Composition: The aerospace industry in 20 years

my country is expected to realize space tourism in 20 years

Yuan Jiajun, president of the China Academy of Space Technology and commander-in-chief of the Shenzhou 2-5 spacecraft system, attended the China Science and Technology Conference held at Tongji University yesterday. The latest progress of China's space program was revealed at the Association's Fifth Annual Youth Academic Conference: "Shenzhou 6" will launch next fall, "Chang'e 1" will fly around the moon in 2007, and Chinese people are expected to realize "space tourism" in 20 years. .

As the commander-in-chief of the "Shenzhou" series of spacecraft systems, especially the successful launch of the Shenzhou-5 manned spacecraft in October last year, Yuan Jiajun, the commander-in-chief of the Shenzhou-5 spacecraft system, has become a figure that attracts public attention. When he appeared at Tongji University yesterday, reporters and Chinese and foreign scientists immediately "bombed" him on issues such as the "Shenzhou VI" and China's space program.

"Shenzhou 6" will be launched next fall

Yuan Jiajun revealed yesterday that "Shenzhou 6" will be launched next fall and will carry two astronauts for five flights. sky. Technically speaking, manned spaceflight itself, especially compared with Shenzhou-5, there is no substantial change in the launch of Shenzhou-6. China's Shenzhou spacecraft is designed to carry three people and seven days. The number of astronauts is crucial to the entire assessment system of the spacecraft. The astronauts’ heat load, breathing oxygen, amount of carbon dioxide emitted, etc. all have a great impact on the system. The biggest difference between flying with one person and flying with two or three people is In terms of environmental control and life support systems, relatively strict tests are required. This is also the biggest technical difficulty that distinguishes Shenzhou VI from Shenzhou V. Environmental control and life support systems are the most stringent and demanding.

Yuan Jiajun said that the development of manned spaceflight is a high-risk task. The Shenzhou-6 spacecraft has more than 600 pieces of equipment, more than 80,000 nodes, more than 1.2 million computer chips, and more than 700,000 sets of software. It requires Grasp every aspect and avoid any mistakes, especially to prevent various accidents.

Yuan Jiajun said that the current development work of Shenzhou VI is going very smoothly, and it will be launched as scheduled next autumn. "Chang'e 1" - after the success of manned space flight around the moon in 2007, China's next space plan is the lunar exploration project. According to the country's overall development strategy, my country's lunar exploration plan is divided into three development stages. The first stage is to develop and launch China's first lunar probe, Chang'e-1, to conduct global, holistic and comprehensive exploration of the moon.

Yuan Jiajun said yesterday that my country's first lunar exploration satellite "Chang'e-1", produced by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, is currently being developed as planned. Breakthroughs have been achieved in key satellite technologies, and the development of preliminary satellites is progressing smoothly. As for the "Chang'e-1" in the first phase of the lunar exploration plan, the first phase goal is to achieve orbiting the moon in 2007. Judging from the current situation, all work is being carried out in an orderly manner under the guidance of relevant national departments. The plan phase It is nearing completion and some systems have entered the engineering stage.

"Space tourism" - China will realize it in 20 years

In June this year, American Burt Rutan's Space One successfully entered space, becoming the world's first A private spacecraft into space, an action that brought his company approximately $10 million in revenue.

In view of the craze caused by "space tourism", Yuan Jiajun optimistically predicts that Chinese people are expected to realize "space tourism" in 20 years.

Yuan Jiajun said that the commercialization of space technology is the development trend of the aerospace industry. The successful entry into space of the private spacecraft Space One developed by private companies in the United States is a useful exploration of the commercialization of space technology. This This "space tourism" was a great success, but in fact this "space tourism" was not a real orbital flight, but a suborbital flight. The so-called "suborbital" means that after the spacecraft enters space, it leaves the atmosphere on the earth's surface and begins to enter the edge of space. At about 100 kilometers from the ground, it cannot orbit the earth because the speed and power cannot keep up with the real spacecraft. A state of flight.

Suborbital flight is not a space odyssey in the usual international orbit and orbit around the earth, but a flight that has just left the atmosphere and entered the edge of space.

Suborbital flight is technically simpler than orbital flight, but it sets a precedent for the commercial operation of manned spaceflight and is a very meaningful initiative.

Yuan Jiajun said that China’s space technology commercialization has not yet formed a good mechanism. With the development of technology, the commercialization of space technology will play a great role in the development of China’s manned space industry. With the increasing pace of international commercial development in manned spaceflight, it is expected that the development of space tourism will become faster and faster in the next 20 years. In 20 years, the Chinese will also be expected to realize "space tourism" .

Yuan Jiajun pointed out that there are two problems that need to be solved for the prosperity of "space tourism", one is to reduce costs, and the other is to ensure safety. The current research and development work of China's aerospace science and technology workers is mainly to serve the national economy and national defense, but in the near future, aerospace technology will definitely be widely used for civilian purposes, allowing more people to enjoy the convenience brought by advanced technology.