Since there is no rendezvous and docking mission on this flight, Shenzhou VI has canceled the additional segment used for this function. In addition, more than 40 pieces of equipment and six pieces of software have been newly added to the spacecraft, bringing it to more than 600 pieces of equipment, 82 pieces of software, and more than 100,000 components.
Shenzhou VI's improvements can be roughly summarized in four areas:
I. Improvements centered around the two-person, multi-day mission. First, a sufficient or even surplus amount of astronaut consumables, including food, water and sleeping bags, were prepared. Food cabinets were placed in the orbital module, which was previously in a vacant state. Astronaut water was prepared both in tanks and in individual soft packs, based on one and a half warmers per person per day. Second, the environmental control of the cockpit was improved. One person exhales nearly a liter of water a day. Shenzhou VI has improved its ability to condense water vapor, enlarged the condensate tank, and plastered all exposed piping with water-absorbent materials to ensure that the spacecraft's humidity is controlled at less than 80 percent. Oxygen, temperature and humidity in the cabin can be automatically sensed and adjusted.
Second, the orbital module has been improved in terms of function and use. A lot of necessities for astronauts' life have been placed, such as food heating devices and tableware. There is a sleeping bag hanging in the orbital module for two astronauts to take turns resting. Under weightlessness, a person can actually float in the air and sleep, but considering the habits that people have developed on the ground, the sleeping bag is used to artificially create a feeling of "bed", otherwise the astronauts may have the illusion of falling into an abyss when they sleep. The orbital module also has a special cleaning supplies cabinet, astronauts can use the wipes and other items for cleaning. The urine and feces collection device was also used for the first time this time.
Third, improvements to enhance astronaut safety. The astronauts' chairs in the return capsule are designed with a landing cushion function, which is designed to ensure the safety of the astronauts in case of a failure of the thrust reverser rocket. Shenzhou V spacecraft, only Yang Liwei riding in the chair with landing buffer function, and there is a small defect, is to return to the chair before lifting the astronauts difficult to see the situation outside the porthole. Shenzhou VI has redesigned the buffer and combined it with the whole ship for repeated tests, and the three tests thrown down from high towers and airplanes have been successful each time. The hatch between the return module and the orbital module will threaten the safety of the astronauts if it is not closed tightly when returning. Three Russian astronauts have died as a result. Shenzhou VI researchers successfully developed a rapid automatic detection device for hatch closure, and spent months developing a special rag that does not produce fibers, static electricity, or odors, and is specifically designed to clean the hatch.
Four, continuous improvement. China's manned spaceflight project was officially launched in 1992, and 13 years have passed since then, some of the components and raw materials initially used on the spacecraft are no longer in production, and individual technologies have become slightly outdated. Shenzhou VI has made some daily continuous improvements. For example, the "black box" on Shenzhou I to V was developed in 1994, with a storage capacity of only 10 megabytes. Now the black box is not only 100 times larger than the original storage capacity, and data writing and reading speed has increased by more than 10 times, but the volume is less than half of the original.
Shenzhou VI spacecraft composition
Orbital module: "multi-functional hall"
Shenzhou spacecraft orbital module is a cylinder, the total length of 2.8 meters, the maximum diameter of 2.25 meters, one end and the return module, the other end and the space docking Connected to the other end of the space docking agency connected. The reason why the orbital module of "Shen6" is called "multi-functional hall" is because the two astronauts have to enter the return module in addition to the liftoff and return, and other time are in the orbital module. The orbital module set work, eat, sleep, wash and convenience and many other functions in one.
Escape Tower: Keeping the Spacecraft Safe
Escape Lifeguard Tower: Located at the very front of the spacecraft, it is 8 meters high. It itself is actually a small launch vehicle consisting of a series of rocket engines. In the carrier spacecraft rocket takeoff 900 seconds before to 160 seconds after takeoff period? Rocket running distance of 0 to 100 kilometers, once an emergency occurs, this life-saving tower will start in an emergency, pulling the "Shenzhou VI" spacecraft return capsule and orbital module and the rocket separation, rapid escape from danger, and the use of parachutes to land in a safe area.
