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Chinese Docking Mechanism
The Chinese Docking Mechanism is a spacecraft docking mechanism based on the Androgynous Peripheral Attach System (APAS). There have been contradicting reports by the Chinese on its compatibility with APAS. It is used by Shenzhou spacecraft, beginning with an uncrewed Shenzhou 8, to dock to Tiangong-1. Subsequent crewed missions docked with the Tiangong-1, Tiangong-2 and the Tiangong space station. Similar docking mechanism was also introduced to the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft. Tianzhou 1 Tianzhou 1 () was the debut mission of the Tianzhou-class unmanned cargo spacecraft. It was developed as part of the manned space program of China. Tianzhou means "heavenly vessel" in Chinese. On 20 April 2017, Tianzhou 1 was launched by rocke ... was the first cargo spacecraft which docked with the Tiangong-2. It has a circular transfer passage that has a diameter of . The androgynous variant has a mass of 310 kg and the non-androgynous variant has a mass of 200 kg. See also * Do ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Docking And Berthing Of Spacecraft
Docking and berthing of spacecraft is the joining of two space vehicles. This connection can be temporary, or partially permanent such as for space station modules. ''Docking'' specifically refers to joining of two separate free-flying space vehicles. ''Berthing'' refers to mating operations where a passive module/vehicle is placed into the mating interface of another space vehicle by using a robotic arm. Because the modern process of un-berthing requires more crew labor and is time-consuming, berthing operations are unsuited for rapid crew evacuations in the event of an emergency. History Docking Spacecraft docking capability depends on space rendezvous, the ability of two spacecraft to find each other and station-keep in the same orbit. This was first developed by the United States for Project Gemini. It was planned for the crew of Gemini 6 to rendezvous and manually dock under the command of Wally Schirra, with an uncrewed Agena Target Vehicle in October 1965, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Androgynous Peripheral Attach System
The terms Androgynous Peripheral Attach System (APAS), Androgynous Peripheral Assembly System (APAS) and Androgynous Peripheral Docking System (APDS), are used interchangeably to describe a family of spacecraft docking mechanisms, and are also sometimes used as a generic name for any docking system in that family. A system similar to APAS-89/95 is used by the Chinese Shenzhou spacecraft. Overview The name of the system is Russian in origin, and is an acronym, , in the Cyrillic alphabet, from the Russian (''Androginno-periferiynyy agregat stykovki''). The English acronym was designed to be just the same letters but in the Latin alphabet, for which the first two words are direct counterparts of those in the original. The third word in Russian comes from the German , meaning "complicated mechanism", and the last means "docking". The last two words in the English name were picked to begin with the same equivalent letters as in the Russian name. The idea behind the design is that unli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shenzhou (spacecraft)
Shenzhou (, ; see ) is a spacecraft developed and operated by China to support its crewed spaceflight program, China Manned Space Program. Its design resembles the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, but it is larger in size. The first launch was on 19 November 1999 and the first crewed launch was on 15 October 2003. In March 2005, an asteroid was named 8256 Shenzhou in honour of the spacecraft. Etymology The literal meaning of the native name ( p: Shénzhōu; ) is "the Divine vessel n the Heavenly River, to which Heavenly River () means the Milky Way in Classical Chinese. is a pun and neologism that plays on the names of China, poetic word referring to China, , meaning ''Divine realm'', which bears the same pronunciation. For further information, refer to Chinese theology, Chinese astronomy and names of China. History China's first efforts at human spaceflight started in 1968 with a projected launch date of 1973. Although China successfully launched an uncrewed satellite in 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shenzhou 8
Shenzhou 8 () was an uncrewed flight of China's Shenzhou program, launched on 31 October 2011 UTC, or 1 November 2011 in China, by a Long March 2F rocket which lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The Shenzhou 8 spacecraft was automatically docked with the Tiangong-1 space module (launched on 29 September 2011) on 3 November 2011 and again on 14 November 2011. This uncrewed docking – China's first – was followed in 2012 with the crewed Shenzhou 9 mission, which performed a crewed docking (also China's first) with the Tiangong-1 module. Only the Soviet Union (Russia), Japan and the European Space Agency (ESA) had achieved automatic rendezvous and docking prior to China's accomplishment. History On 29 September 2008, Zhang Jianqi (), vice director of China crewed space engineering, announced in an interview of China Central Television (CCTV) that Tiangong-1, an 8-ton "target vehicle", would be launched in 2010 (now 2011), and that Shenzhou 8, Shenzhou 9 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tiangong-1
Tiangong-1 () was China's first prototype space station. It orbited Earth from September 2011 to April 2018, serving as both a crewed laboratory and an experimental testbed to demonstrate orbital rendezvous and docking capabilities during its two years of active operational life. Launched uncrewed aboard a Long March 2F launch vehicle on 29 September 2011, it was the first operational component of the Tiangong program, which launched a larger, modular station into orbit in 2021. Tiangong-1 was initially projected to be deorbited in 2013,"China to launch module for future space station" 28 September 2011 Retrieved 10 March 2013 to be replaced over the following decade by the larger [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tiangong-2
