Shen16 Achieves Technological Breakthrough and Successfully Arrives at the Space Station

Tech 2023-05-31 08:38:17 Source: Network

According to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, at 9:31 Beijing time on May 30th, the Long March 2F Yao 16 carrier rocket carrying the Shenzhou 16 manned spacecraft ignited and launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. About 10 minutes later, the Shenzhou 16 manned spacecraft successfully separated from the rocket and entered the predetermined orbit

According to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, at 9:31 Beijing time on May 30th, the Long March 2F Yao 16 carrier rocket carrying the Shenzhou 16 manned spacecraft ignited and launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. About 10 minutes later, the Shenzhou 16 manned spacecraft successfully separated from the rocket and entered the predetermined orbit. The astronauts were in good condition and the launch was a complete success.

At 16:29, the Shenzhou 16 manned spacecraft successfully docked with the radial port of the Tianhe core module of the space station, and the entire docking process took about 6.5 hours.

At 18:22, the long-awaited crew of Shenzhou-15 astronauts successfully opened their "home" and welcomed the crew of Shenzhou-16 astronauts from afar to settle in the "Heavenly Palace".

The reporter learned from the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Group that this is the first manned spacecraft rendezvous and docking mission in the application and development stage of China's space station, and also the first radial rendezvous and docking mission implemented under the "T" configuration of the third module of the space station. Compared to the radial rendezvous and docking implemented by the Shenzhou 13 and 14 spacecraft during the construction phase of the space station, the Shenzhou 16 rendezvous and docking task is more difficult, which puts higher requirements on the GNC (Guidance Navigation and Control) system for China's space rendezvous and docking independently developed by the 502 institute of the institute.

Difficulty 1: The combination has a larger mass

With the addition of modules and spaceships such as the Quest Module, the Dream Module, the Shenzhou Manned Spaceship and the Tianzhou Freight Spaceship, the size, mass, inertia, center of gravity position and other core elements of the space station assembly that affect attitude control have changed significantly compared with the core module, and some parameters even have increased by orders of magnitude.

Previously, Shenzhou XIV docked at the space station radially, and the docking target of the spacecraft was 47 tons; This time, the Shenzhou-16 spacecraft will undergo radial docking with a 90 ton space station assembly for the first time with a manned space station. Therefore, the docking mechanism faces new challenges such as capturing, buffering, and rigid connection with multi configuration, large tonnage, and large eccentricity docking targets.

When spacecraft rendezvous and docking, especially close range docking, the relative attitude position control method is used, and the changes in the motion characteristics of the space station will directly affect the control process of spacecraft rendezvous and docking.

Although Shenzhou-15 has successfully completed the rendezvous and docking mission of the space station's T-shaped configuration, its docking position is at the forward facing interface of the space station. Due to the differences in motion characteristics of space stations in different directions, the radial docking of Shenzhou 16 requires the GNC system to overcome the impact of these changes relying on its own capabilities.

Difficulty 2: More Line of Sight Occlusion

During the radial rendezvous and docking mission of Shenzhou 16, it will gradually approach the space station assembly along the radial interface below the Tianhe Core Module. From the perspective of the spacecraft, the Tianhe Core Module, the Wentian Experimental Module, the Mengtian Experimental Module, the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft, and the Shenzhou-15 spacecraft will all appear in its field of view.

This will cause obstruction in the line of sight for the measurement sensors on Shenzhou 16 that require the universe background or the sun as the observation target. And as the spacecraft and combination gradually approach, the obstruction will increase.

To achieve this, it is necessary to rely on the anti-interference and target characteristic recognition capabilities of GNC system sensors to distinguish and shield them, or to use backup measurement sensors with different measurement orientations and systems to ensure continuous and accurate measurement.

Difficulty 3: The impact of plumes is more complex

When two spacecraft are close together, the airflow emitted by the engines can have an impact on each other, which is known as the "plume effect" in the industry.

The increase in size of the space station assembly will result in more complex plume effects when the engines of the spacecraft and space station assembly work compared to previous docking missions.

During the close range rendezvous process of the spacecraft, it is necessary to frequently start the engine to adjust the relative attitude and position, which will have an impact on the attitude of the space station. The addition of modular compartments will make the above characteristics more complex. On the contrary, the jet control of the space station will also affect the control of the spacecraft.

To address this issue, the GNC system needs to optimize the use of engine grouping and control methods, and verify them through ground simulation calculations to ensure that the rendezvous and docking mission can still succeed under many influences.

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