Tianzhou-3 completed flying around and docking, and the assembly was in good condition.

Tianzhou-3 completed flying around and docking, and the assembly was in good condition. At present, there is no one stationed in the space station, and Tianzhou-3 flies around and rendezvous and docking independently. The whole process takes 4 hours and 04 minutes. Tianzhou-3 completed the flying around docking, and the assembly was in good condition.

Tianzhou-3 completed the circumnavigation docking, and the assembly was in good condition. 1 Three astronauts, Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu, returned to the ground safely, which indicates that China's?Tiangong?space station has completed the on-orbit verification of key assembly and construction technologies and will enter the comprehensive construction stage in the future. At present, on the Tiangong Space Station, only the Tianhe core module and the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft are temporarily in a "gap period" without astronauts.

Tianzhou cargo spacecraft completes transposition operation.

According to the latest news, at 5: 02 on April 20, the only docking module on Tiangong Space Station, Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft, broke away from the large column docking interface (backward docking interface) of Tianhe core module and made a flight around the core module. After four hours of flying around, the docking operation with the axial docking interface (forward docking interface) of Tianhe core cabin node cabin was completed.

It took more than four hours for Tianzhou-3 to fly around and "twist" to dock. Some friends may wonder, since the interface between Tianhe and the core cabin is so "rich", why should it be transposed from back to front? Is it to show the docking technology of the cabin again? Of course not. Now our space station construction plan is far from showing off. Every task is carried out in strict accordance with the established plan.

How many docking interfaces are there between Tianhe and the core cabin?

In order to answer this question, we must first look at the main interface of Tiangong Space Station. Whether it is a manned spacecraft, a cargo spacecraft or an experimental module to be launched in the future, it needs to be docked based on the space station and the core module.

The overall structure of Tianhe core cabin can be divided into three parts: node cabin, living cabin and resource cabin, with a total length of16.6m and a diameter of 4.2m. Among them, the living cabin is used for astronauts' daily life and rest, and the resource cabin mainly stores materials, instruments and equipment necessary for astronauts' daily work and life.

Docking service is provided by the node cabin of the core cabin, which is mainly used to connect and visit related aircraft. On the node cabin, there are five docking ports, namely two side berths and three docking ports. Among them, two side berths are used to dock two experimental cabins, Tian Zhen and Meng Tian. These two experimental cabins will dock at these two berths for a long time, so up to now, these two berths generally will not dock with other aircraft.

For the remaining three docking ports, the docking directions are forward (along the forefront of the flight), backward (opposite to forward, at the rearmost end of the hull) and radial (pointing to the ground when viewed from the earth). Although the interface standards of these three pairs of interfaces are completely consistent, their functions are different.

Among them, the radial docking interface is mainly used for docking manned spacecraft, because it faces the ground, so docking or separation is more convenient. The previous Shenzhou-12 and Shenzhou-13, and the subsequent Shenzhou-14 and Shenzhou-15 will all dock with this interface.

The backward docking interface is mainly used for docking cargo spacecraft. The previous Tianzhou-1, Tianzhou-2, Tianzhou-3 and Shenzhou-4 will be connected to the space station at this interface when docking the core module for the first time.

Forward docking interface is mainly used for manned spacecraft and other extended aircraft. This is a multi-purpose interface, and provides transit conditions when it is necessary to change cabins. For example, China's manned spacecraft Shenzhou 14 and Shenzhou 15, which will be launched later this year, will have a "handover period" of about 7 days on the space station, so two manned spacecraft will dock at the same time. At this point, the forward docking interface must be docked with the manned spacecraft.

In addition, there is actually a "standby" interface above the node cabin. However, in order to facilitate the astronauts' spacewalk mission, it is now set as an airlock cabin with an exit for outbound activities, and will not dock with other aircraft for the time being.

Forwarding has a great influence on the interface.

After understanding the purpose of the five docking ports of Tiangong Space Station, we found that the cargo spacecraft Tianzhou No.4 and No.5 to be launched later will be docked to its backward docking port first, which requires Tianzhou No.3 to make room. Then, why didn't Tianzhou-4 connect to its forward docking port?

The main reason is that only one door is needed to enter the core cabin from the backward docking port, while two doors are needed to enter the core cabin from the forward docking port. After all, all the materials needed are taken from the cargo ship Tianzhou-4, for the convenience and speed of the subsequent Shenzhou-14 astronauts.

At present, the articles on Tianzhou-3, mainly the wastes left by Shenzhou-13 astronauts in their daily work and life, are useless, and will fall into the atmosphere with the separation of Tianzhou-3 and be completely burned.

It is worth mentioning that this year, China will also carry out six launch missions around the Tiangong Space Station, including the Tianzhou-4 and Shenzhou 5 cargo spacecraft, the Shenzhou-14 and Shenzhou-15 manned spacecraft, and the experimental module of asking for a dream. In this process, the forward docking function of Tianhe core module will be brought into greater play.

It will not only undertake the conventional transposition of Tianzhou-4 and Tianzhou-5, but also undertake the initial docking positions of Shijian-1 and Meng Tian with the space station by the front docking port, and then transfer them to the left and right berths in batches in orbit, finally forming the basic configuration of the T-shaped three-module assembly.

If the time is further extended, China will launch the "Sky Survey" optical module in the future, equipped with the international leading large-scale optical telescope, and the combination with the space station also needs a forward docking interface.

