China's manned space industry is making significant progress as the space station enters a new stage of normalized operation

CCTV News:From welcoming the first Chinese visitor in the vast space to today, in 20 years, China's manned space program has gone from the end of the "first step" to the comprehensive completion of the "three step" strategy, and the space station has also entered a new stage of normalized operation.At 5:20 am on October 15, 2003, the launch ceremony of the Shenzhou-5 astronaut was held at the Wentian Pavilion of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center

CCTV News:From welcoming the first Chinese visitor in the vast space to today, in 20 years, China's manned space program has gone from the end of the "first step" to the comprehensive completion of the "three step" strategy, and the space station has also entered a new stage of normalized operation.

At 5:20 am on October 15, 2003, the launch ceremony of the Shenzhou-5 astronaut was held at the Wentian Pavilion of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Astronaut Yang Liwei was ordered to embark on the mission, surrounded by flowers and applause. At the ceremony, everyone couldn't help but cheer, which also inspired Yan Hao, who was still in elementary school at the time.

Yan Hao from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center:That was my first encounter with the concept of astronauts. At that time, I was relatively young and had the privilege of becoming a witness to history, which had a crucial impact on my future career plans. Now, as a participant in history, I hope to contribute to the aerospace industry of our country.

Influenced from a young age, Yan Hao did not hesitate to choose to become a part of the manned space industry. Nowadays, as a scientific and technological personnel at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the young Yan Hao has undergone multiple missions and constantly made progress.

From Shenyi to Shenwu, Li Bing was a commander on the arrow. During Shenwu's mission, he felt unprecedented pressure, but at the same time, he also realized the mission responsibility of astronauts.

Li Bing from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center:After the launch of Shenzhou-5 in 2003, our manned space launch site has also undergone 20 years of development and progress, and the level of automation and information technology is unparalleled compared to that time. Furthermore, the organizational command mode and management methods have been further refined, further ensuring the smooth development of subsequent responsibility tasks.

On October 16, 2003, at 6:23 am, the Shenzhou-5 return module successfully landed with astronaut Yang Liwei from the Siziwang Banner landing site in Inner Mongolia. Opening the cabin door by the cabin operator Li Tao, Yang Liwei independently exited the module. At this point, China has become the third country in the world to independently master manned space technology.

Li Tao from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center:We achieved an unprecedented result of a search and rescue team arriving at the scene in 30 seconds (after the spacecraft landed). Yang Liwei and I opened the cabin door at the same time and simply shook hands. After that, I devoted myself to the follow-up work. It is a great honor to witness the heroic return of the first flight and the flourishing development of the manned space industry.

After the successful completion of the Shenzhou V mission, China successively launched 11 Shenzhou spacecraft from Shenzhou VI to Shenzhou XVI. Astronauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng successfully completed a 5-day flight mission aboard Shenzhou VI, verifying China's ability to fly in space with multiple people and days. The Shenzhou-7 spacecraft sent Zhai Zhigang, Jing Haipeng, and Liu Boming into space, successfully carrying out China's first space launch activity, marking China becoming the third country to master space launch technology.

On November 3 and November 14, 2011, the Tiangong-1 target spacecraft and the Shenzhou-8 spacecraft conducted two space rendezvous and docking tests, both of which were successful. On June 16, 2012, the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft was launched, and three Chinese astronauts, Jing Haipeng, Liu Wang, and Liu Yang, made their first entry into the Tiangong-1 spacecraft. This time, the Shenzhou-9 and Tiangong-1 spacecraft also achieved manual rendezvous and docking, which means that China has fully mastered space rendezvous and docking technology. On June 11, 2013, one year later, the Shenzhou-10 spacecraft sent astronauts Nie Haisheng, Zhang Xiaoguang, and Wang Yaping into space, flying in orbit for 15 days, and conducted the first Chinese astronaut teaching activity in space. On October 19, 2016, astronauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dongjin from the Shenzhou 11 spacecraft stationed on the Tiangong 2 spacecraft for the first time, achieving a mid-term in orbit residency, laying the foundation for the construction and operation of China's space station. On June 17, 2021, the Shenzhou-12 manned spacecraft was launched and docked with the Tianhe core module to form a composite. Astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming, and Tang Hongbo successively entered the core module, marking the first time that Chinese people have entered their own space station.

After flying in orbit for three months, Shen12 returned to the Dongfeng landing site on September 17th. This is the first time that the Shenzhou spacecraft has landed at the Dongfeng landing site, improving the adaptability and reliability of the manned spacecraft's return. On May 30, 2023, the Shen-16 spacecraft was launched into space, and on June 4, the Shen-15 "Dream Fulfillment Crew" successfully returned to the Dongfeng landing site, marking the successful completion of China's space station construction phase and opening a new stage of space station application and development.

Li Bing from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center:From Shenzhou-5 to Shenzhou-16, our manned spaceflight has been going on for 20 years. Our spacecraft launch has evolved from one person, one ship, to the smooth establishment of a space station, as well as the stable operation now. Our center has also developed from one spacecraft launch in a few years to several manned spacecraft launches and manned spacecraft recycling every year, entering a state of normalized operation.

This month, as planned, Shenzhou 17 will be launched again from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, docking with the forward port of the core module, forming a three module three ship combination, and continuing to carry out space science and technology experiments.

Continuously Evolving Environmental Control and Life Protection to Build a Better "Space Homeland"

From 2003 to 2023, Chinese astronauts made a significant leap from a "one day space trip" to a long-term stay at a space station in the past 20 years, which is inseparable from the increasingly mature and perfect environmental control and life support technology. Throughout the journey from Shenzhou-5 to the China Space Station, the environmental control and life support team has always worked hard to create a better in orbit environment for astronauts.

The role of the environmental control and life support system is to ensure the safety and efficient work of astronauts in space. In 2003, astronaut Yang Liwei boarded the Shenzhou V spacecraft and entered space. The life support system used was steel oxygen cylinders and other equipment. After several brief "space trips," the astronauts used lightweight high-strength composite gas cylinders, but the oxygen still relied on ground supply. With the development of space station missions, the duration of astronauts' stay in space continues to extend, and the demand for oxygen is increasing. The environmental control and life support team has applied electrolytic oxygen production technology to manned space missions, greatly improving the reliability of manned spacecraft and effectively reducing launch costs.

In order to solve the problem of astronauts living and drinking in space, on September 29, 2011, the Tiangong-1 Space Laboratory was launched and operated in orbit for more than four years, completing a series of in orbit experiments and reliability verification of environmental control and life support systems, preparing for the space station stage.

On April 29, 2021, the Tianhe Core Module was successfully launched into orbit, marking the beginning of the construction phase of the space station. Previously, the non regenerative life support technology used by the Shenzhou spacecraft and space laboratory was replaced by a renewable life support system in the space station stage, achieving the regeneration and utilization of oxygen, water and other resources in the space station. A more reasonable, spacious, and comfortable "space home" was built in space, fully adapting to the needs of long-term manned space missions. Currently, the environmental control and life support team is still conducting scientific research and tackling key issues for astronauts' future visits to the moon.

Source: CCTV Network

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