Tiangong-2 () was a Chinese space laboratory and part of the Project 921-2 space station program. Tiangong-2 was launched on 15 September 2016. It was deorbited as planned on 19 July 2019. Tiangong-2 was neither designed nor planned to be a permanent orbital station; rather, it was intended as a testbed for key technologies used in the Tiangong station (Chinese large modular space station) of which the first module launched on 29 April 2021 and the remaining modules of which launched in 2022. History The China Manned Space Engineering Office published a brief description of Tiangong-2 and its successor Tiangong-3 in 2008, indicating that at least two crewed spaceships would be launched to dock with Tiangong-2. Tiangong-2 was originally expected to be launched by the China National Space Agency (CNSA) by 2015 to replace the prototype module Tiangong-1, which was launched in September 2011. In March 2011, Chinese officials stated that Tiangong-2 was scheduled to be launche ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tianzhou (spacecraft)
The Tianzhou () is a Chinese automated cargo spacecraft developed from China's first prototype space station Tiangong-1 to resupply its modular space station. It was first launched (Tianzhou 1) on the Long March 7 rocket from Wenchang on April 20, 2017 and demonstrated autonomous propellant transfer (space refueling). The first version of Tianzhou has a mass of 12,910 kg and can carry 6,500 kg of cargo. Function Based on the Tiangong-1 space station, the Tianzhou functions as the main automated cargo spacecraft for the Tiangong space station. It has pressurized, semi-pressurized and unpressurized cargo capabilities, and is able to transport airtight cargo, large extravehicular payloads and experiment platforms. It was first launched on the new Long March 7 rocket from Wenchang on April 20, 2017. Name The China Manned Space Engineering Office opened a consultation for the naming of the prospective cargo ship on April 25, 2011. By May 20, it had received more than 50,000 sugges ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tianzhou 1
Tianzhou 1 () was the debut mission of the Tianzhou-class unmanned cargo spacecraft. It was developed as part of the manned space program of China. Tianzhou means "heavenly vessel" in Chinese. On 20 April 2017, Tianzhou 1 was launched by rocket Long March 7 at China Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site. It successfully docked with the Tiangong-2 space laboratory on 22 April 2017 at 12:16 (UTC+8). Tianzhou 1 was deorbited on 22 September 2017. It plunged into Earth's atmosphere and burned up after a set of braking maneuvers under ground control. Spacecraft It used the first flight model of the Tianzhou. It is a Chinese automated cargo spacecraft developed from the Tiangong-1 to resupply its future modular space station. Launch Tianzhou 1 launched successfully on 20 April 2017 at 7:41pm local time, from the Wenchang space center. This marked the second time a Long March 7 , stages = {{plainlist, * CZ-7: Two * CZ-7A: Three {{cite web, url=https://www.space.com/c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Docking And Berthing Of Spacecraft
Docking and berthing of spacecraft is the joining of two space vehicles. This connection can be temporary, or partially permanent such as for space station modules. ''Docking'' specifically refers to joining of two separate free-flying space vehicles. ''Berthing'' refers to mating operations where a passive module/vehicle is placed into the mating interface of another space vehicle by using a robotic arm. Because the modern process of un-berthing requires more crew labor and is time-consuming, berthing operations are unsuited for rapid crew evacuations in the event of an emergency. History Docking Spacecraft docking capability depends on space rendezvous, the ability of two spacecraft to find each other and station-keep in the same orbit. This was first developed by the United States for Project Gemini. It was planned for the crew of Gemini 6 to rendezvous and manually dock under the command of Wally Schirra, with an uncrewed Agena Target Vehicle in October 1965, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International Docking System Standard
The International Docking System Standard (IDSS) is an international standard for spacecraft docking adapters. It was created by the International Space Station Multilateral Coordination Board, on behalf of the International Space Station partner organizations; NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA, ESA, and the Canadian Space Agency. The IDSS was originally formulated in 2010. The plan is for all cooperating agencies to make their future docking systems IDSS compatible. Design The IDSS docking mechanism is androgynous, uses low impact technology and allows both docking and berthing. It supports both autonomous and piloted docking and features pyrotechnics for contingency undocking. Once mated, the IDSS interface can transfer power, data, commands, air, communication, and in future implementations, will be able to transfer water, fuel, oxidizer and pressurant as well. The passage for crew and cargo transfer has a diameter of . The IDSS has a 2-phase docking procedure consisting of a soft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Space Program Of The People's Republic Of China
The space program of the People's Republic of China is directed by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). China's space program has overseen the development and launch of ballistic missiles, thousands of artificial satellites, manned spaceflight, an indigenous space station, and has stated plans to explore the Moon, Mars, and the broader Solar System. The technological roots of the Chinese space program trace back to the 1950s, when, with the help of the newly-allied Soviet Union, China began development of its first ballistic missile and rocket programs in response to the perceived American (and, later, Soviet) threats.DF-1 GlobalSecurity.org. Driven by the successes of Soviet |
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