Tianzhou-3 completed the circumnavigation docking, and the assembly was in good condition. With three astronauts, Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu, safely returning to Earth by group, it also means that the manned mission of Shenzhou 13 has been successfully completed, and the key technology verification stage of China's space station construction has ended. After the evacuation of Shenzhou XIII manned spacecraft, there is only one ship and one cabin left in the space station assembly, namely Tianhe core cabin and Tianzhou III cargo spacecraft.

According to the latest news from the China Manned Space Engineering Office, at 5: 02 Beijing time on April 20th, the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft separated from the large column docking interface of Tianhe core cabin, and then began to fly around with Tianhe core cabin. At 9: 06, it flew around and docked with the axial docking interface of Tianhe core cabin node cabin, which is also its forward docking interface. The whole process takes 4 hours and 04 minutes.

At present, there is no one stationed on the space station, and Tianzhou-3 is flying around all the time, rendezvous and docking. Many friends are curious. Tianzhou No.3 is well docked. Why change places?

Make room for Tianzhou 4.

According to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, China Space Station will have six launch missions in 2022, and the approximate launch time has been determined. The first launch was the Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft. At present, the final assembly test has been carried out in Wenchang space launch site and Long March 7 remote five carrier rocket in the launch site as planned.

It is expected to be launched in mid-May or early May. As the saying goes, the soldiers and horses have not moved food and grass first, and the Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft will bring enough living materials and experimental materials to the three astronauts of the Shenzhou-14 manned spacecraft. After launch, Tianzhou-4 will dock at the backward docking interface of Tianhe core cabin, so Tianzhou-3 must make way for Tianzhou-4, so it needs to fly around and replace the docking interface.

On the same excuse, everyone can enter space and the core module. Why does the new cargo ship dock at the backward docking interface?

In fact, this problem is relatively simple, that is, it is convenient for astronauts to transfer materials in the space station, because the forward docking interface is on the node module and the reverse docking interface is on the large column section of the Tianhe core module.

It takes two doors to enter the space station from the forward docking interface, which is cumbersome to operate, while it is more convenient to enter from the backward docking interface by only one door. For example, after the launch of the previous Tianzhou-2, it was docked at the backward docking interface. Before Tianzhou 3 was launched into orbit, Tianzhou 2 flew around and docked to make way for Tianzhou 3.

Now Tianzhou No.3 has also adopted the action flow of its predecessors to make way for Tianzhou No.4, and so will Tianzhou No.5 and Tianzhou No.6 in the future.

It is convenient for the subsequent docking of the experimental cabin.

When the Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft and the Shenzhou-14 manned spacecraft are docked in orbit, the space station assembly will be in the configuration of "one cabin is a sad song", which means that all three docking ports on the Tianhe core cabin are occupied, and one docking port must be reserved for the subsequent experimental cabin launch.

Then the only thing that can get out of the way is the Shenzhou-3 cargo spacecraft, because it experienced the Shenzhou-12 crew and the Shenzhou-13 crew, and completed the tasks of transporting materials upwards and adjusting the attitude and orbit for the space station during the flight.

The next step is to take away the garbage, such as the replacement of maintenance spare parts in the space station, the packaging garbage of daily necessities and the excrement of astronauts. These garbage will be transported to Tianzhou-3, re-enter the atmosphere with the evacuation of Tianzhou-3, and eventually burn over the South Pacific Ocean, and some debris will fall into Nemo Point.

The so-called Nemo point is a virtual location farthest from the land, and the space station above the earth is closer to it than the land on the surface of the earth.

After launch, the candlestick experimental module will dock with the forward docking interface of Tianhe core module, stay at this docking interface for several months, and then conduct horizontal transposition experiments with the assistance of the mechanical arm. This technology was verified during the on-orbit of Tianzhou-2. After that, the candlestick experimental module will be anchored at the radial horizontal port of Tianhe core module, and will stay permanently unless there are special circumstances.

Then the problem is simple. Tianzhou-3 will naturally evacuate before the launch of the "Quest for Heaven" experimental module. This action was completed by its predecessors Tianzhou II and Tianzhou I.. According to the plan, the candlestick experimental module will be launched in July, so the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft will naturally evacuate before that time.

This year's six launch missions of the space station include two manned spacecraft, two cargo spacecraft and two experimental modules. "Meng Tian" experimental module will move horizontally after it is launched into orbit in June+10/October, 5438. By then, the China Space Station will complete the construction work and become a T-shaped configuration. After the launch, the Shenzhou 15 manned spacecraft will rendezvous with the Shenzhou 14 manned spacecraft in space, and six astronauts will complete the on-orbit mission handover, flying for 5- 10 days.

Tianzhou-3 completed the flying around docking, and the assembly was in good condition. According to CCTV news reports, according to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, at 5: 02 Beijing time today, the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft separated from the backward port and core cabin of the space station, flew around to the forward port, and completed the automatic rendezvous and docking at 9: 06. At present, the combination of Tianhe core module and Tianzhou-3 of the space station is in good condition, and it will welcome the visit of Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft, Shenzhou-14 manned spacecraft and experimental module.

It is reported that the Long March 7 remote five launch vehicle, which carried out the launch mission of Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft, has completed all the development work before leaving the factory and arrived safely at Wenchang space launch site. According to Zhong Wenan, chief engineer of xichang satellite launch center, Tianzhou-4 is expected to be launched in early May. The astronauts' food and shelter bags have been installed and the rocket body has been repaired.

When will Shenzhou XIV be launched? According to Huang, chief designer of the astronaut system of China's manned spaceflight project, the astronauts of Shenzhou 14 and Shenzhou 15 are training and in good condition. It is understood that Shenzhou XIV is scheduled to be launched in June, when a new "business trip trio" will work and live in China Space Station.