Complete success! Tianzhou-2 completed the first rotation test using the space station's robotic arm

At 6:59 am Beijing time on January 6, 2022, after about 47 minutes of close cross-system coordination, the space station robotic arm transfer cargo spacecraft test was a complete success.

This is the first time that my country has used the space station's robotic arm to operate a large in-orbit vehicle to conduct a transfer test.

Video source: China's manned spaceflight official office

In the early morning of January 6, the robotic arm successfully captured the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft. At 6:12, the rotation test began. After the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft was unlocked and separated from the Tianhe core module, it was dragged by the robotic arm to perform a plane rotation with the core module node module sphere center as the center of the circle; then, the reverse operation was performed until the cargo spacecraft and the core module were re-docking and locked.

This experiment preliminarily examined the feasibility and effectiveness of using the robotic arm to operate the transfer of space station modules, verified the space station module transfer technology and the robotic arm's large-load control technology, and accumulated experience for the subsequent on-orbit assembly and construction of the space station.

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Video source: CCTV.com

Comprehensive sources: China Manned Spaceflight Office, CCTV.com, Science and Technology Daily, etc.