What is a space power? Wang Xiang, commander-in-chief of the space station system, said

On July 24, the Wentian Experimental Module was successfully launched, marking a key step in the on-orbit assembly and construction of the Chinese space station. Recently, CCTV's "Face to Face" program interviewed Wang Xiang, the chief commander of the space station system of China's manned space program, and told the story of how he witnessed the Chinese space station's dream turn into reality step by step .

Space Homes Are Coming

“Someone is on duty all the time”

The Wentian experimental module is currently the heaviest and largest single-body aircraft in China. Its relevant indicators are higher than those of the Tianhe core module. It can provide a more comfortable environment and better conditions for astronauts to stay, perform extravehicular activities, and conduct space science experiments. At the same time, it also provides a backup function for the Tianhe core module . Wang Xiang said: "For the core module, the task assigned to it is to serve as the control center of the entire platform. The function assigned to Wentian is that it will serve as a system-level backup for the entire space station."

According to the mission schedule, another 20-ton spacecraft of the Chinese space station, the Mengtian laboratory module, will be launched in October this year. By then, the Tianhe core module, the Wentian laboratory module, and the Mengtian laboratory module will form a "T" basic structure, and the in-orbit construction of the Chinese space station will be finally completed. "By the end of this year, we will realize our first in-orbit astronaut handover. From this time on, we will enter the normal personnel rotation stage, and from this time on, there will be no interruption in the personnel rotation in the sky ." Wang Xiang introduced.

Firmly pursue the space dream,

Join the construction of the space station

The completion of China's space station is in sight. Wang Xiang has participated in many important moments, and his story with the Chinese space station began more than 20 years ago.

In September 1992, the central government decided to implement the manned space program, code-named "Project 921", and determined the "three-step" development strategy. Just the year before, Wang Xiang was admitted to the Department of Engineering Mechanics of Tsinghua University, and began nearly ten years of study and research career. In October 2003, Shenzhou V carried Yang Liwei into space, and China achieved its first manned space flight. The first step of the manned space program made key progress. The success of Shenzhou V had a great impact on Wang Xiang. Wang Xiang said: "At that time, it had just been realized that a person went to space, and there was still a lot of room for development in the future, so I thought it was worthwhile to devote myself to such a place."

With such a dream of space travel, Wang Xiang came to the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. At that time, China's manned space program was in the transition period between the first and second steps. The key task of the first step was to ensure the safe return of astronauts. The second step, which was about to begin, was to break through and master the technology of extravehicular activities and rendezvous and docking.

Overcoming difficulties is

“Very interesting things”

After Wang Xiang entered the Fifth Academy, he happened to catch up with the demonstration of the second phase of the manned space program. Using Shenzhou 8 as the carrier, he witnessed the development process of China's rendezvous and docking technology.

The construction of a space station is a systematic project, which is subject to the country's overall level of scientific and technological and industrial development. In the early stages of the development of rendezvous and docking technology, the hardware and software required for research and development did not match the needs. In the absence of sufficient hardware conditions, the finite element analysis and simulation that Wang Xiang's mechanics major needs to do cannot make particularly complex models. "I think this is actually an exercise for us. The more this happens, the more you have to use your knowledge of mechanics to simplify it into a simpler model that does not lose its essential characteristics. Through these exercises, I not only know the facts, but also the reasons. I think this is the biggest benefit for future work and has formed my own work habits."

In the early stages of research and development, the technical team needed to conduct a large number of ground tests to obtain the data required for the rendezvous and docking technology. Wang Xiang and his team used many "local methods" to conduct the tests, but he did not find it difficult. "We have a long-term and ambitious goal, and we are moving towards this goal every day. In the process, we have eliminated obstacles, overcome difficulties, and gained new knowledge and made new progress. I think this is a very interesting thing."

On November 1, 2011, the Shenzhou 8 spacecraft was launched into space. After entering the planned orbit, it began to carry out the mission of rendezvous and docking with Tiangong 1. As the deputy chief designer, Wang Xiang and his team went through two days of torment, carefully carrying out each step of the work, and basically did not sleep for two days and two nights. Two days later, Shenzhou 8 and Tiangong 1 successfully docked. Many people were very excited, but Wang Xiang felt more sober because the spacecraft really moved towards the goal step by step according to their design expectations, which made him feel that "all the efforts and all the previous work are meaningful and worthwhile."

