The United States built the world's first manned space station, which weighed 76 tons and was abandoned after running for 171 days?

Since our ancestors first began to look up at the stars, our exploration of the universe has never stopped. The exploration of the universe actually also includes our exploration of our own development.

With the advancement of science and technology, humans have also inferred some astronomical phenomena from the initial observation of celestial changes with the naked eye. Now we can truly observe celestial objects accurately, and even personally set foot on those things that we thought were far away from us in the past. An unreachable celestial body.

The geocentric theory first proposed by the ancient Greek scholar Eudoxus was the first person to help mankind understand the entire universe. The geocentric theory was first proposed in the 2nd century AD and later refined by Aristotle.

Finally, it was further expanded by Ptolemy. This statement has lasted for nearly thirteen centuries until today. The first people to observe astronomical phenomena were called "stargazers" abroad.

The duty of a stargazer is to help local leaders, large and small, observe celestial phenomena to judge the appropriate timing for farming, war and other major events. In fact, there was such a position in ancient my country.

In ancient times, some talented people were accepted into the service of kings and court officials, many of which were because their interpretation of celestial phenomena could benefit some large-scale wars and farming activities.

For example, Zhuge Kongming, a famous military strategist during the Three Kingdoms period, still has many good stories and allusions that have been passed down through the ages. It is said that "borrowing arrows from a straw boat" and "borrowing the east wind" were all planned by Zhuge Kongming based on his observation of astronomical phenomena. Come. This also shows from the side that the ancients in our country have long sought convenience for themselves by observing astronomical phenomena.

Humanity’s most primitive detection of the universe was only through naked eye observation. As achievements in the field of mathematics became more and more remarkable, many mathematicians began to use mathematics to “calculate” the universe. However, human exploration of the universe has never It's impossible to stop there.

With the advancement of science and technology, our science and technology are developing more and more rapidly, and scientists have begun to design sophisticated instruments to observe and measure the universe. Wise scientists began to use sound waves to detect the distance between the sun and the earth,

began to calculate the motion trajectories of major planets, and even began to launch artificial satellites that can observe the earth, design spacecraft that can carry people, and even A large space station that allows people to live in space. At this point, mankind has truly embarked on a journey to get in close contact with the universe.

In fact, the study of aerospace technology is not only for the development of human beings in the universe. The strength and high technology in exploring the universe can also further demonstrate the comprehensive strength of a superpower.

So in 2021, our country also successfully launched the core component of the space station belonging to our people-"Tianhe".

The launch of "Tianhe" not only serves as a proof of our country's strong strength, but also adds a significant touch to our country's aerospace industry. At this point, Chinese astronauts finally have a place to stay in the universe.

Although "Tianhe" is currently the largest space station in operation, it is actually far behind the world's first manned space station that flew into the universe. This space station Launched by the United States.

It has made great contributions to the aerospace industry of the United States, pioneered the development of space and aerospace industry in other countries around the world, and achieved many world firsts.

The name of this first space station in human history that provides astronauts with a temporary docking function is Skylab. It weighs 76 tons, far exceeding the launch weight of the "Tianhe".

The launch of Skylab won many awards for the United States, but this monumental space station only performed three missions and was abandoned in just 171 days, ending its work history. This is due to a "fatal" shortcoming in Skylab's design.

With the end of World War II, although the war with gunpowder smoke has ended, the competition between the United States and the former Soviet Union has just begun. This war without gunpowder smoke is even more fierce.

The former Soviet Union and the United States not only began to compete in military, political, and economic aspects, but the main battlefield of their competition also included the development of aerospace capabilities. Because the United States and the former Soviet Union captured many German scientists one after another, they relied on the scientific research capabilities of these German scientists.

At that time, when various countries around the world had not yet begun to develop aerospace technology, the United States and the former Soviet Union were already competing to launch artificial satellites developed in their countries into established orbits.

Because the former Soviet Union took the lead in launching the artificial satellite, it also caused strong panic in the United States. The United States was worried that the "artificial satellite" was an "eye" installed by the former Soviet Union to monitor the world. It was also worried that the former Soviet Union China's aerospace capabilities have completely surpassed that of the United States.

Therefore, the United States quickly launched its own artificial satellite the following year, and established the famous National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) the following year.

In the history of the United States, NASA, as the first federal organization established in the United States to specialize in the study of aviation and aerospace, can be said to have established a "remarkable" foundation in the research of the aerospace industry in the United States. War merits".

