SCIO press conference on China's progress on space station construction
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E-mail China.org.cn, April 20, 2022
The Beijing News:
In manned spaceflight, the tracking, telemetry, and command and communication systems are likened to an invisible kite string. In the verification period of the space station's key technologies, the space station was larger and the system more complicated. How can we accurately track, telemeter, and guide the space station into the right orbit and ensure its secure and stable operation? Thank you.
Hao Chun:
Let's invite Mr. Sun to answer this question.
Sun Jun:
Thank you for your question. Over the past two years, our task mainly involved the assembly of the space station. Since last year, with the practice and technologies we gained during the five tasks of testing and verifying the key technologies needed for the construction of the space station, we have made breakthroughs in several flight control technologies, including its rapid rendezvous and docking modes, separation and returning, automatic task planning, complicated spacecraft accurate orbiting, forecasting, and robot arm remote control. We have developed a domestically constructed stable flight-control system platform as well as a set of systems for flight control management of the in-orbit space station with Chinese characteristics. It can be said that we have grasped and initially verified core flight control technologies in the assembly of the space station, which will provide a solid guarantee for the successful in-orbit assembly of the space station this year.
While pushing forward assembly and construction tasks, we have continued to improve the efficiency of the space station's in-orbit operation, optimize the space station's long-term organization and management model, and the support model for in-orbit astronauts. We have promoted automatic and intelligent technologies in the flight control system and expanded and improved the application and experiment models of space science so as to comprehensively enhance the in-orbit performance of the space station and give better play to the role of the large-scale space science experiment platform.
The Shenzhou-13 flight crew set a record in terms of the orbital stay of China's astronauts. In the future, Chinese space stations and astronauts will continue extended in-orbit flights. According to the planning of the project tasks and demands for science experiments, our center is in charge of the organization, arrangement, and implementation of the space station's long-term operation control. We have taken various measures to ensure the secure and stable in-orbit operation of the space station and the astronauts' health.
First, we constructed a complete ground verification system. We delicately designed the space station assembly plan and key flight control plans for in-orbit management. We made more than 3,000 fault pre-plans and constructed a full-loop ground verification environment that allowed communication among spacecraft, the tracking and command network, and the tracking and command center. We organized staff to conduct a full-course coordination rehearsal and comprehensively verified flight control plans, flight control systems, and performance in normal and emergent conditions so as to ensure the security and reliability of the flight control.
Second, we conducted strict organization and command. Following the principle of "unified command, professional support" in major and core control phases, we organized experts of all fields to provide professional and technical support on the flight control site. In the operation of the robot arm, extravehicular activities of astronauts, and other complex space science experiments, we arranged for multiple systems from space and the ground to coordinate and cooperate closely. We supervised, studied, and judged the situations with close attention, made decisions and arrangements on-site with science-based approaches in conducting major control tasks, and ensured the successful implementation of all tasks.
Third, precise monitoring and control. Beijing Aerospace Control Center deployed the land-sea-space telemetry, tracking and command network, mainly composed of relay satellites, to conduct large-scale measurement and control of the space station and effectively monitor the space station for each lap. In addition, we established an automated flight control system, which can conduct automatic planning and execution of in-orbit flight events, use the digital space station for auxiliary health management, conduct intelligent fault diagnosis, conduct regular check-ups for the space station to assess the overall health status, carry out timely and effective disposal of abnormal situations, and carry out regular emergency exercises such as the emergency evacuation of astronauts to hold the bottom line of safety firmly.
Fourth, we properly handled space security risks. We conducted full-time monitoring of space station equipment and the health status of astronauts, enhanced monitoring and early warning of the space environment and collisions of space objects, and took necessary avoidance measures. Since February this year, the space station's orbit has been released to the world for collision warning calculations by space entities around the world. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to our foreign counterparts for building a harmonious and safe environment for China's space station. Thank you.
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