What did Shenzhou 15 do during its first extravehicular activity?

According to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, at 0:16 Beijing time on the 10th, after about 7 hours of extravehicular activities, Shenzhou 15 astronauts Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu worked closely together and successfully completed all the scheduled tasks of the extravehicular activities.

At present, astronauts Fei Junlong and Zhang Lu have safely returned to the Wentian laboratory module, and the extravehicular activities were a complete success.

01

Get out of the cabin!

At 17:10 on the 9th, astronaut Fei Junlong successfully exited the cabin through the weather hatch. Later, astronaut Zhang Lu also exited the cabin smoothly.

This is the first extravehicular activity of astronauts after the full completion of the Chinese space station, and also the first time for astronauts Fei Junlong and Zhang Lu to walk in space.

During the extravehicular mission, astronaut Deng Qingming performed support work inside the cabin.

Fei Junlong and Zhang Lu first carried out the installation of the Mengtian cabin expansion pump group. After completing the installation, Fei Junlong began to transfer using the combination of large and small robotic arms, and Zhang Lu used the handrails outside the cabin to carry out autonomous transfer.

Image source: CCTV News

During the extravehicular activities, Fei Junlong and Zhang Lu also completed a series of tasks such as installing foot limiters.

Huang Weifen, chief designer of the astronaut system of the manned space program of the China Astronaut Center, said that throughout the process, the procedures were executed correctly and the operations were in place, showing strong operational and coordination capabilities. The three astronauts worked closely together to successfully complete the extravehicular mission.

After completing all the assigned tasks, at 0:16 on February 10, astronauts Fei Junlong and Zhang Lu safely returned to the Wentian laboratory module, and the extravehicular activities were a complete success.

According to the plan, subsequent astronaut crews will carry out multiple extravehicular activities.

02

What are the missions of Shenzhou-15?

According to the news released by the China Manned Space Engineering Office, the Shenzhou 15 flight crew will focus on six aspects of work during the Chinese space station mission:

Carry out long-term residence verification of the three-module status of the space station;

Completed the unlocking, installation and testing of 15 scientific experiment cabinets, and carried out more than 40 space science experiments and technical tests covering the fields of space science research and application, aerospace medicine, aerospace technology, etc.;

Carry out 3 to 4 EVAs to complete the installation of the Mengtian module expansion pump set and the payload exposure platform equipment;

Verify the cargo airlock egress mode and complete six cargo egress missions in collaboration with the ground;

· Carry out regular platform testing, maintenance and station management;

Carry out on-orbit health protection exercises, on-orbit training and drills, etc.

At present, payloads such as energy particle detectors and plasma in-situ imaging detectors have been installed outside the cabin, fully verifying the extravehicular payload installation process and the functional performance of components such as the space station cargo airlock and transfer mechanism.

Image source: CCTV News

According to reports, the cargo installation mission of the space station is coordinated by the payload transfer mechanism, cargo airlock, inner and outer hatches, and robotic arms. The cargo that needs to be transported out of the cabin is sent out by on-orbit astronauts or ground operations, and the cargo outside the cabin can also be sent into the cabin according to mission requirements.

Breakthroughs in and mastering this key technology can greatly improve the efficiency of cargo exchange inside and outside the cabin and reduce the number of astronauts' extravehicular activities and workload.

According to the plan, cargo outboard installation work will continue in the future.

03

Shenwu 15 comes to "inspect the house"

Shenzhou XV was the first manned spacecraft welcomed by Chinese astronauts at the space station.

At 23:08 on November 29, 2022, the Long March 2F Yao 15 carrier rocket carrying the Shenzhou 15 manned spacecraft was ignited and launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

The complete success of this launch mission means that all 12 launch missions planned for the key technology verification and construction phase of the space station have been successfully completed.

As the last leg of the space station construction phase, before departure, Shenzhou 15 astronaut Fei Junlong once introduced the mission like this: "It's like building a house. Whether it can be lived in, whether it can be used normally, and whether it is used well, we have a heavy responsibility."

Regarding this extravehicular mission, Zou Xuemei, deputy chief designer of the space station mission at the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center, said that in response to the new situation of a relatively large range of extravehicular transfer, the measurement and control system adopted methods such as three relay satellites relaying and tracking the three modules to ensure the smoothness of the ground-to-earth link during the entire extravehicular process.

Zhu Guangchen, deputy chief designer of the space station system of the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, said that this mission is the first large-scale operation across the three cabins of the space station after the completion of the construction of the three cabins. The astronauts carried large objects and passed through the gap between the solar panels and the cabin. In order to ensure the smooth completion of the entire mission, sufficient simulation and analysis were carried out in advance. At present, the work is normal and all the established tasks have been completed as planned.

Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, said that with the full completion of the Chinese space station, we are now entering the application and development stage. In the past two months, the Shenzhou 15 crew has completed the unlocking of all cabinets in the Mengtian laboratory cabin, equipment installation and testing, and is currently carrying out experimental work.

In addition, the Shenzhou 15 crew also completed the first cargo airlock exit, laying a good foundation for the implementation of subsequent missions.

Source: CCTV.com, CCTV News, The Paper

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