China’sfirstindependentlydevelopedcargospacecraftTianzhou-1wasmastermindedbyateamofChinesescientistsofanaverageageof35.NumbersofinnovativeprojectshavebeenfulfilledbytheteamledbychiefdesignerBaiMingsheng.
AllmembersoftheTianzhouteamstandintheshapeoftheChinesecharactersforTianzhouatthelaunchingbase.
hardworking
Baiandhisteamhaveworked10hoursormoreadayforthepastsixyears.
ONApril20,2017theLongMarch-7Y2carrierrocketsuccessfullylaunchedTianzhou-1,China’sfirstcargospacecraft,fromWenchangSpaceLaunchCenteronthesouthernislandprovinceofHainan.Threedayslater,itdockedwiththeorbitingTiangong-2spacelab.
ChinaindependentlydevelopedtheTianzhou-1spacecraftanditsmultiple,internationallyadvancedtechnologies.TheprojectwasmastermindedbyateamofChinesescientistsofanaverageageof35.TheyincludeBaiMingsheng,YuLei,andRenLiang.
BaiMingsheng,ChiefDesigner
BaiMingsheng,chiefdesignerofTianzhou-1,studiedspacecraftdesignandappliedmechanicsatBeihangUniversity,andjoinedChinaAcademyofSpaceTechnologyin1988.HehassincebeeninvolvedinthedevelopmentandlaunchesofShenzhouspacecrafts1,2,3,4,5and7.In2011heledtheteamofyoungscientists,mostlyintheir20s,whichdevelopedTianzhou-1.Thatyearheturned45.
BaireturnedtoBeijingonApril28afterthesuccessfullaunchofTianzhou-1.AlthoughhehadnotseenhisfamilyforsomemonthshewentdirectlytotheBeijingAerospaceControlCenter.Heknowsbetterthananyonethatasuccessfullaunchisonlythefirststepofacomplexouterspacemission.Tianzhou-1wasscheduledtocarryoutanumberoftasksovertheensuingfivemonths,includingthreedockingswiththeorbitingTiangong-2topumppropellantsintotheminispacestationandvariousspaceexperiments.Baicannotrestuntilhehaswitnessedtheirsuccessfulcompletion.
Baiandhisteamhaveworked10hoursormoreadayforthepastsixyears.Theyhavepainstakinglytoiledovereverycomponentofthespacecraftandeachstepoftheprocessleadingtothelaunch.Theyconsequentlyregardoneanotherasfamilymembers,andthespacecraftasanoffspring.
Theyhavejustcausetobeproudoftheirprogeny.Tianzhou-1hasachievedsix“firsts”inChina’saerospacehistory.ItisChina’sfirstcargospacecrafttoundergoaflighttestmission;andithasasix-toncarryingcapacitywitha0.48payloadratio.Thatmakesitscarryingcapacitythelargestofanyexistentcargospacecraftincommission.ThesuccessfulinorbitrefuelingrendersChinathethirdcountryintheworld,aftertheU.S.andRussia,tohavemasteredthistechnology.Tianzhou-1’sinitialuseofEthernettechnologymakespossiblethe1Gb/sInternetconnectionbetweentheEarthandouterspace.Itisalsothefirstofitskindtocarryoutafast,fullyautomatedrendezvous,andhasreducedthedurationofthismaneuverfromtwodaysto6.5hours.Thespacecraftismoreoverthefirsttoimplementvarioustechnologicalapplicationsandtestsinasinglemission.AndthemissionmarksChina’sfirstautomaticde-orbitanddestructivereentryintotheEarth’satmosphereaftertheairshipcompletingitsservice.Thecountryhasthuscontributedtowardsaclean,safespaceenvironment.
SeeingTianzhou-1blastoffremindedBaiMingshengoftheeuphoriahefeltdecadesearlieruponpassingtherigorousnationalcollegeentranceexam.Heascribesthissuccesstotheexcellentandconscientiousworkoftheentireteam.
Baicallsonyoungscientiststograsptheopportunitiesandmeetthechallengesoftheera.“China’sspacesectorhasbeenadvancingatarateofknotsoverrecentyears,havingprogressedfromlaunchingasinglesatelliteeveryfewyearstoseveraldozeninjustone.Thisopensupabroadscopeofopportunitiesforyoungscientists.However,heavyworkloadsandtighttimeschedulesnecessitateyoungpeople’sinvolvementinresearchprojectsimmediatelyaftergraduation.Thereisanegligibletimemarginforanytransitionorpreparatoryworkexperience.
WhilemonitoringtheTianzhou-1mission,ChinesescientistsarealsopreparingforthelaunchofTianzhou-2and3.ThatmeansBaiMingshengandhisteamwillcarryonworkingatfullthrottle.“Chinaisamajorplayerintheaerospacesector,butithassomewaytogobeforeitbecomesaheavyweight.Ourmissionistomakethecountryanaerospacepower.”
