Shenzhou 16 is about to return: the exterior will be burned to a point where it is completely unrecognizable! What exactly will you go through

The Shenzhou 16 spacecraft will soon return to Earth! Since its launch on May 30, 2023, the Shenzhou 16 spacecraft has been in orbit for over 4 and a half months.According to the mission arrangement, the orbit time of the Shenzhou 16 spacecraft is 5 months, which means that it is expected that in half a month, the Shenzhou 16 spacecraft will withdraw from the Chinese space station and begin returning to Earth

The Shenzhou 16 spacecraft will soon return to Earth! Since its launch on May 30, 2023, the Shenzhou 16 spacecraft has been in orbit for over 4 and a half months.

According to the mission arrangement, the orbit time of the Shenzhou 16 spacecraft is 5 months, which means that it is expected that in half a month, the Shenzhou 16 spacecraft will withdraw from the Chinese space station and begin returning to Earth.

The end of one task also means that the next task is about to begin. According to the launch plan, before the Shenzhou 16 spacecraft returns to Earth, we will launch the Shenzhou 17 spacecraft in advance. At that time, these two spacecraft will achieve in orbit rotation, and after completing the handover task, the Shenzhou 16 spacecraft will return to Earth.

Like previous Shenzhou spacecraft, Soyuz spacecraft, and Manned Dragon spacecraft, when Shenzhou 16 spacecraft returns to Earth, it will experience high temperatures and external temperatures of up to thousands of degrees Celsius. Under such high temperatures, the exterior of the spacecraft's return module would be scorched black and even completely unrecognizable. What is this situation and what will the spacecraft experience when returning to Earth?

Shenzhou 16 is about to return to Earth

Like the previous spacecraft, the Shenzhou 16 spacecraft will land at the Dongfeng landing site. During the return to the earth, the spacecraft will evacuate from the space station, adjust its flight trajectory, and re-enter the atmosphere at the right time.

When the spacecraft re-enters the atmosphere, it undergoes a process that can be described as "thrilling", where it appears as if it is surrounded by a raging fire, with an external temperature of up to thousands of degrees Celsius.

If it were ordinary materials, spacecraft like spacecraft would be directly burned down under such high temperatures.

When satellite, detector, and rocket wreckage complete their mission and fall into the Earth's atmosphere, this is the outcome. The satellite and rocket wreckage will directly burn fiercely in the atmosphere, transforming into a meteor that will stand out particularly in the pitch black wilderness.

We have seen many similar scenes before, but when some rocket debris returns to Earth, a series of burning fragments will appear in the night sky. Eventually, the vast majority of the fragments will directly turn into ashes in the atmosphere, with only a small amount of debris unable to completely burn out and fall into the predetermined sea area.

And manned spacecraft cannot do this because satellites, detectors, and rocket debris are all unmanned, while manned spacecraft carry astronauts. There are astronauts inside the spacecraft, so manned spacecraft cannot be burned down like rocket debris or satellites.

In order to meet this requirement, the outer part of the spacecraft's return capsule will be coated with ablative materials and insulation materials. When the spacecraft enters the Earth's atmosphere at or near the first cosmic velocity (i.e., close to 7.9 kilometers per second), the aerodynamic heating effect will be very strong, and the temperature outside the spacecraft will sharply rise to thousands of degrees Celsius.

After being subjected to such high temperatures, there will naturally be some changes outside the spacecraft. For example, external ablative materials will take away some of the heat, so some ablative materials will be seen to fall off. It is precisely because of being burned by high temperatures that the exterior of the spacecraft becomes dark and even partially unrecognizable.

Previously, Wang Yaping mentioned in an interview that the process of returning to Earth was thrilling. Through the porthole of the spaceship, one could see the exterior burning red and even hear crackling sounds.

As the altitude of the spacecraft continues to decrease, the temperature will decrease and the aerodynamic heating effect will gradually weaken. After reaching a certain level, the temperature will be very low, and the combustion phenomenon will end.

Subsequently, the spacecraft will continue to descend. At a suitable altitude, the spacecraft's return capsule will open a deceleration parachute to further decelerate. When the descent reaches about 1 meter from the ground, the return capsule will start a reverse propulsion engine, ultimately allowing the return capsule to land steadily on the ground.

These are some of the problems that spacecraft will face during their return to Earth. It can be said that spacecraft are relatively safe during space flight, and the biggest threat at this time may be space debris. During the process of launching or returning to Earth, the risk of a spacecraft is the greatest. In history, there have been many space flight accidents that occurred during the launch or return to Earth.

Nowadays, manned space technology is becoming more and more advanced, and the safety and reliability of spacecraft are also increasing. There are basically no problems during the process of spacecraft launch and return to Earth, which is very safe.

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