Only China and the United States have manned space technology in the world, not even Europe. The European Space Agency has large rockets, large satellites, and its own navigation plan, but they dare not get involved in manned spaceflight.
ESA also has astronauts, but their astronauts are all launched on American space shuttles. They know that this manned space technology is too high-end and they do not have the ability to get involved.
Who would have thought that Dongfang would actually have a breakthrough in manned space technology, and it was also a private company!
History will always remember this day: On February 4, Starship Company, a subsidiary of Dongfang Mingzhou Group, successfully launched the Dragon spacecraft that night and sent two astronauts on board!
The whole world was shocked. Countless reporters rushed to Qiongzhou and Starship Company, but all came to nothing.
The person in charge of the Starship Company’s manned spaceflight project is not here! Where did they go? At the landing site, they are waiting for the triumph of the space hero!
After the celebration banquet that night, Qin Tao and others took a special plane and arrived at the snow-covered grassland. It was the coldest time of the year, with temperatures reaching minus 20 or 30 degrees Celsius. However, in everyone's heart, It's all fiery.
"According to our scheduled plan, the spacecraft will fly eight times in orbit and run for 12 hours and 8 minutes. After completing various operations, it will begin the return operation. If everything goes well, it will land at our landing site at around 4 p.m. ." Max introduced Qin Tao on a special operations vehicle.
The launch of the spacecraft can be at night, but recovery is best during the day. If it is at night, the time to search for the return capsule will definitely become longer, and dragging the return capsule back will also extend the time.
It is better to have white snow outside. If the landing engine control fails and the speed of descent is a bit high, the snow can be used as a buffer.
There are rules for launching any spacecraft. For example, the shortest time to fly around the earth is 84 minutes. If the North Kimchi Country announces that they have successfully launched a satellite, and it only takes one hour to circle the earth, then Must be bragging.
84 minutes is already the period of an artificial satellite flying close to the earth's surface. The higher the altitude of an artificial satellite, the longer its operating period. A geosynchronous satellite orbits the earth in exactly one day, because it is at 36,000 kilometers. At an altitude of 380,000 kilometers, the moon orbits the earth in 28 days. That is because it is at an altitude of 380,000 kilometers. It is no longer there, and it is almost time to escape the earth's gravity.
There are no special requirements for a spacecraft. It just needs to leave the atmosphere. It is usually in a low orbit. One orbit takes about one and a half hours. It flies eight times, which is about 12 hours. Then it needs to change orbit and so on. Actions take more time.
Although Qin Tao is a shipbuilder, he is also familiar with these things. He looked at his watch: "It seems that it is almost time. Is it going to start to change course?"
“Yes, it’s about to start changing course. It’s a pity that we still have to throw away some things and can’t bring the complete spacecraft back.” Speaking of this, Max was still a little disappointed, no, it should be distressed.
Those are all money!
Max is very picky. When the Dragon spacecraft was tinkering with it, it adopted a two-stage structure. Anything that can be placed in the front should be placed in the front, because the front is for return. If you can bring it back and continue to use it, the back is No way, it can only be separated and then fall into the atmosphere and burn up.
It's not possible to bring everything back. After all, the return capsule has a weight limit, and even the current Dragon spacecraft has created a miracle: it weighs more than ten tons when it is launched, and it weighs nine to ten when it returns. tons. In comparison, the return capsule of the Shenzhou spacecraft was only about three tons, and even the Apollo spacecraft was only seven tons when it returned.
If it weren't for eight rocket engines, the Dragon spacecraft would never dare to come back with so much payload.
When the Dragon spacecraft is descending, its cargo carrying capacity can reach three tons, and its performance is definitely powerful enough.
“The Capital Space Command and Control Center sent a message asking us if we would return as planned.” At this moment, Rubio came over and asked.
“According to the original plan to return, we don’t have a toilet on board, and the astronauts can’t stay too long,” Max said.
At 11:35 on February 5, the Capital Space Command and Control Center issued a return command to the Dragon spacecraft. The Yuanwang space survey ship sent this precise command at a precise location. In space, the Dragon spacecraft began to move.
During normal flight, the cone-shaped Dragon spacecraft is forward, with the equipment cabin behind. But now, the Dragon spacecraft flexibly flips its body in space, with its **** forward, head back, and then the engine ignites.
The speed of the spacecraft began to decrease and it fell from its original orbit.
“Next step, separation operation!”
Listening to the sound coming from the headphones, Max's face showed a trace of reluctance.
After separation, the latter part should crash!
employers。 There is no air in space, and the sound of exploding bolts cannot be heard. At this time, the Dragon spacecraft is still flying in the opposite direction, with the second half in front and the front half in the back. The two still maintain the same flying speed, but then, the engine continues Slowing down, the second half suddenly disappeared in front of the first half.
The second half is an uncontrollable fall, while the first half is controllable.
In the cabin of the spaceship, Zhao Dong turned to look at Deng Ming: "How are you, are you scared?"
