In the application plan for "Space Laboratory" formulated by NASA, there are many experimental projects in the United States, as well as experimental tasks proposed by other users. These tasks are planned and coordinated by NASA. In the American application plan of "Space Laboratory", the first batch of flight experimental projects occupy the most important position, that is, carrying atmospheric physics experimental equipment to carry out cloud physics experiments.
Today's meteorologists have made great progress, but they are far from being able to accurately predict the weather. Accurate weather forecast requires a thorough understanding of the formation process of water droplets and ice crystals and the role of charges in them. In other words, we still can't get accurate weather forecast, because we can't see the internal conditions of the cloud during its formation.
For a long time, scientists have been trying to study the movement of molecules, atoms and initial smoke particles and how these particles combine to form condensation. When the aggregate of these particles develops into cloud drops, at least 6.5438+0 million such cloud drops must be combined to form raindrops, and whether it will become raindrops depends on the electrical, chemical and aerodynamic characteristics of the surface of the cloud drops, as well as its number and density. In order to accurately predict or change the weather, we must first understand these microphysical processes. Many of these processes have been studied in the ground slaughter inspection room, and many achievements have been made. But the biggest problem is how to overcome the technical difficulty of gravity effect. In the experimental cloud chamber on the ground, raindrops and snowflake-sized particles quickly fall into the bottom of the cloud chamber due to the influence of gravity, and unnecessary airflow is generated due to the interference of the four walls of the cloud chamber, which affects the correctness of the conclusion when comparing the observation results in the ground laboratory with the real cloud changes. Therefore, NASA proposes to establish a new research system that is least affected by gravity, and Marshall Space Center is responsible for developing an atmospheric cloud physics laboratory under weightlessness. This equipment is 1.06 meters long, 2.73 meters high, 0.76 meters wide and weighs about 470 kilograms. It can be loaded on the "space laboratory" for various purposes and can be connected with other equipment in various situations.
Scientists are very interested in studying the physical process of clouds in the new laboratory for the first time in the future without gravity interference. There is an unsupported suspension microscope in the new laboratory, and cloud physics scientists will be able to determine the characteristics of cloud droplets and other elements with the microscope. Such as temperature, ice crystal formation and charge formation. Freezing, melting, collision, charging, temperature change and other processes can be observed and photographed repeatedly for a long time as needed. Without the influence of gravity, researchers can study the formation process of clouds more realistically than those on the ground. This will help to explain the still unknown mechanism of cloud formation. When human beings have mastered this knowledge, they can know how foreign substances change the natural process of cloud formation after entering the clouds. If these experiments are successful, it is predicted that the storm will be controlled in 2 1 century. Because people can use remote sensing technology to determine what kind of clouds are suitable for sowing and prevent clouds that may cause storms from forming. Even people can rain as needed, or drop raindrops in areas where the amount of water can be controlled. The experiments in the cloud physics laboratory were carried out in the third flight of the space laboratory and many subsequent flights. Marshall Space Center will be responsible for preparation, launch and all related activities after launch.
In order to widely use the "space laboratory", the United States decided to purchase a second "space laboratory" separately, and NASA has officially ordered it from the European Space Agency. 1980 65438+1On October 30th, the European Space Agency signed a contract with enoch Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd., the former Federal Republic of Germany, to deliver this order worth more than 300 million former German marks to the main contractor enoch.
After five and a half years of development, at the end of 1980, the first engineering model of "Space Laboratory" was delivered to Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral for various simulation tests.
More than 400 engineers and technicians from the former Aino Company of the Federal Republic of Germany participated in the development of the first generation of "space laboratory" and gained some research experience. In the development plan of the second generation "Space Laboratory", the mission capability of the "Space Laboratory" was increased to meet the needs of the development of space stations in the 1990s and maintain the competitiveness of the European space industry. The second generation of "Space Laboratory" mainly added power devices and heat protection equipment, which extended the flight capacity from 7 to 14 days to more than 30 days, and even reached India. Various auxiliary devices of payload are added in the laboratory to further improve the flexibility of carrying out flight tasks.
The medium-term plan made by the European Space Agency for the "Space Laboratory" in 1980s includes experimental selection, mission planning, selection and training of payload experts, and final assembly of experimental equipment for the "Space Laboratory". However, due to the economic recession in European countries, the development cost of the "Space Laboratory" increased by 40%, and the European Space Agency had to modify the original use plan of the "Space Laboratory". The original plan was to make two separate flights in Europe after the first joint flight with NASA, and then the former Federal Republic of Germany made two flights by itself. The revised plan is that after the first joint flight, the former Federal Republic of Germany will only make a single flight to complete the test under microgravity acceleration in a circular orbit with a height of 250 ~ 400 kilometers. The two independent flight plans of the European Space Agency were carried out in the "Space Laboratory" in the United States. However, "Space Laboratory" will still be a promising space experiment system. The long-term planning of "Space Laboratory" is as follows: A manned or automated free-flying "Space Laboratory" will be developed at the end of 1980s. The free-flying "Space Laboratory" will still be transported to Earth orbit by the space shuttle, and it can stay in orbit for more than 30 days without the space shuttle. It can make the best use of the existing equipment and technology, meet the requirements of users in design, not only can prolong the flight time and increase the experimental opportunities, but also can increase the number of flights of the space shuttle without affecting the return time of the space shuttle. This is a very economical way. Its operation mode can be divided into manned operation and automatic operation. It has the characteristics of on-orbit operation, short development cycle and less maintenance time. However, its size is limited by the cargo hold of the space shuttle, and its length does not exceed 18m, its diameter does not exceed 4.5m, and its weight does not exceed 29 tons. Free-flying "space laboratory" can be used for earth observation, material research, space production, communication and navigation. In terms of earth observation, this free-flying "space laboratory" is much more economical and superior than unmanned automated satellites. It can observe wild animals, study migration habits, observe the growth of crops, find diseases and pests of crops in time, and estimate the flow of snow and snow water on mountains. Measure the storage capacity of water. Monitor the North Atlantic route in winter; During the hurricane season, hurricanes can be observed continuously. For some natural disasters, such as floods, forest fires, earthquakes, storms, etc., short-term continuous close monitoring can be done.