Previously, three astronauts had successfully withdrawn from Tiangong-1 as planned, closed the doors of Tiangong-1 experimental module, Shenzhou-9 orbital module and return module in turn, and took their seats in the return module of Shenzhou-9 spacecraft.
Yesterday 1 1 point 12, the combination of Tiangong-1 and Shenzhou-9 was separated according to the ground instructions, and Shenzhou-9 was automatically evacuated to the mooring point 400 meters away from Tiangong-1.
Subsequently, Shenzhou-9 gradually moved closer to Tiangong-1 in a uniform and stable manner.
According to Xinhua News Agency, hand-controlled rendezvous and docking is equivalent to "piercing a needle for a hundred miles", which requires astronauts' hand-eye coordination, fine operation and psychological stability.
Liu Wang operating control handle
Yesterday, at 1 1 47, when Shenzhou-9 arrived at the140m docking point, the ground technicians conducted a comprehensive inspection and confirmation of the flight status of the two spacecraft.
12: 38, the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft was manually controlled by astronauts. Liu Wang, an astronaut sitting in the middle chair, operated the translation and attitude control handles to control the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft to slowly approach the Tiangong-1 target aircraft. Astronauts Jing Haipeng and Liu Yang closely monitored the instrument parameters and docking targets of the spacecraft.
12: 48, Shenzhou-9 was in contact with the docking ring of Tiangong-1. After four processes of capture, buffer correction, pull-back and locking, at 12: 55, the two spacecraft were tightly connected into an assembly.
Xinhua News Agency reported that Liu Weibo, director of the General Office of Astronaut System, commented on manual docking: "The docking is beautiful, with high precision, and the docking time is very fast, less than 7 minutes, while the automatic docking takes about 10 minutes. The more than three minutes saved is the innate advantage of the human brain over the computer. "
■ At the scene
Docking succeeded. Four hands clenched.
According to Xinhua News Agency, yesterday, with the successful manual docking of Tiangong Shenjiu, Liu Wang held Jing Haipeng and Liu Yang on the left and right sides respectively, with four hands held high. After successfully completing the manual rendezvous and docking mission, three astronauts re-entered the Tiangong at 16 yesterday.
Liu Wang, who just docked the spacecraft with Tiangong No.1 as a "pilot", was the first to open the front hatch of Tiangong No.1 and swim into Tiangong No.1..
Compared with opening the gate of the Heavenly Palace for the first time, it seems much easier to open the door this time. Jing Haipeng, who stayed in the Shenzhou-9 orbital module, took a camera and recorded the process in real time.
Then, Jing Haipeng and Liu Yang stepped forward and held out their hands, and entered Tiangong No.1 in turn. When they first entered the "home", they had to rely on the limiter on the bulkhead to fix their bodies. Now, three people come and go freely.
Stop and stand still. Three people stand side by side, waving to the camera.
"Shenzhou-9 successfully completed the manual rendezvous and docking mission as planned and entered Tiangong-1 again. Thanks to the concern of leading comrades, we will make persistent efforts and resolutely complete the follow-up tasks. Salute! " Liu Wang's voice clearly returned to the ground from space.
Liu Wang, dressed in blue cabin overalls, stood in the middle, with Jing Haipeng and Liu Yang standing on the left and right respectively. Three Chinese astronauts raised their right arms together to pay tribute to the motherland and people.
■ plan
The evacuation of the spacecraft will be controlled manually.
The success of manual rendezvous and docking by Xinhua News Agency marks that China has become the third country in the world to fully master the space rendezvous and docking technology. It has the ability to transport personnel and supplies to spacecraft in orbit in different docking ways. "As of today, astronauts have completed a round of major experimental projects. Some experiments need to be repeated and more data are needed to verify, so that new features and laws can be discovered by using microgravity and vacuum environment. " Yesterday, Liu Weibo, director of the General Office of Astronaut System, said that three astronauts will continue to carry out space technology and space application experiments in Tiangong-1.
In response to the media's attention to the status of female astronauts, Liu Weibo said that there are not many experimental projects that consume a lot of physical strength, so the performance of female astronauts is not worse than that of male astronauts, and women's carefulness and patience have also brought many benefits to the mission.
According to the plan, the evacuation of the spacecraft was also carried out manually by astronauts. By the time they return on the 29th, Jing Haipeng, Liu Wang and Liu Yang will have completed the Shenzhou-9 mission and set a record for the longest flight time in the history of manned space flight in China.
Three stages of manual rendezvous and docking
1 separation
The Shenzhou-9 manned spacecraft was separated from the Tiangong-1 target aircraft, and the spacecraft was automatically evacuated to an anchor point of about 400 meters. Prepare to rendezvous and dock with Tiangong-1 again.
2 automatic approach
After staying for 2 minutes, Shenjiu will approach120m through automatic rendezvous supported by ground measurement and control.
3 Manual docking
Astronauts control the rendezvous and docking process under the authorization of the ground, adjust the relative position and posture, and realize docking by operating the translation control handle. At this time, astronauts should calculate and decide the speed change scheme according to real-time data, such as distance, height and axis difference.
Just change it.