▲Shenzhou 8 rendezvouses and docks with Tiangong 1

The space station is

The symbol of a space power

In the 11 years since the successful launch of Shenzhou 8, the Shenzhou series of spacecraft have successfully carried out 10 rendezvous and docking missions, and China has become a world leader. During a technical exchange with the researchers of the International Space Station, Wang Xiang truly felt that China has become a space power .

During the exchange, technicians from other countries mentioned that when they implement rendezvous and docking, they are constrained by measurement and control resources and need to strictly control the time in seconds, because the International Space Station system uses American relay satellites, which need to be paid in seconds. Wang Xiang felt a sense of déjà vu after hearing this, because in the past, my country relied on ground measurement and control stations for measurement and control, and also faced strict time constraints. But now that we have our own relay satellites, we can use measurement and control resources according to our own needs without being restricted.

Relay satellites are equivalent to data transfer stations in the sky. Since the launch of Tianlian-1-01 in April 2008, China has built a relay satellite system with global coverage, providing strong support for China's manned space program . Wang Xiang was deeply touched by this exchange and felt that the strength of a country's aerospace is reflected in whether it has a complete system. China currently has a very complete aerospace system, including measurement and control capabilities, global navigation and positioning capabilities, ground support capabilities, rocket capabilities, launch site capabilities, recovery site capabilities, etc., and these are completely autonomous and controllable.

"Why is the space station one of the symbols of a space power? Because the space station is not flying alone, but we have such a complete and powerful space system to support it, so the space station can fly in the sky. And as a country, we can independently build a space station and fly it in the sky, which means that we are truly a space power."

Several generations relay,

From dream to reality

Since 2011, Wang Xiang has served as the commander-in-chief of the space station system, leading the team to complete the comprehensive demonstration of the space station model, key engineering technology research, full system design and development of each module. On April 29, 2021, the Long March 5B Yao-2 carrier rocket successfully launched the Tianhe core module, opening the curtain for the key technology verification and in-orbit construction of China's space station. China's manned spaceflight is moving forward at an unprecedented speed, and China's space station is gradually turning from a dream into reality.

In fact, as early as the 1960s, Qian Xuesen and other older generation scientists had begun to conceptualize the overall plan for my country's first manned spacecraft, Shuguang 1. Later, because scientific research in all aspects could not be guaranteed at the time, the plan was shelved, but Chinese astronauts have never stopped their research.

While searching for information, Wang Xiang found that a group of old gentlemen had been doing analysis of rendezvous and docking orbits since the 1980s, and the documents at that time were all handwritten. Wang Xiang was deeply moved by the encounter with the old gentlemen on paper after decades, and felt as if an old gentleman was imparting knowledge to him with handwritten manuscripts: "He may not have thought that he would see this day, but he was also doing this silently and very firmly."

After the final assembly and testing of the Tianhe core module was completed, the Fifth Academy specially invited some veterans who participated in the early manned space program to the site. One of the old men mentioned that when he visited the United States, he saw the then Freedom Space Station and lamented that he might never see our space station in his lifetime. But here, he saw that the Chinese space station was becoming a reality step by step, and he was very excited and moved.

Wang Xiang said: "Our project is definitely not something that came out of thin air. It is really based on the accumulation of these old masters. We are moving forward. They are real giants, and we are standing on their shoulders to move forward ."

It is reported that after the completion of the Chinese space station this year, it will welcome a special "little friend" - my country's first large-scale space survey telescope. According to the design, the survey telescope will fly in the same orbit as the space station, and the space station will provide it with a "space home port" where it can dock at any time.

Wang Xiang also introduced that the space station is also designed to be detachable, replaceable and repairable, and can be upgraded through replacement to extend its service life. "The original expectation was to build a Chinese space station with contemporary advanced level , and I think we are achieving this goal."

Source/China Academy of Space Technology WeChat Official Account

Editor/Yang Sishuang

Review/Yang Jie

Producer/Xu Chunmei