions, taking into account the operation of near-Earth space stations. It has the characteristics of high safety, high reliability, multi-mission support, and reusability. The lunar landing mission can carry 3 Takionauts to and from the ground and orbit around the moon. Earth-orbit missions can carry seven astronauts to and from the ground and the space station.
The lunar lander is a newly developed extraterrestrial celestial body manned descent and ascent vehicle, which consists of a lunar module and a propulsion module. It is mainly used to transport astronauts between the lunar orbit and the lunar surface. It can carry 2 Takionauts back and forth, and can carry lunar rover and scientific payload. It has high safety, high reliability, high lunar landing accuracy, and strong ability to adapt to the lunar surface environment. With other characteristics, it is the lunar surface life center, energy center and data center for astronauts after landing on the moon, supporting lunar surface residency and lunar surface activities….
The lunar rover mounted on the lunar module The Chinese manned lunar rover weighs about 200 kilograms, and can take two astronauts to carry out lunar sampling and corresponding lunar surface experiments within a range of 10 kilometers.
长征十号 At 22nd 23rd July 2023 Hong Kong SAR- Beijing time , China- People’s Republic of China- CNSA –China National Space Administration Successfully Carrier Rocket engine tested for the New Next Generation Chang Zheng – Long March 10 Manned Lunar mission landing Carrier rocket freighter The main engine of China’s manned lunar landing rocket Long March 10 completed another ignition test run yesterday, which verified all the requirements of the rocket mission for the engine, and provided strong support for the solidification of the engine’s technical status, the establishment of product technology baselines, and the improvement of reliability.
The engine used in this test run uses advanced liquid oxygen kerosene as fuel, which is improved and iterated from the high-thrust liquid oxygen kerosene engine used by the new generation of launch vehicles such as the active Long March 5, with a thrust of 130 tons. (The Sixth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Group)
Created with GIMP
The reporter learned from China Aerospace Science and Technology Group Co., Ltd. on July 23 that the main engine of my country’s manned moon landing rocket was tested in the Fengzhou Test Area of the Sixth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, and achieved continuous success. This test run verified the engine flight mission profile, and provided strong support for the solidification of the engine technical state, the establishment of the product technical baseline, and the improvement of reliability.
The engine is the power source of the rocket, and its development process is very complicated. Test run is an important link in the engine development process, and there are dozens of types. In layman’s terms, engine test run is the process of igniting the engine and verifying the rationality of its design scheme and process reliability. This is an indispensable and important part of the development and delivery of a type 1 engine. It will run through all stages before and after engine development. Each stage of test run has different meanings, and the ignition time varies from a few seconds to hundreds of seconds.
It is reported that the engine used in this test run uses advanced liquid oxygen kerosene as fuel, which is improved and iterated from the high-thrust liquid oxygen kerosene engine used by the new generation of launch vehicles such as the Long March 5. The thrust reaches 130 tons. The R&D team of the Sixth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Group adheres to the concept of digital design, and has successively overcome key technical problems such as engine start-up and shutdown sequence, engine wide-range continuously variable thrust, and engine long life and high reliability.
In addition, the continuous success of the test run has fully verified the reliability of a number of new carrying process technologies. The engine production of this test run adopts the concept of intelligent manufacturing, and actively applies new materials, new processes, and new technologies. The inner wall of the thrust chamber of the core component adopts a new protective coating, key assemblies adopt automatic welding technology, and a large number of components adopt 3D printing technology.
During the preparation of the engine test run, the participants in the research and test conducted tests and verifications on each subsystem of the test through comprehensive means such as digital modelling, simulation calculation, and system debugging. The successful test run shows that the test area has greatly improved the multi-station parallel test run capability and test efficiency by optimizing the workflow.
