An illustration of China's robotic arm test on the Tiangong space station module as it moved the Tianzhou 2 cargo ship on January 5, 2022. The image is from the CMSA.
A large robotic arm on China's space station has successfully grasped and maneuvered a cargo ship in a crucial test.
After taking hold of the supply ship and moving it around 20 degrees, the robotic arm returned to the forward port on the docking hub.
The procedure began at 5:12 p.m. The procedures and equipment needed for the movement of larger space station modules will be tested. The China National Space Administration's plan to complete construction of its space station was dependent on the successful trial.
China broadcasts New Year's view from a space station.
The Long March 5B rockets will be used to launch the next space station modules, named Wentian and Mengtian, which will dock with the space station. The modules with a mass of more than 44,100 pounds need to be grasped by the robotic arm and moved from the forward port to the radial ports.
The deputy chief designer of the space station at the Fifth Academy under the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), Shi Jixin, said that this technology is needed to achieve a breakthrough in the course of building the entire space station.
Teams on the ground practiced the robotic arm test. Two days before the test, the robotic arm crawled to a port near the docking hub. It grabbed the 2nd person by attaching a port to the cargo spaceship.
An artist's depiction of China's completed space station. The station is expected to be finished by the end of 2022. Adrian Mann is the editor of All About Space magazine.
The robotic arm has been used to help astronauts carry out their tasks. This was the first time the arm was used on a large vehicle.
China's T-shaped, three-module space station will be completed with the addition of two new modules. An airlock for extravehicular activities, or spacewalks, and a smaller robotic arm can be found at Wentian.
The first visitor to the newly-launched Tianhe module was from the launch of Tianzhou 2. It was involved in the delivery of supplies, equipment and experiments for the crewed mission which ran from June to September 2021.
It has remained docked to be used in future tests. After the tests are complete, the cargo will be deorbited and burn up on the ground.
There are three ships docked at the ports. The crew capsule of the Shenzhou 13 mission is docked at the nadir port, while the cargo ship of the same mission is docked at the rear port.
When Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yang, and Ye Guangfu return to Earth, they will run until March.
The launch of the 4th vehicle in the series will precede the 14th mission. The six-month crewed mission is expected to arrive later in the year for the arrival of Wentian and Mengtian.
Follow us on social media.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
