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October 17, 2016

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Manned mission prepares the way for space station

Source: Xinhua | October 17, 2016, Monday | Print Edition

CHINA launched a two-man space mission, Shenzhou-11, this morning, the latest step in its ambition to set up a permanent manned space station by 2022.

Following the 7:30am launch on a Long March-2F carrier rocket from the remote northwestern province of Gansu, the astronauts will dock with the Tiangong-2 space laboratory within the next two days, and live there for about a month.

The mission will be the third spaceflight, after Shenzhou-7 in 2008 and Shenzhou-9 in 2012, for Jing Haipeng, who is commander of the two-man crew. He will celebrate his 50th birthday in space.

It is the first mission for 38-year-old Chen Dong.

“First of all, I’m pilot, but my role will also see me being an engineer, a scientist, a cleaner and a farmer,” Chen said, describing his responsibilities on the mission at a press conference at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center ahead of the launch.

“This mission is characterized by its longer duration and more tests,” Chen added.

Their spacecraft will form a complex when docked with Tiangong-2. The feasibility of the complex to support astronauts’ life, work and flight missions will be tested throughout the mission, said Wu Ping, deputy director of the China Manned Space Agency.

Other objectives include aerospace medical experiments, space science experiments and in-orbit maintenance, she added.

The spacecraft, whose name translates as “Divine Vessel,” will also carry three experiments designed by Hong Kong middle school students and selected in a science competition, including one that takes silk worms into space.

During the mission, other experiments will determine the systems and processes that will support extended periods onboard a future space station, said Huang Weifen, deputy chief designer at the Astronaut Center of China.

The astronauts will test some experiments that would not seem out of place in a science fiction movie, such as a brain-computer interface, which they will control with their minds.

As humans will work with robots during future space mission, Huang said keyboards and other devices will become obsolete, with brain or eye control systems taking their place.

The astronauts will be in an enclosed, weightless environment, and this could affect their psychological and physiological conditions. “That’s why we need to explore the feasibility of such new systems,” Huang said.

The study of space plant cultivation in a micro-gravity environment will inform future approaches to cultivation in space stations and in bases on the moon or Mars, Huang said.

The experiments will also include tests gauging the influence of in-orbit flight on the astronauts’ olfactory and cardiovascular functions.

“Shenzhou-11 is a new beginning. It marks the imminent end of the exploratory stage of China’s manned space program,” said Zhang Yulin, deputy commander-in-chief of China’s manned space program.

With the establishment of its own space station, China will carry out manned space missions on a regular basis, with spacecraft launched several times a year, instead of once every several years, said Zhang.

Besides astronauts, engineers and even tourists may then go into space, Zhang added.

Several technical alterations have been made to Shenzhou-11, though its main functions and technical parameters are basically the same as Shenzhou-10, Wu said.

To further improve the spacecraft’s reliability and astronauts’ safety, wide-beam relay telecommunication devices have been installed, which will significantly expand the scope of telemetry, tracking and control, as well as improve space-ground communication when the position of the spacecraft changes rapidly, Wu said.

China launched its second experimental space lab Tiangong-2, or “Heavenly Palace,” last month.

It has been maneuvered into a near circular orbit 393 kilometers from Earth, where it will rendezvous and dock with Shenzhou-11, Wu said, adding that Tiangong-2 is “in a good condition” with all subsystems and equipment operating as expected.

Since Tiangong-2 entered orbit on September 22, its payload equipment has successfully completed self-inspections, initial configuration processes and experiments. All were carried out as planned and produced the desired results.

“According to in-orbit tests and experimental data, Tiangong-2’s ‘report card’ is satisfactory,” Wu said.

Since China initiated its manned space program, she said, it has signed a number of cooperation deals with space agencies of many countries and international organizations.

China will continue to actively pursue international exchanges and cooperation in this regard.

Nation


 

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