The launch and return stages are the most dangerous. Many aerospace tragedies occur during this process. Now that they are returning, will there be an accident during the return?
Deng Ming smiled: "What are you afraid of? We are already famous. Whether we go back or not, we are all heroes. Besides, we believe in the Starship Company, the Dragon Spaceship, and Mr. Qin. After waiting, you Is the first person we see Mr. Qin or Max?"
“I guess it’s the medical staff.” Zhao Dong said, “I don’t want to be carried out, I want to climb out.”
“Okay, then you will be the first person to come back from space.”
The two of them are still very relaxed. For them, it is enough to be the first two people in the Eastern Feitian. Even if they cannot go back, they are already content.
“The east wind is calling the Dragon spacecraft, the east wind is calling the Dragon spacecraft.” At this moment, a voice came from the radio.
“Dragon spacecraft received.”
“The radar has confirmed that the trunk has been separated, and the recovery area is now confirmed, and we are preparing to land according to the planned trajectory.”
“Dragon spacecraft received.”
From this moment on, the Dragon spacecraft officially embarked on its way home. Of course, they could also take one last look at the starry sky outside and then close the hatch.
At 11:38 on February 5, all eight engines were started, and the Dragon spacecraft continued to slow down, completely deviating from its original orbit, heading towards the scheduled landing point, and then entering the atmosphere.
Although it has slowed down and entered the atmosphere, the Dragon spacecraft is still flying at a speed 23 times the factor. At this huge speed, the friction between the spacecraft surface and the air generates a high amount of heat.
How high?
Thousands of degrees are not a problem, and can even be as high as two thousand degrees.
Even steel will be melted. The bottom of the spacecraft cannot be made of any heat-resistant material, so we can only change the idea and let the bottom burn and take away the heat during the combustion!
When the spacecraft is launched, the pointed cone is in front, but when it returns, the **** with the largest diameter is in front, just like a big bell falling directly, with the mouth of the bell facing forward. At this time, this part is burning flame.
The entire spacecraft was wrapped in flames, like a meteor.
While burning, the speed of the spacecraft is also constantly decreasing. After entering the dense atmosphere, the speed has dropped to less than Mach 3. If it were an ordinary spacecraft, it would be time to release the parachute. At this speed, the main parachute cannot be thrown. First throw out a small drogue parachute, and wait until the speed further slows down before opening the main parachute. If you open the main parachute when you come up, it will definitely be torn apart instantly.
But now, the spacecraft did not open any parachutes, but continued to open the engine.
The spacecraft was most worried when it entered the black barrier. Countless people in the Capital Aerospace Command and Control Center were sweating. After they came out again, they breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the pictures on the screen, they couldn't bear it. asked.
“Dragon spaceship, report the current status.”
“We are in good shape and looking forward to going home.”
February 5, 12:23.
Prairie landing site.
“Attention, the target still has three minutes to reach our sky!”
“Radar No. 1 has captured the target! The scheduled landing point is in the center of the landing field!”
“Attention, the search and rescue convoy is dispatched!”
The area of the landing site is very large. After all, the uncertainty of a spacecraft landing by parachute is too great, and it may even fly outside the landing site. They not only have a fleet on the ground, but also helicopters in the air.
The ground convoy moved toward the center of the landing site at the four top corners of the landing site. The helicopter also flew over. On the plane, a staff member shouted loudly: "I saw it, I saw it!"
All eight engines were turned on, and the spacecraft that was decelerating and landing at full speed appeared on the staff's retina. He watched the landing of the spacecraft with excitement.
“Speed reduced to 190 kilometers per hour!”
“Fifty kilometers per hour, five kilometers away from the destination!” On the spaceship, Zhao Dong and Deng Ming looked at the data displayed on the screen above their heads and waited quietly.
“Ten kilometers per hour, enter vertical landing state!”
“One kilometer per hour, height fifty meters! Continue to buffer!”
After seeing this data, Zhao Dong finally breathed a sigh of relief, okay, it finally ended successfully.
The return capsule is also very particular. Except for the space shuttle that can land by itself, other spacecraft land vertically. This final landing speed is very critical. If it crashes down all at once, That's going to cause big trouble.
Now that it has dropped to one kilometer per hour, it is almost a snail's pace, and it is okay to stop.
At this moment, suddenly, a red warning flashed on the screen.
Shut down! All engines shut down!
Hmm, what’s going on? Dropping the chain at the last minute? At this time, Zhao Dong and Deng Ming almost sat up from their seats, staring at the screen in surprise.
When it was still ten meters above the ground, the engine was shut down, and the nine-ton return capsule continued to fall to the ground like a big stone.
Both of them were prepared to face the possible impact.
Ten meters, five meters, three meters…
It is the same during takeoff and launch. Both of them are lying down, and the seats can also provide cushioning. It is said that it will definitely not be the same as falling directly from a three-story building without any protection. If you are lucky, your spine should not be affected either. Even so, the two of them can still have their hands and feet intact.
How does the impact feel? Why didn't it come?
