Shenzhou 16 evacuates the space station! How thrilling is returning to Earth? Why was it burned black and untidy

Welcome the astronauts of Shenzhou 16 spacecraft back home!Shenzhou 16 is the 16th spacecraft in China to launch a manned space program, and also the 5th manned spacecraft in China to go to the Chinese space station. On May 30th, three astronauts, Jing Haipeng, Zhu Yangzhu, and Gui Haichao, boarded the Shenzhou 16 spacecraft to the China Space Station and began a 5-month in orbit mission

Welcome the astronauts of Shenzhou 16 spacecraft back home!

Shenzhou 16 is the 16th spacecraft in China to launch a manned space program, and also the 5th manned spacecraft in China to go to the Chinese space station. On May 30th, three astronauts, Jing Haipeng, Zhu Yangzhu, and Gui Haichao, boarded the Shenzhou 16 spacecraft to the China Space Station and began a 5-month in orbit mission.

During these five months, these three astronauts completed many tasks, including conducting a series of scientific experiments, experiments, extravehicular activities, and space science popularization lectures, involving 70 space experiments in aerospace medicine, life ecology, biotechnology, materials science, fluid physics, fluid mechanics, aerospace technology, and 8 human factors engineering technology research, obtaining a large amount of experimental data.

Now that their mission has been completed, they are starting to return to Earth.

At 20:37 on October 30th, the Shenzhou-16 spacecraft successfully separated from the space station assembly and began preparing to return to Earth. Prior to this, the Shenzhou-16 spacecraft astronaut crew had been in orbit for 5 months. A few days ago, they also achieved in orbit handover with the Shenzhou-17 spacecraft astronaut crew!

After completing the handover work, the astronauts of the Shenzhou 16 spacecraft evacuated from the space station and began a brief solo flight. After separating from the space station, the Shenzhou 16 spacecraft completed a panoramic image of the space station assembly with Earth as the background during its orbit.

Although we have had many spacecraft heading to our space station and many batches of astronauts stationed at the Chinese space station, living and working inside the station for a long time, and conducting multiple outbound activities, we have not taken any "work photos" reflecting the full configuration of the space station before.

Now, after evacuating, the Shenzhou 16 spacecraft has completed its orbit and taken photos, which is the first time in orbit to obtain a panoramic image of the space station assembly with Earth as the background.

Our full configuration working photos of the space station have not been released yet. Let's look forward to it, and we believe it will make a stunning appearance soon.

How thrilling it was when the spacecraft returned to Earth

From the historical development of human aerospace industry, it can be seen that spacecraft and space stations are relatively safe when flying in space. However, during the process of launch or return to Earth, it is relatively thrilling because spacecraft will undergo a thrilling scene during their return to Earth.

The process of a spacecraft flying in outer space returning to Earth is quite complex, and it is not as simple as going out and returning home as we usually do. Because these spacecraft have very fast flight speeds, flying several kilometers in just one second, the time to enter the Earth's atmosphere is crucial during the process of returning to Earth. If they enter the atmosphere a few seconds later or earlier, there may be significant deviations in the landing point, which means they may deviate from the landing point.

Moreover, the angle at which the spacecraft re-enters the Earth's atmosphere is also crucial. If the angle of re-entry into the atmosphere is too small, the spacecraft's return module may be ejected into space by the atmosphere, and then float like water in outer space, unable to return to Earth. If the angle of re-entry into the atmosphere is too large, the re-entry speed of the spacecraft's return module will be too fast, the aerodynamic heating effect will be stronger, the external temperature will be higher, and the spacecraft may not be able to withstand it and be burned.

What is the process of the spacecraft returning to Earth? Let's take a look at the general process below.

Firstly, multiple separations are required, including the separation of the orbital module and the separation of the propulsion module. In the end, only the return module can return to Earth smoothly, while the orbital module and propulsion module remain outside and burn themselves into the atmosphere.

After completing the separation, the return module re-enters the Earth's atmosphere at a suitable angle. As the height of the return module continues to decrease, the air density will increase. At this time, the aerodynamic heating effect will become exceptionally strong, leading to a sharp increase in the temperature outside the spacecraft, up to thousands of degrees Fahrenheit.

Under such high temperatures, the exterior of the spacecraft was scorched red. After returning to Earth, we can see that the exterior of the spacecraft's return capsule was scorched black. Previously, astronaut Wang Yaping recalled the feeling of sitting inside the spaceship when he returned to Earth. It felt like he was in the alchemy furnace of Emperor Taishang. Through the porthole of the spaceship, one could see the exterior of the spaceship burning red and making a crackling sound.

Due to the high temperature of thousands of degrees Celsius that burns the spacecraft, the ablation material and air outside the spacecraft will generate an ionosphere, which will block the spacecraft's signal, which is what we call the black barrier zone. During this period, the spacecraft's return module did not receive ground signals, and similarly, the ground did not receive the spacecraft's signals, resulting in a brief loss of communication.

However, the combustion and blackout situation will not last for a long time, because as the spacecraft continues to descend in height, its speed will become slower and slower under the influence of air resistance, and the aerodynamic heating effect will become hotter, ultimately ending the combustion phenomenon.

When the spacecraft's return capsule is about 10 kilometers away from the ground, the spacecraft's return capsule will open a deceleration parachute. The area of the deceleration parachute is very large, up to 1200 square meters, and the huge deceleration parachute can continue to slow down the spacecraft's speed.

The final step is to start the reverse engine for final braking when the spacecraft is still about 1 meter away from the ground.

After completing this series of operations, the spacecraft's return capsule can safely land on the ground.

From the process perspective, the principle is actually very simple, which is to enter the Earth's atmosphere at the right time, open the deceleration parachute at the right time, and start the reverse thrust engine at the right time. However, these are very difficult in practical operation, which is why so far only China, the United States, and Russia have mastered manned space technology. Because other countries are uncertain about ensuring that their astronauts can safely return to Earth by going into space in spacecraft.

Although the process of the spacecraft returning to Earth was thrilling, for us, these technologies are already very mature and reliable. Our manned spacecraft has a high reliability, and there have been no problems with our spacecraft during the process of returning to Earth.

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