Dongfeng drapes over the morning glow and welcomes the returning boat in the sky - Full Record of Shenzhou 15 Manned Flight Mission Astronauts | China | Record

On June 4th, the return capsule of the Shenzhou-15 manned spacecraft successfully landed at the Dongfeng landing site. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ren Junchuan

Jiuquan, Xinhua News Agency, June 4th (Xinhua) - Full Record of the Manned Flight Mission of Shenzhou 15: Welcoming the Return of the Boat in the Sky with the East Wind Over the Morning Glow

Xinhua News Agency reporters Li Guoli, Li Yun, Huang Yichen, and Guo Mingzhi

The moon sets and the sun rises for more than a hundred days and nights, and the cold turns to summer for half a year in spring and autumn.

On June 4, 2023, after working and living together with the crew of Shenzhou-16 who came to take over, the crew of Shenzhou-15 bid farewell to the Chinese space station and returned home with their dreams fulfilled and honors.

At 6:33, the return capsule of the Shenzhou-15 manned spacecraft landed safely at the Dongfeng landing site in the hinterland of the Badain Jaran Desert, and the Shenzhou-15 manned flight mission was a complete success.

For the first time, "space rendezvous" has been achieved, ushering in the era of long-term manned presence of Chinese space stations; Witness the full completion of China's space station and celebrate the first Spring Festival after the completion of the space station; Successfully completed four extravehicular missions, setting a new record for individual astronaut crew extravehicular activities... In half a year, the Shenzhou-15 crew wrote a new page in the history of China's manned spaceflight in the vast space.

Fulfilling dreams, multiplying groups, and achieving dreams in space

Astronaut Fei Junlong, who had been on a space business trip for over 180 days, successfully exited the spacecraft and said with a smile, "The Shenzhou-15 flight crew has completed all in orbit missions and has now returned to our motherland smoothly. We feel good about it."

The complete success of the Shenzhou-15 manned flight mission signifies the successful completion of 12 launch missions in the key technology verification and construction stages of the space station.

In less than 31 years, from the official approval of China's manned spaceflight project, to the full completion of China's space station, and then to the entry of the space station into the stage of application and development, China's manned spaceflight has achieved the romantic dream of generations of astronauts who have built stations for shipbuilding and applications.

The crew of Shenzhou 15 is the witness, participant, and contributor to the moment of dream realization.

On the night of November 29, 2022, a long arrow flew over the golden crescent moon, and the Long March 2F Yao-15 carrier rocket carrying the Shenzhou-15 manned spacecraft ignited and took off.

At that time, the cold wind in the launch site area was piercing, and the temperature was approaching the lowest temperature conditions for rocket launch. This is the first time that China has successfully launched a manned spacecraft in ultra-low temperature weather.

After the successful autonomous and rapid rendezvous and docking between the Shenzhou 15 manned spacecraft and the space station assembly, Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming, and Zhang Lu, three astronauts, embraced the Shenzhou XIV crew through three doors, namely, the return module door, the orbital module front door, and the core module node module radial interface door.

At 7:33 am on November 30, 2022, two astronaut crews met for the first time in space, marking the beginning of China's long-term manned space station era, with six astronauts simultaneously flying in orbit.

Nowadays, the rotation mode of "new crew members go up first, old crew members come down again" has become the norm, which is of great significance for the long-term in orbit operation of space stations and the conduct of scientific and technological experiments.

During orbit, the crew of Shenzhou-15 completed four extravehicular activities, breaking the record for individual extravehicular activities of Chinese astronauts. During the extravehicular activity, three astronauts worked closely together inside and outside the spacecraft, successfully completing tasks such as installing the extravehicular expansion pump group, connecting the cross cabin cables, and installing the support rods of the extravehicular load exposure platform. They created multiple "firsts" in the extravehicular range, covering the third module of the space station, astronauts holding large foot limiters, and extravehicular operation platforms, laying the foundation for subsequent large-scale extravehicular scientific and technological experiments.

Fei Junlong described these tasks as: "The house was already built when it arrived in our hands, and we are responsible for the decoration and delivery."

In addition to successfully completing the extravehicular activities, the crew of Shenzhou-15 also carried out multiple payload extravehicular missions, 8 human factors engineering technology research, 28 aerospace medical experiments, and 38 space science experiments, covering life ecology, materials science, fluid mechanics, etc., and obtained valuable experimental data.