But launching objects into the universe is only the first step for us to go into space. Although other countries in the world at that time could achieve this step except the United States and the former Soviet Union, their goals were far beyond this.

In April 1959, the former Soviet Union’s space program made another breakthrough. The Soviet Union took the lead in launching a probe that could hit the moon, and then used a spacecraft to send astronauts into space. This was also the first time that humans truly embarked on a journey into space.

Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to enter the universe and orbit the Earth. After the Soviet Union made a major breakthrough, in May 1959, the United States also realized its plan to send astronauts to the universe. Although the interval is not long, the United States is not willing to fall behind the former Soviet Union this time.

Kennedy, who was the President of the United States at the time, also boldly announced that he would officially land on the moon at the end of the 19th century. However, the implementation of the "Apollo Moon Landing Plan" also faced many constraints.

Due to immature technology, a spacecraft carrying three American astronauts was even burned down at that time. None of the three astronauts survived. And despite spending a lot of money, NASA failed to see results, so the United States had to postpone the "moon landing plan."

The United States' enthusiasm for breakthroughs in aerospace technology has not diminished at all. They plan to launch the world's first manned spacecraft, because in space, some experiments can be carried out that are free from interference factors such as gravity and the existence of the earth.

Therefore, NASA began to develop the space station. To the surprise of scientists, although the "Apollo Moon Landing Plan" failed, many of the contents of the "Apollo Moon Landing Plan" can be applied to the construction of a space station.

The construction of the space station not only allows astronauts to complete the task of observing earth conditions in real time, but also provides astronauts with a place to rest temporarily.

And for economic reasons, von Braun suggested that the Saturn V third-stage rocket shell could be directly transformed into a space station. American scientists have full confidence in this plan.

Because they believe that Skylab’s huge storage capacity can stay in the universe for decades if nothing unexpected happens. Scientists not only installed a high-definition telescope in the space station to meet the requirements for earth observation, but also equipped the "Tiangong Laboratory" with a high-endurance battery system.

In this way, it can not only be used as a symbol to highlight the country’s comprehensive strength, but also provide high scientific research value for the country’s scientific and technological development. But the results after the launch were very different from what American scientists had imagined.

However, during the launch process, Skylab had already malfunctioned. At the 63rd second of liftoff, Skylab's protective shield fell directly, and then scientists came to the rescue for Skylab. The equipped battery system was also ripped off, which means that Skylab lost most of its power system since it took off.

And due to the loss of the shield, the entire cabin was illuminated by high-intensity ultraviolet rays, and the temperature inside the cabin even rose to more than 50 degrees. One can imagine the challenges that astronauts face in such an environment if they want to complete their assigned tasks.

Eight days after Skylab was launched, the first batch of astronauts boarded the spacecraft and tried to dock with the space station. However, the docking process was also quite difficult. It took eight attempts for the astronauts to successfully connect. Set foot on the space station.

The first task of astronauts on setting foot on the space station is to step out of the capsule and use cloth to cover the cabin that is experiencing exposure to the sun. The second task given to the astronauts who stayed on the space station for two weeks was to repair the power system of the space station.

Although Skylab has been repaired through human efforts, the power reserve has not returned to the value expected by scientists, and is even less than half of the expected value.

The astronauts who logged in for the first time stayed on the space station for 28 days. After returning, the space agency arranged for the second and third astronauts to log in and operate.

However, after the third astronaut landing, they not only completed the set tasks. The new tasks constantly arranged by the space agency made the astronauts exhausted and passive. However, the additional additions from the space agency There are reasons for the mission and the delay in returning.

Scientists found that if existing problems are not repaired, Skylab may not be able to support the fourth astronaut login. The three astronauts who logged in for the third time were exhausted by the constant new maintenance instructions and the delayed return instructions.

After the delay in return, three astronauts decided to go on strike and shut down the ground communication equipment used to feedback information to NASA. After the astronauts returned, scientists proposed that they could use the assistance of the space shuttle to repair the damaged instruments on Skylab.

However, due to a shortage of funds and continuous failures, this idea was not put into action. And at that time, NASA no longer had enough funds to continue operating the huge space station.

So Skylab only worked for 171 days. Although the work process of Skylab has come to an end, the struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union for hegemony set a precedent for space landing programs around the world and created many "firsts."

Although this period of "StarCraft" was caused by the strength confrontation between the two countries, it has undoubtedly preserved numerous fruits for aerospace scientific research around the world.