Retaining orbital module: the astronauts' "home"
Orbital module: also called the work module. Its shape is a cylinder with conical angles at both ends, and it is the astronauts' "space bedroom" and "work room". It also has two functions of astronauts' living module and orbital experiment module, so it is also called orbital module. Inside the orbital module, there are many kinds of experimental equipment and experimental instruments, which can be used for earth observation, and both sides of the module are equipped with retractable large-scale solar cell wings, solar sensitizers and various antennas, as well as various docking structures, which are used for converting solar energy into the energy source of the spacecraft, and communicating with the ground, and so on. As the astronauts' "space bedroom", the orbital module's environment is very comfortable, and the temperature inside the module is generally between 17 and 25 degrees Celsius.
Return capsule: astronauts' "cab"
Return capsule: also known as cockpit, it is the astronauts' "cab". It is the cabin section where astronauts ride when traveling to and from space, and is a closed structure with a hatch at the front end. "After Shenzhou VI completes its flight around the earth, the two astronauts will return to the earth in the return capsule.
Propulsion module: also called instrument module. It is usually equipped with a propulsion system, power supply, orbital braking, and oxygen and water for the astronauts. Both sides of the propulsion module are also equipped with the main solar cell sail wings with an area of more than 20 square meters.
Why choose the fall launch?
Morning News comprehensive Xinhua News Agency, careful people will note that two years ago at this time, China's first manned spacecraft Shenzhou V launched successfully. The launch of Shenzhou VI this year, again in the fall, is it a coincidence? No. That's because the meteorological conditions in the fall are the most suitable for China to launch a manned spacecraft.
The selection of the launch season for a spacecraft takes into account a variety of factors that may affect the launch, of which meteorological conditions are the most direct and critical determinant.
After the spacecraft takes to the skies, it is up to the spaceflight measurement and control network to implement measurement and control management for the spacecraft. If the Shenzhou spacecraft is compared to the "kite" flying in space, then the spaceflight measurement and control network is the important "kite line". China's spaceflight measurement and control network consists of a number of ground measurement and control stations and four spaceflight measurement ships, namely, the Pacific Ocean Surveyor, the Pacific Ocean Surveyor, the Pacific Ocean Surveyor and the Pacific Ocean Surveyor. These four survey ships are the "Yuanwang" No. 1 and "Yuanwang" No. 2 in the Pacific Ocean, the "Yuanwang" No. 4 in the Indian Ocean, and the "Yuanwang" No. 4 in the Atlantic Ocean. "Far Sight No. 3 in the Atlantic Ocean. Three of the ships are in the southern hemisphere, where latitude is relatively high.
The seasons in the southern hemisphere are exactly the opposite of ours. China's spring and summer seasons in the southern hemisphere is the fall and winter seasons, sea conditions are very poor, even normal navigation is difficult to ensure safety, not to mention the implementation of measurement and control tasks at sea, so it is not suitable for launching spacecraft. China's fall and winter seasons in the southern hemisphere is the spring and summer seasons, sea conditions are better, easy to navigate and perform measurement tasks. Therefore, China's Shenzhou 1 to 5 spacecraft launch timing are selected in the southern hemisphere and the opposite of the fall and winter seasons.
In addition, compared with winter in autumn, although Shenzhou IV, launched on December 30, 2002, had broken the historical record of low-temperature launches in China, in manned space flights, people-oriented and fully guaranteeing the safety of astronauts have become the most important features of the launches, and thus the meteorological conditions of the launching section are also very important. Obviously, fall is more suitable than winter. Therefore, the Shen5 two years ago and this year's Shen6 manned spacecraft both chose to launch in the fall.
According to Gong Jiancun, a researcher at the Space Environment Prediction Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, "This year is exactly the position near the bottom of the cycle, and it is expected that the solar activity will be stable during the flight of Shenzhou VI, which is suitable for human space activities."
Gong Jiancun said, people have grasped the sun's activity cycle is 11 years, 2000 is the peak of this cycle, 2006 reached the bottom. Therefore, this year, the frequency of solar anomalous activity is low, the general trend is favorable to human space activities. Shenzhou six will be in the "good weather" in the flight.