It is worth mentioning that during the Shenzhou-15 mission, astronauts used a two-photon microscope to obtain three-dimensional images of the skin epidermis and superficial dermis, which is the first time in the world.

In order to promote the comprehensive development of space science, space applications, and space technology in China, and in the face of larger scale space science and technology experiments, the division of labor among astronauts and crew members has become more refined. "Allowing professionals to do professional things" is an inevitable trend. For the first time, a new combination of "space pilots, space flight engineers, and payload experts" has appeared in the Shenzhou-16 crew.

Aerospace science popularization ignites a prairie fire

As the saying goes, "When you sow the grain, reap the harvest."

In just two days, it will be the traditional Chinese solar term of Mangzhong, and the fields in the north and south of the Yangtze River are bustling with busy labor.

Six months ago, the crew of Shenzhou Fifteen brought a special "meeting gift" to the sky - several packages of different seeds. Among them, Yuqian Seed is the "strong tree" seed next to the launch tower of Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center; Melia azedarach tree species, from Kaishan Island, which was once short of water, electricity, and supplies; The hybrid rice seeds are the bond of Yuan Longping's "dream of enjoying the cool under the grain"... Each seed carries the great rejuvenation dream of the Chinese nation and also contains the good wishes of the Chinese aerospace personnel for national peace and security.

These seeds were carried into space by the Shenzhou 15 crew and brought back to the ground by the Shenzhou XIV crew. It is understood that these two Shenzhou spacecraft carried more than 1300 crop seeds, microbial strains, and other aerospace breeding materials from 112 units. During the construction phase of the space station, not only were space breeding experiments arranged, but astronauts also attempted to plant vegetables in space.

"How to overcome weightlessness on the space station?" "How to solve the problem of eating?" Not only aimed at Chinese primary and secondary school students, the Shenzhou 15 crew also held an interesting "Heaven and Earth Q&A" with young people from SCO countries.

Space education has always been an effective way for China's manned space program to carry out space science popularization education for all mankind, especially to disseminate manned space knowledge to young people and sow the seeds of space dreams. In May of this year, the China Manned Space Engineering Office launched the "Tiangong Classroom" online course series for the first time. The first class was jointly conducted by astronauts from Shenzhou-15 and ground experts to interpret the "payload extravehicular mission" in detail.

During the Spring Festival holiday, the second "Tiangong Painting Exhibition" and the first "Global Photography of Tiangong" photography exhibition of the Chinese space station were held, and the Shenzhou-15 astronaut also gave a key introduction to the exhibited works. The children's works drawn with different colors, lines, and imaginative imagination have all amazed astronauts. More and more professional photographers, astronomy enthusiasts, aerospace workers, young students, and others are using their phones and cameras to capture classic moments during the passage of China's space station.

The fertile soil of science nourishes the trees, and the branches and leaves cover the fertile soil.

The aerospace dream continues to sow and circulate. Wang Yaping, who was inspired by Yang Liwei's soaring to the stars and the sea, later became a "space teacher" for millions of young people; Many children who attended Wang Yaping's space lectures in 2013 have now become astronauts.

In the Shenzhou-16 mission, the spacecraft was specially equipped with excellent paintings by young people from 10 African countries, including Algeria, Congo, Egypt, Madagascar, etc. International paintings entered the Chinese space station for the first time.

"Exploring the vast universe is a common cause and dream for all mankind, regardless of race, age, or region. We are willing to hand draw a more beautiful blueprint with all peace loving people." Astronaut Jing Haipeng, who has flown four times, said at the crew meeting, "This time we have the privilege of bringing the best youth, friendship, and dreams of children into space, planting the seeds of science, dreams, and friendship on the Chinese space station, allowing them to take root, sprout, bloom, and bear fruit."

Daring to have dreams, daring to pursue them, and diligent in fulfilling them, the spark sown by China's manned space program has become a blazing fire.

The moon landing on the starry sea is possible

On June 2nd, the Shenzhou-15 and Shenzhou-16 crew held a handover ceremony at the space station. The Shenzhou-15 crew completed the final leg of the space station construction phase and handed over the first leg of the space station's application and development phase to the Shenzhou-16 crew.

One day later, the Shenzhou-15 manned spacecraft left the space station complex and embarked on its return journey under the watchful eye of the Shenzhou-16 crew.