YuLei,ChiefoftheElectricGroup
YuLei,34,isheadoftheelectricsectionoftheTianzhou-1researchteam.Hisinvolvementintheprojectbeganadecadeago,whenhedrewadraftofthecargospacecraftintwodaysandnights.HewasrecruitedasaresearcherwhenChinaAcademyofSpaceTechnologyinauguratedthemannedspacemissionheadquartersin2010.Hewaslaterpromotedtochiefdesigner.
TheTianzhouprojectelectricgroupwhichYuheadshandleseverysegmentofthespacecraftinvolvingpower.Thisincludesitsfuelandinformationsystems,software,andelectromagneticcompatibility(EMC).Thelatter,asYuexplainedit,canbecomparedwiththehumanmeridiansysteminTCM,invisiblebutomnipresentthroughoutthephysicalbody.
Thedesignoftheseelectricpartsandsystems–rangingfromthepowerdistributionsystemtothehigh-voltagelithium-ionbattery–wasextremelydemandingbecausetheydifferfromthoseonexistingspacecraft.AstheChineseteamhadnopointofreference,ithadtostartfromscratch.
Forinstance,havingscouredallavailablepowermodulestheycouldfindnonethatmatchedtheirdesiredspecifications.Theteamthereforedevelopeditsown,whichprovedsuccessfulafterrepeatedexperiments.The100-Vthick-filmpowermoduletheyproducedactedasthebedrockforhigh-voltagepowertransmissioninTianzhou-1.ItthusmarkedafurtherstepinChina’sindependentdevelopmentofcorecomponentsforitsspacecraft.
Eachconductiontestchecked10,000ormorenodesandtook2,000hours.Yuandhisteamneededtobeonthesitethroughoutthewholeprocess.“Theaerospaceprogramissystematic.Asthelate‘fatherofChineseaerospace’QianXuesenoncesaid,wemustapproachitfromaholisticperspectiveandaimforthebestresultasawhole.AsIwasformerlyadesignerofseparateunits,myexperiencewithTianzhou-1revealedtheentiresystemtome,”Yusaid.Thisinsightmotivatedhimtoexpandhisknowledgebeyondthatrequiredsolelyforhisdepartment.“Iworkwithelectricity,butmyknowledgeneedstoextendbeyondthat.”
YuLeisayshefeelsluckytobealiveinanagewhereChinaisbuildingitsownspacestation,soopeningupinfinitepossibilitiesforthecountry’saerospacescientists.Asbusyasheis,YuseldompostsanyWeChatMoments.ButonthedayoftheTianzhou-1launchhesentthemessage.“ThisisthemomentI’vebeenworkingtowardsforyears,andtodayconfirmsthatitwasallworthwhile!”
Tianzhou-1cargospacecraftismovedtoitslaunchsiteattheWenchangSpaceLaunchCenterinHainanProvinceonApril17,2017.RenLiang,CompositeTestDirector
“Whenyoung,I’doftenlookupatthestarryskyandwonderifChang’ereallylivedonthemoon.Thismighthavebeenmymotivationforworkingintheaerospacesector,”said30-somethingRenLiang,inchargeofthecompositetestingsectionoftheTianzhou-1program.
RenwasintheTiangong-1teambeforejoiningtheTianzhouprogramin2013.Histeamof12workedonthespacecraftfromtheearlydaysofsamplemonitoringthroughtoitslaunch.“Compositetestingcouldbecomparedwithaphysicalcheckuptoassessthegeneralstateofaperson’shealth.Itperiodicallyadministratestheentirespacecraft.Anyerrorinthisprocesswouldcauseirretrievableloss,”Rensaid.
Beingofaninnovativebent,theteamintroducedanautomatictestingsystemthatincorporatesautomaticinterpretationsoftware.Itsignificantlyimprovestestingefficacyandaccuracy.Teammembershavealsoestablishedanumberoftestparadigms,sopavingthewayforproductserialization.
OnApril20RenandhiscolleaguesescortedTianzhou-1tothelaunchpad.Herecallsfeelingthrilledattheprospectofthelaunch.Thiswasthefirsttimehewouldwitnessone,despitehavingpreviouslyparticipatedinseveralspacemissions.ButhenevercomplainedaboutthisashesawhimselfasajustsmallcomponentintheentireedificeofChina’sspaceprogram.
BaiMingsheng,YuLei,andRenLiangrepresentthelegendaryscientistswhohavemadeChina’smannedspacemissionprogrampossible.Theyworkdiligently,dayinanddayout,towardsmakingChinaanaerospacepower.
legendary
BaiMingsheng,YuLei,andRenLiangrepresentthelegendaryscientistswhohavemadeChina’smannedspacemissionprogrampossible.