According to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, at 1:56 Beijing time today (May 10), the Long March 7 Yaowu carrier rocket carrying the Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft was ignited and launched at the Wenchang Cosmodrome on the mainland. This is the 22nd launch mission of the mainland manned spaceflight project, the first launch mission of the space station construction from the key technology verification stage to the orbit construction stage, and the 420th flight of the Long March series of carrier rockets.
The Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft is rendezvousing and docking with the space station assembly operating in orbit. The launch of the Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft uses rapid rendezvous and docking technology, which takes only 6.5 hours.
Li Zhihui, deputy commander-in-chief of the cargo spacecraft system of the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Group: Autonomous long-distance guidance is through the jet (orbit change) of the engine, so that the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft runs from a 200-kilometer orbit (perigee) to a 393-kilometer orbit of the space station. At this time, it was transferred to close-range autonomous control, and the close-range autonomous control passed through 5 kilometers, 400 meters, 200 meters and 19 meters of berthing points in turn, and finally achieved rendezvous and docking with the space station, which took a total of 6.5 hours.
Li Zhihui told reporters that compared with the 72 hours of rendezvous and docking of Tianzhou-1, the rapid rendezvous and docking technology adopted by Tianzhou-4 only takes 6.5 hours, which has been greatly improved in technology, and the future rendezvous and docking time will continue to be shortened.
Li Zhihui, deputy commander-in-chief of the cargo spacecraft system of the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Group: In the future, our goal is to carry out rapid rendezvous and docking in two hours, that is, 4.5 hours less than 6.5 hours.
Space delivery is not only delivered quickly, but also loaded a lot. As a cargo spacecraft, the main task of Tianzhou-4 is to deliver cargo to the space station. So, what cargo did Tianzhou IV carry this time, and what were the differences from the past?
CCTV reporter Li Ning: This is the interface of the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft, and the astronauts use this interface to realize the entry and exit of the cargo spacecraft. There are more than 40 lockers in the cargo spacecraft space, and each locker will hold some daily necessities needed by astronauts, leisure, entertainment and other items, including some equipment we need to do experiments.
Li Zhihui, deputy commander-in-chief of the cargo spacecraft system of the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Group: Tianzhou-4 carried a total of 5 aspects of cargo (and test payload) on this mission, the first aspect is the daily consumption and use of cargo by astronauts; the second aspect of the cargo is some maintenance equipment and products of the space station; the third aspect (is) to carry out space science experiments these devices and equipment, the use of space science experiments; the fourth aspect is to carry out space science medical experiments uplink a low-temperature lock cabinet, which we commonly call refrigerators.
In addition to carrying the necessary experimental equipment and daily necessities, Tianzhou-4 also carried experimental goods for the society and universities this time.
Li Zhihui, deputy commander-in-chief of the cargo spacecraft system of the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Group: This time, our Tianzhou-4 also carried seeds of various foods uplinked by social colleges and universities, including wheat, soybeans, sorghum, and corn.
Source: CCTV