The altitude display is already zero, but the two of them didn't feel the impact. What's going on?
Has it stabilized?
The two continued to wait for a few seconds before a voice came from the earphones: "Zhao Dong, Deng Ming, don't worry, we have seen you and will be there soon!"
Although the vehicle moved quickly in the snow, it was not as fast as the helicopter in the sky. At this time, the helicopter was roaring over and then landed next to it. On the plane, someone rushed down and carried a special stretcher.
Has it stopped?
At this moment, both of them were breathing heavily, their backs were soaked with sweat, everything was fine, but they were frightened at the last moment.
how so?
There was a crunching sound, and the hatch above his head was opened. Looking at the people outside, Deng Ming shouted loudly: "You don't need to move, we will do it ourselves!"
Deng Ming climbed out first.
Outside, there was white snow, and there was a hint of coolness in the air. The two of them had just stepped down from the snow that had been burned by a temperature of two thousand degrees, and they did not feel too much chill. When their feet stepped on the ground, Deng Ming slowly He stood up and took the first step forward.
Plop!
Deng Ming fell to the ground.
Zhao Dong who was behind also took a tentative step and then fell down. When they saw the convoy approaching in the distance, the two gave up.
Let's get on the stretcher.
It is called a stretcher, but it is actually more appropriate to call it a seat. This kind of seat is just like the one in the spacecraft. It can be reclined, and it can also be called a recliner.
“Everyone, wait a minute, let’s take a photo first!”
Max jumped out of the car and ran towards this side with long strides.
Of course, Max was not a cameraman. After running over, he stood behind the two of them. He looked at Qin Tao, who was walking slowly behind him: "Mr. Qin, come here and take a group photo together!"
Qin Tao originally wanted to refuse, but after thinking about it, he walked over.
Click!
A precious photo was taken. Qin Tao and Max were standing in the back. Zhao Dong and Deng Ming were sitting half-lying in front. Behind the four people was the tall Dragon spacecraft return capsule. Next to the four people was The scene of white snow is very beautiful.
However, there are still some shortcomings. The corners of Deng Ming's mouth were broken!
“Deng Ming, what’s wrong with your mouth?” asked a backup astronaut who came over.
“The last shiver made me bite my lip unconsciously,” Deng Ming said.
That last bit frightened him.
“On-site inspection, what’s going on?” Max shouted.
At the final height of ten meters, the engine actually stalled! This is a big accident. The height of ten meters is equivalent to three floors. If it is an ordinary spacecraft, it should turn on the reverse thrust rocket to further slow down in the final stage.
“Did you burn out all the fuel?”
“No, there is still fuel.”
"That is how the matter?"
“We review program data on site.”
The engineer climbed into the spacecraft, opened the interface, connected to the laptop, and started to check the data. A few minutes later, he got an answer that made people laugh or cry: "The sensor used for landing on our spacecraft detected snow on the ground. In order to avoid Our rocket engine turned snow into water, so it was difficult to rescue, so we simply shut down the engine in advance and used the snow as a final buffer."
What?
Everyone was shocked.
Da Mao’s Snowstorm made its first and last flight. When it returned, a surprising scene appeared: it had originally aimed for the runway and landed, but what happened? It pulled up again, flew forward, then returned, and landed again!
No one knew what was going on. After investigating the program, we found out that the sensor on the space shuttle detected that there was a tailwind, and then it flew around and landed against the wind. Although there was no AI at the time, this thing was so smart.
Now it’s the Dragon spacecraft’s turn to do this smart trick. If it lands in the water, of course there will be no problem. It is surrounded by water. Now it is surrounded by snow. When the snow melts, it turns into mud together with the ground. It will not be convenient for rescue at that time. This Dragon spacecraft is actually a love. Clean guy!
“Who asked it to do this?” Max continued to ask.
“No one makes his own choice.”
There is no special program to do this kind of command, but different program conditions are combined together to achieve this result, which makes people extremely emotional. This spacecraft is very smart!
“Yes, this matter can be publicized. Our Dragon spacecraft is the most intelligent!”
At this time, the astronauts had already entered the medical vehicle for medical examination after landing. The crane lifted the spacecraft, loaded it into the truck and took it away. Everything was going on in full swing. Xu Zhengyang came over in a hurry.
"President Qin, the capital has sent instructions, saying that if it is convenient for us, please take the return capsule to the capital. If it is not convenient for us, the two astronauts will also return to the capital and hold a celebration for them there. General Assembly."
“Of course it is convenient. We will go to the capital together. We will also hold a press conference in the capital to announce our next space plan.” Qin Tao said.
The successful return of the Crew Dragon spacecraft marks the complete success of the first manned space launch. This is a major project worthy of celebration, not only for Mingzhou Group, but also for Dongfang.
Therefore, a grand celebration ceremony must be held in the capital. If the Starship Company does not participate, the astronauts must also participate. After all, the astronauts are not trained by the Starship Company.
However, of course this time has to go, how could Qin Tao not know what is going on.
Max nodded: "Yes, we have to go!"