At the same time, at the Dongfeng landing site, the task convoy followed by the reporter had already penetrated deep into the hinterland of the Badain Jaran Desert and was ready in the darkness. On the morning of the 4th, when the desert was awakened by sunlight, several helicopters and nearly a hundred vehicles also set off towards the designated landing point of the spacecraft.

This is a search and rescue operation that spans the early hours of the morning, and it is also the fourth time that the Dongfeng landing site welcomes the hero's return.

This time, Shenzhou 15 still adopts the "5-lap fast return mode". In order to complete the spacecraft search and astronaut rescue missions, Dongfeng Landing Site has carried out a lot of targeted preparation work in advance, promoted the optimization of the landing site layout, and selected emergency alternate landing sites around Dongfeng Landing Site. A search and rescue plan has been designed according to the spacecraft's two consecutive circles of return status.

This time, the return mission of Shenzhou-15 is based on previous large-scale deviation search and rescue plans. For the first time, the spacecraft's rear trajectory return landing area is planned, and a search and rescue plan for the spacecraft's rear trajectory return is designed to enhance the ability of the Dongfeng landing site to respond to large-scale deviation and quickly search and rescue, further enhance the safety guarantee ability of astronauts, and ensure the safe return of the Shenzhou-15 crew.

"Since the operation of the International Space Station, there have been three cases of manned spacecraft returning from behind," said Bian Hancheng, Senior Engineer at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and Deputy Chief Designer of the Manned Space Engineering Landing Site System.

"Orbital module separation", "braking begins", "propulsion module separation", "crossing the black obstacle zone"... When a huge red and white parachute blooms in the center of the sky and earth, the search and rescue teams of the Dongfeng landing site, including helicopter search and rescue teams, air transport mobile search and rescue teams, ground search and rescue teams, and civilian and military teams around the landing area, quickly gather at the latest scheduled landing point of the spacecraft, passing through countless camel thorns and shuttle trees, crushing the uneven sandbags and gravel.

For a moment, dust and smoke rose up all over the Gobi Desert, rolling and rising under the sunset.

"During the return period of the spacecraft, the ground wind speed in the landing area is 3-4 levels, and the meteorological conditions meet the return requirements. The 'Dongfeng' landing site is ready." Kang Lin, Deputy Director of the Meteorological Office of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, said that in early summer, cold air is more active. From parachute deployment to landing, wind direction and speed are important meteorological factors that affect the accuracy of the spacecraft's return capsule landing point.

Deceleration, reverse engine ignition... a series of actions were carried out in one go, and the return capsule successfully landed.

Astronomer Xu Chengcheng, who arrived at the Dongfeng landing site from Nanjing, Jiangsu, over 2500 kilometers away, squeezed into the front of the crowd and could see the astronauts at a glance. During the Spring Festival, Fei Junlong showcased his photography of the Heavenly Palace on the space station. In recent years, Xu Chengcheng has frequently used his own program to manipulate astronomical telescopes to capture clear images of China's space station transit. In the photo taken in space, the space station assembly has a soft luster and the solar wings are clearly visible.

With the return of astronauts Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming, and Zhang Lutian, all the first and second batches of active astronauts in China have achieved their dreams for nine days. At the same time, with the entry of Shenzhou 16 astronauts Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao into the Chinese space station, the third batch of astronauts also appeared in the vast space for the first time.

Lin Xiqiang, spokesperson for China's manned spaceflight engineering and deputy director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, stated that currently, the third batch of Chinese astronauts have completed the established training content, passed the flight qualification assessment, and all have the ability and conditions to carry out flight missions. The selection of the fourth batch of reserve astronauts is also progressing in an orderly manner, with plans to complete all selection work by the end of this year.

"In the future, more and more 'newcomers' will be selected as flight crew members to continue carrying out manned space missions and become the backbone of China's manned space engineering follow-up flight missions," said Lin Xiqiang.

There is also exciting news that China's manned lunar exploration project has launched the lunar landing phase mission, with plans to achieve the first Chinese landing on the moon before 2030. The China Manned Space Engineering Office has also fully deployed various research and construction work, including the development of new generation manned launch vehicles, new generation manned spacecraft, lunar landers, lunar landing suits and other flight products, as well as the construction of new launch site related testing and launch facilities and equipment.

The eyes have stars and the sea, and the future of landing on the moon is promising.

Perhaps one day, the Chinese people will also be able to fly into space and appreciate the profound beauty of space, which is even more worth looking forward to.