Up to 7 people can sit! What does the new generation of manned spacecraft look like?, Reusable China | Engineering | Spacecraft
In 2023, China's manned space engineering missions have achieved consecutive victories. On May 10th, the launch mission of the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft was a complete success. On May 30th, the Shenzhou-16 manned spacecraft was successfully launched. On June 4th, the return capsule of the Shenzhou-15 manned spacecraft successfully landed at the Dongfeng landing site, and the Shenzhou-15 manned flight mission was a complete success.
China's manned space program has opened a new stage and chapter in the application and development of space stations, while also fully promoting manned lunar exploration missions. Currently, how is the progress of China's manned lunar exploration work? What innovations and breakthroughs will be made in the new generation of manned launch vehicles and manned spacecraft? Lao Chunyan, a reporter from the main station, has an exclusive interview with Zhou Jianping, an academician of the CAE Member and the chief designer of China's manned space program.
What do the new generation of manned spacecraft and rockets look like?
Nowadays, the Chinese space station has been built, and a new generation of manned launch vehicles and spacecraft with reusable technology are under development.
Zhou Jianping introduced that the new generation of manned spacecraft currently being developed in China still adopts the form of a blunt nose body, changing from a three cabin structure to a two cabin structure, which is safer and more economical. It can achieve partial reuse and retrieve key parts. In the coming years, it is expected to achieve the reuse of return modules and breakthroughs in rocket stage recovery technology.
The new generation of manned spacecraft will have a larger space, with a maximum capacity of 7 people and more cargo, which will be beneficial for expanding the scale of manned spaceflight activities, conducting international cooperation, and opening up new manned fields in the future.
The new generation of rockets can not only be recovered, but also have higher thrust and better configuration. The proportion of payload in the entire rocket will also increase, but the cost will be reduced. The reduction of space transportation costs will open up greater space for space to serve the national economy and people's livelihood.
What can the upcoming sky survey telescope bring?
As one of the important tasks in the application and development stage of China's space station, China will also launch its first large-scale space survey telescope to conduct wide-area survey observations and cutting-edge scientific research.
What is the significance of launching a survey telescope? Zhou Jianping stated that the sky survey telescope is the most important scientific facility for the space station project so far, and it is also the highest level of scientific facility invested by the country in astronomy. It will bring tremendous impetus to the development of astronomy and also put Chinese astronomical research and astronomers in the forefront of the world.
The launch survey telescope has also been specially designed with modules for observing terrestrial planets. The search for extraterrestrial life forms has been a long-standing concern for humanity, and through continuous technological advancements, there is hope to gradually approach this goal.
Plan to achieve manned lunar landing before 2030
How is the progress now?
According to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, the lunar landing phase of China's manned lunar exploration project has been launched, with plans to achieve the first Chinese landing on the moon before 2030.
Zhou Jianping said that compared to manned spacewalks, manned moon landings are much more difficult. The space station consists of three modules, with two manned spacecraft and one cargo spacecraft parked. This is the current maximum configuration, nearly 100 tons. But to achieve a manned lunar landing, the equivalent carrying capacity for delivery to near Earth orbit would be approximately 130 to 40 tons.
We are studying a rocket for lunar landing, which will send manned spacecraft and lunar landers to lunar orbit in two phases, and rendezvous and dock on the lunar orbit.
The astronauts departed in a manned spacecraft and after docking with the lander in lunar orbit, entered the lander.
Then the lander lands on the moon, carrying a car that can expand the range of human activity and improve efficiency.
After completing the mission, the ascent of the lander sends the person to lunar orbit, docks with the manned spacecraft, and the astronaut returns to the manned spacecraft, returning to Earth.
Zhou Jianping introduced that China now has the ability to achieve manned lunar landing, and it does not take too long to complete engineering research and development work, achieving the task of sending Chinese people to the moon before 2030, conducting scientific research activities on the lunar surface, and then safely returning to Earth.
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