The aerospace industry has come up with a "recycling" strategy: How does "Practice 19" open a new era of reusable satellites?

Author: Duan Yuechu, Huang Xianghong, Huang Yanhong

At 10:39 on October 11, 2024, this is a moment worth remembering. At the Dongfeng landing site, my country successfully recovered the first reusable and recoverable technology test satellite, the Shijian 19 satellite. This feat marks a solid and critical step for my country in the field of aerospace, and opens up a new path for future space exploration and application.

The Shijian-19 satellite was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on September 27. Its launch carried the expectations and dreams of countless scientific researchers and attracted the attention of the world. The successful launch and recovery of this satellite is the result of years of hard work and wisdom of my country's aerospace workers.

Reusability is one of the most notable features of the Shijian 19 satellite. In the past, satellites usually burned up in the atmosphere or became space junk after completing their missions. The Shijian 19 satellite has made a breakthrough in the key technology of reusability, which means that it can be put into use again after completing a mission, after proper maintenance and overhaul. This not only greatly reduces the cost of space launches, but also improves the efficiency of satellite use. Imagine that in the future we can use satellites like airplanes, launching them into space at any time as needed, recovering them for maintenance after completing their missions, and then putting them into use again. This will greatly change the way we explore and apply space.

The lossless recovery is another major breakthrough of the Shijian-19 satellite. In the process of returning to the earth, the satellite needs to go through a series of complex and dangerous processes such as high-speed crossing of the atmosphere. How to ensure that the satellite is not damaged in this process has always been a major problem in the aerospace field. Shijian-19 satellite successfully achieved lossless recovery through advanced technical means. This provides an important guarantee for the reuse of satellites and also accumulates valuable experience for my country's future aerospace missions.

High microgravity support is another key technological breakthrough of the Shijian-19 satellite. The microgravity environment is crucial for many scientific researches. For example, in a microgravity environment, scientists can conduct more precise physical experiments and life science research. Shijian-19 satellite has the characteristics of high microgravity level, providing scientists with an efficient high microgravity space test platform. The plant and microorganism breeding payload, autonomous control and new technology verification test payload, space science experiment payload, social welfare and cultural creativity payload and other recovery payloads carried will play an important role in this high microgravity environment.

The successful recovery of the Shijian-19 satellite is not only a major breakthrough in my country's aerospace technology, but also brings many opportunities for my country's scientific research and social development. In terms of space breeding, the plant and microbial breeding payloads carried by the satellite will bring new hope for my country's agricultural development. Through the special effects of the space environment, the genes of plants and microorganisms may mutate, thereby breeding better varieties. These new varieties may have higher yields, better quality, stronger resistance to diseases and pests, etc., providing a new way to solve the problem of global food security.

In terms of new technology verification and space science experiments, Shijian-19 satellite provides a rare platform for Chinese researchers. The autonomous controllable and new technology verification test payload will verify my country's new technologies in the aerospace field and promote the continuous progress of my country's aerospace technology. The space science experiment payload can carry out research in microgravity science, space life science and other fields, providing us with more clues to reveal the mysteries of the universe.

At the same time, the Shijian-19 satellite also carries multiple international cooperation payloads, becoming a good platform for promoting international cooperation in space. In today's era of globalization, international cooperation in the field of space is becoming increasingly important. Through cooperation with other countries, we can share space technology and resources and jointly promote human exploration and use of space. The successful launch and recovery of the Shijian-19 satellite has won more voice and influence for my country in international space cooperation.

In addition, the successful recovery of the Shijian-19 satellite has also brought new opportunities for my country's social welfare and cultural and creative industries. The social welfare payload can carry out some projects related to environmental protection, disaster monitoring, etc., and contribute to social welfare. The cultural and creative payload can combine space elements with cultural creativity to launch a series of distinctive cultural products and enrich people's spiritual and cultural life.

In short, the successful launch and recovery of the Shijian-19 satellite is an important milestone in the development of my country's aerospace industry. It marks a major breakthrough in my country's reusable satellite technology and lays a solid foundation for my country's future space exploration and application. I believe that in the near future, we will see more reusable satellites flying into space, making greater contributions to the development and progress of mankind.