#长文创作激励计划#
Human flesh and blood can be restored after being damaged, but who would have thought that spacecraft outside the sky could also enter a state of self-repair after being damaged?
It turns out that aerospace materials with no signs of life rely on special repair agents to bring the body back to life.
What materials are used in the self-repair materials of the spacecraft? Can a damaged spacecraft rely only on self-repair? This technology of the mainland can be in the future
A self-healing Chinese satellite
It is still difficult for humans to come back from the dead, and the fact that a satellite that has been badly damaged in outer space can be restarted after about 300 days of self-repair, which really makes one wonder if metal also has the function of self-repairing?
In fact, this time the satellite that went from normal operation to accidental damage, and then resurrected again, is Yunhai No. 1 02 satellite.
It is understood that this satellite, which is mainly used to monitor the environment and natural disasters, was originally launched by the Shanghai Academy of Aerospace Research in 2019.
After nearly two years of exploration missions, it accidentally came into contact with an unknown object in outer space around March 2021.
Therefore, the 02 star was also damaged in a wide range of the satellite's backbone body under the collision of foreign objects, and even the solar panel on one side was directly knocked into many small fragments.
In fact, this accident not only caused damage to the satellite itself, but also directly caused it to deviate from its original orbit, and in the end, even the satellite signal disappeared into the vast universe.
Since it was the first time that the mainland had encountered such a serious collision in outer space, the cause of the accident was quickly studied.
In the end, we also discovered that the unidentified object that caused big trouble for the satellite was not actually extraterrestrial, but the wreckage of a man-made device that was launched into space on Earth, which is commonly known as space junk.
After investigating the relevant matters, the mainland did not think about saving Satellite 02, but later considering the cost of recovering the damaged satellite, it may be comparable to launching a new satellite. So, in the end, the matter was closed.
During this time, the staff at most sent a signal to it, debugged and debugged other settings, pinning their hopes on some kind of miracle.
However, just when we thought that we could only suffer a loss this time, a miracle really happened, it turned out that at the beginning of 2022, Star 02 actually made signal contact with the Earth's control center again.
And judging from the work log of more than 300 days, Star 02 is still continuing to explore after being collided, and everything is still proceeding in an orderly manner.
Black technology has given China's satellites new capabilities
It's true that the 02 star was damaged, but it's also true that the damage went into a long-term self-repair. It turns out that the ability of satellites to come back to life actually comes from our special composite materials.
In fact, for human beings, after everyone's physical injury, it is often necessary to intervene by many systems such as immunity, stress, and nerves, and to heal the injury through cooperative harmony.
For the satellites launched from the mainland, we have also specially designed a comprehensive shell protection layer for them. It is understood that the materials used in this shell are a combination of epoxy resin, carbon and glass.
These components not only ensure that the satellite has extremely high heat resistance, insulation and chemical resistance, but also enable the spacecraft to be damaged and repaired in a timely manner.
In fact, after the 02 star was collided, the repair agents in the materials immediately leaked and covered the entire damaged parts of the body, and these repair agents will also react with the catalyst to achieve more efficient repair efficiency.
According to Jin Yong, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, under the shell formed by epoxy polymers, especially in the more important positions of satellites, more catalysts and remedial capsules will be placed.
These capsules are like airbags in cars, usually inconspicuous, only after the shell is damaged, the substances in the capsule will be excited and quickly fused and solidified, playing a role in repairing the satellite body.
However, if you only repair the external damage of the satellite, there is actually no way to put it into normal operation.
The fact that the 02 satellite was able to operate normally for more than 300 days after losing signal this time also has a lot to do with its structure.
It is understood that there are numerous solar panels on both sides of the body, and these facilities can ensure that it receives enough energy every day to consume the energy required for daily work.
It can be said that the epoxy polymer composed of carbon fiber and other substances and the capsule built under the shell are like the cells and fibers of a spacecraft, and the solar panel is the satellite's diet system, and the three together form a multi-functional satellite in outer space that can repair and recharge itself.
There are many ways to repair a spacecraft
A small satellite, but it has witnessed the level of scientific and technological development of the mainland over the past decades. It is our duty to ensure the normal operation of satellites, but it is also our duty to enhance the satellites' ability to resist risks.
In fact, as early as after we successfully launched our first satellite, we began to simultaneously promote the development of materials science.
Although the relevant aerospace departments do not claim that this capsule repair material can be used in all satellite equipment, we have not stopped developing self-repair materials.
It is understood that the mainland has been researching related electronic devices since entering the 21st century, and now there is a polymer repair material, which can be refilled and repaired after the crack is found in the equipment, and these materials use polysiloxane materials, which are similar to repair capsules.
In fact, in order to ensure that the service life of the spacecraft in space will not be reduced due to accidents, astronauts will also learn the corresponding body maintenance knowledge, after all, even if it is a repair capsule, it can only be repaired preliminarily.
It is understood that the highest degree of repair can only reach about 75%, and if the body is seriously damaged, even the repair level may only be about 60%.
However, when astronauts understand the relevant maintenance knowledge, they can carry out special treatment for specific injury causes.
After all, there are many reasons for the damage of spacecraft outside the sky, which may be due to its own aging or friction with the thin atmosphere, and contact with space junk is only one of the causes of damage.
However, it is gratifying that with the full cooperation of manned and unmanned space maintenance work, the operation of the spacecraft can basically be guaranteed to be foolproof, and timely accidents can also be dealt with in a timely manner.
Moreover, with the development of 3D printing technology and automation technology, we are also constantly studying this related telemedicine means.
At that time, astronauts did not have to bear huge maintenance pressure and psychological pressure, leaving the spacecraft to repair the damage of the body in space.
Even if this technology is not yet mature, we can actually build a spacecraft repair shop directly in outer space by building a space station.
All in all, with the development of mainland aerospace technology and the application of digital technology, the future aerospace industry will only become more and more convenient, and a small body damage repair function will not be able to hinder our pace of development towards the future.
Resources:
The Paper 2023-11-06 Don't panic if the spacecraft is damaged, space maintenance is a trick
Science & Technology Daily 2023-02-16 Self-healing materials: Who said that broken mirrors can't be reunited