What is the purpose of exploring the space station?

The space station, also known as the "orbital station" or "space station", is a manned spacecraft that can accommodate multiple astronauts for cruise, long-term work and residence. During the operation of the space station, the replacement of astronauts and the replenishment of supplies and equipment can be transported by manned spacecraft or space shuttles, and supplies and equipment can also be transported by unmanned spacecraft.

The space station has great value in scientific research, national economy and military. Its uses include astronomical observation, earth resource surveying, medical and biological research, new process development, geodetic surveying, military reconnaissance and technological experiments, etc. The space station can also serve as a springboard for humans to visit other planets such as Mars and test manned interplanetary exploration technology.

Broadly speaking, space stations can be divided into two types: single type and combined type. A single space station is directly launched into orbit by a launch vehicle or space shuttle; while a combined space station is assembled and launched multiple times by several rockets or space shuttles. The space station usually consists of a docking module, an airlock module, an orbital module, a living module, a service module, a special equipment module and a solar cell wing. The docking cabin generally has several docking ports and can dock multiple manned spacecraft or other aircraft at the same time. The airlock is the passageway for astronauts to enter and exit the space station in orbit. The orbital module is the main working place for astronauts in orbit. The living module is a place for astronauts to eat, sleep and rest. The service module is generally equipped with propulsion system, gas source, power supply and other equipment to serve the entire space station. The special equipment cabin is a cabin section set up according to the flight mission to install special instruments. It can also be an unsealed structure used to install instruments and equipment such as detection radars and astronomical telescopes that are exposed to space.

In 1971, the former Soviet Union launched the world's first space station "Salyut 1", and then successively launched "Salyut 2-7" in 1983. In 1986, the Soviet Union launched a larger space station "Mir", which has now crashed into the scheduled waters of the South Pacific. The United States launched the "Skylab" space station in 1973 using leftover materials from the "Apollo" moon landing program.

The former Soviet Union's "Salyut 6" space station was launched from the Chulatan Space Launch Site on September 29, 1977. The initial orbit has a perigee of 219 kilometers, an apogee of 275 kilometers, an orbital inclination of 51.6°, and a period of 89.1 minutes. "Salyut 6" is mainly composed of a service module and two habitable sealed compartments. One of the two sealed cabins is the transition cabin located behind the station and the other is the working cabin. The work cabin is composed of two cylinders with different diameters, connected with the cabin section in the middle. "Salyut 6" is equipped with two docking devices and more than 20 observation windows. The observation instruments and equipment carried by "Salyut 6" are improved compared with the instruments carried by previous models. After docking with the two Soyuz spacecraft, the "Salyut 6" has a total length of 30 meters and a total weight of about 32 tons. The work module is the center of the space station. It is equipped with various instruments and equipment, a control center, a teletypewriter, astronaut physical training facilities, medical monitoring equipment, sanitary equipment, waste storage containers, two remote-controlled cameras, etc. The transition cabin is equipped with astronomical observation and orientation equipment, camera control equipment, etc. In the cabin section of the transition module and the work module, biomedical equipment is installed, as well as a spectrometer, a multispectral camera, two black-and-white on-site cameras, three off-site cameras and one color camera. The service cabin is cylindrical and is bolted behind the work cabin. The cabin is equipped with a motorized orbit change system, fuel tank, air tank, power supply line equipment, attitude control engine, rendezvous beacon, TV camera, docking device flashing signal light, radio antenna system, solar cell sail panel, sun orientation equipment, etc. The work cabin is 9 meters long, 2.9 to 4.2 meters in diameter, and has a volume of 90 cubic meters. It is the living room where astronauts work and live. Since its launch, several groups of astronauts have entered it and conducted space flights of varying lengths.

Our country will launch the "Tiangong 1" target aircraft. "Tiangong 1" weighs 8 tons and is similar to a small space experimental station. In the two years after the launch of "Tiangong 1", my country will successively launch "Shenzhou 8, 9, and 10" spacecraft to dock with "Tiangong 1" respectively.

my country's first space station roughly consists of a core module, a cargo spacecraft, a manned spacecraft and two other modules used for experiments and other functions, with a total weight of less than 100 tons. The core module needs to be manned for a long time and can be docked with various experimental modules, manned spacecraft and cargo spacecraft. Only rockets with a carrying capacity of more than 20 tons are qualified to launch the core capsule. To this end, our country will build a fourth space launch site in Wenchang, Hainan, which can launch large-tonnage space stations.

On November 20, 2001, a Russian "Proton" carrier rocket took off from the Baikonur Space Launch Site in Kazakhstan and successfully launched the first satellite of the "International Space Station" Components of the "Dawn" module.

The "International Space Station" plan was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1984. It was originally named "Freedom" and was led by the United States. Currently, 16 countries are involved in its construction. It was put into use in 2004. Following the "Dawn" capsule, the United States later launched the "Node 1" capsule and docked with the "Dawn". Various equipment on the station were delivered to orbit in 45 flights by Russian rockets and U.S. space shuttles.

The "International Space Station" consists of two parts, the redesigned "Freedom" and the "Peace 2" that Russia originally planned to build. The junction of the two parts is the "Zawn" module that has been launched first. After completion, the station weighs 426 tons, is 108 meters long, and 88 meters wide (including wingspan). It runs on an orbit about 400 kilometers high and at an angle of 51.6° to the Earth's equator. The station can accommodate 3 people initially and can be increased to 6 people later. Its size greatly exceeds the "Mir". Knowledge points

The United States "Sky Lab"

The United States successfully launched a space station called Sky Laboratory on May 14, 1973. It was in a nearly circular space 435 kilometers high. It operates in orbit and has received three batches of nine astronauts to work on the station. The nine astronauts stayed on the station for 28 days, 59 days and 84 days respectively. The "Sky Laboratory" is 36 meters long, with a maximum diameter of 6.7 meters and a total weight of 77.5 tons. It is composed of an orbital module, a transition module and a docking module, and can provide a working space of 360 cubic meters. On May 25, July 28 and November 16, 1973, the "Apollo" spacecraft sent astronauts to the space station to work. During the manned flight, astronauts used 58 kinds of scientific instruments to conduct more than 270 experiments in biomedicine, space physics, astronomical observation, resource exploration and technology, took a large number of photos of solar activity and the earth's surface, and studied human Various phenomena that occur in space. After the third batch of astronauts left space and returned to the ground in February 1974, the "Skylab" was closed and deactivated until July 12, 1979, when it crashed into the atmosphere over the southern Indian Ocean and burned up. It operated in space for 2,249 days and had a range of more than 1.4 billion kilometers.