◎ correspondent Li Meng, science and Technology Daily reporter He Liang, Fu Yifei

Successful return! At 9:56 on April 16, the return module of Shenzhou 13 manned spacecraft landed successfully in the predetermined area of Dongfeng landing site. This is the second time that the Shenzhou spacecraft has landed at the Dongfeng landing site. The on-site medical supervision and medical insurance personnel confirmed that the astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and ye Guangfu were in good health. So far, Shenzhou 13 manned spacecraft has completed its mission excellently.

Source: People’s daily

The Shenzhou 13 manned spacecraft, developed by the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and technology group, is composed of three modules: orbital module, return module and propulsion module. It is the life boat for astronauts to realize the round-trip between heaven and earth. This is the eighth manned mission of Shenzhou series spacecraft. It has gone through three stages, crossing the atmosphere from space more than 300 kilometers away from the ground, and bathing fire triumphantly.

Radial rendezvous and docking for the first time

On October 16, 2021, Shenzhou 13 manned spacecraft carried three astronauts to start the “super long space journey”. In this mission, Shenzhou 13 adopts independent rapid rendezvous and docking technology to complete rendezvous and docking with Tianhe core module within 6.5 hours after entering orbit. Subsequently, the spacecraft formed a combination with Tianhe core module, Tianzhou II cargo spacecraft and Tianzhou III cargo spacecraft and flew in orbit for 6 months.

In order to adapt to different configurations of the space station assembly and different docking states of visiting spacecraft, and realize forward, backward and radial rendezvous, docking and separation with the space station, Shenzhou 13 verified the radial rendezvous and docking technology for the first time, and implemented radial rendezvous and docking with the radial interface of the space station test core module.

Perform maximum dwell tasks

After the radial docking between Shenzhou 13 manned spacecraft and the space station test core module, the docking flight time has been increased to 6 months, which is the longest manned flight in China so far. The Shenzhou 13 mission has assessed and verified the long-term in orbit dwell ability of the space station mission astronauts for the first time.

The emergency rescue launch standby mission was carried out for the first time

In order to deal with the failure that the docked spacecraft in orbit cannot return, the emergency rescue mission mode is established for the first time in the mission phase of the space station. The “rolling standby” strategy is adopted. When the previous manned spacecraft is launched, the latter manned spacecraft is on standby at the launch site, and the safety of the astronauts in orbit is ensured through the docked spacecraft in orbit and the standby spacecraft at the launch site. Shenzhou 13 manned spacecraft carried out the standby mission of emergency rescue launch for the first time.

Implement the quick return process for the first time

In order to further improve the efficiency of the return mission, shorten the implementation time of ground flight control and improve the astronauts’ return comfort, Shenzhou 13 will implement rapid return for the first time. By reasonably cutting and adjusting the flight mission events and compressing the operation time, the time required for return is reduced from the previous 11 flight cycles to 5 flight cycles.

Review of previous manned returns of Shenzhou manned spacecraft

Shenzhou V

At 06:28 on October 16, 2003, the Shenzhou V manned spacecraft carrying Yang Liwei returned to Siziwang Banner of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region after flying around the earth 14 times.

Shenzhou VI

At 04:32 on October 17, 2005, Shenzhou VI manned spacecraft carrying Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng returned to Siziwang Banner of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region after flying 77 times around the earth.

Shenzhou VII

At 17:40 on September 28, 2008, the Shenzhou VII manned spacecraft carrying Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng returned to Siziwang Banner of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region after flying 45 circles around the earth.

Shenzhou 9

At 10:03 on June 29, 2012, Shenzhou 9 manned spacecraft carrying Jing Haipeng, Liu Wang and Liu Yang successfully returned to Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia.

Shenzhou 10

At 08:07 on June 26, 2013, Shenzhou 10 manned spacecraft carrying Nie Haisheng, Zhang Xiaoguang and Wang Yaping successfully returned to Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia.

Shenzhou 11

At 13:33 on November 18, 2016, Shenzhou 11 manned spacecraft carrying Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong successfully returned to Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia.

Shenzhou 12

At 13:34 on September 17, 2021, Shenzhou 12 manned spacecraft carrying Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo successfully returned to the Dongfeng landing site.

Related links

Successful landing!

Reviewed by: Yue Liang