After SpaceX took off, did Musk’s “trampoline” joke hurt the Russians?

The hatch slowly opened, and the American and Russian astronauts once again successfully "reunited" on the International Space Station. However, the two Russian astronauts waiting for their American counterparts at the station did not see the all-too-familiar Soyuz. Instead, the Dragon spacecraft was all white, as if it had flown out of an American science fiction blockbuster.

On May 31, local time, 19 hours after launching from the Kennedy Space Center in the United States and flying for 19 hours, the manned Dragon spacecraft completed docking with the International Space Station. After the successful "capture", the power supply of the Dragon spacecraft was connected to the International Space Station.

There is no doubt that this is a huge victory for SpaceX. Even the big explosion of the "Starship" heavy-lift rocket on the launch pad less than 24 hours ago could not conceal such a dazzling success. In addition to the excitement, SpaceX boss Musk did not forget to speak to the Russians.

"The trampoline worked!" he joked at the press conference. "This joke is for people who understand."

At that time, relations between the United States and Russia were tense due to the Ukraine crisis. , the United States and Europe began imposing sanctions on Russia, and Russia threatened to retaliate. Preventing the Americans from using the "Soyuz" is one of the possible measures. As has happened many times in history, spaceflight has once again become a geopolitical issue.

Manned spaceflight, and even manned moon landings and fire landings based on this, are the "crown jewels" in the field of aerospace, and have always been promoted only by big countries with their national strength. Since Gagarin's first flight nearly 60 years ago, only the Soviet Union (Russia), the United States, and China have successively mastered manned launch technology. Today, SpaceX, run by "Iron Man" Musk, has officially become the first commercial company with the capability to launch manned spacecraft, and has even achieved space docking in one step.

What’s next?

In Musk’s view, the success of the Dragon spacecraft is only a small part of a larger plan. Although Musk has always been known as a "big pie" among netizens, and has even been accused of "relying on science fiction-style PPT to sell colonial space," the successive successes of the "Falcon" rocket and "Dragon" spacecraft have their own weight, gradually dispelling aroused some people's skepticism.

The first-generation Dragon spacecraft first flew in 2010. At that time, it was positioned to deliver cargo to the space station while significantly reducing freight costs. The first-generation "Dragon" spacecraft has carried out 22 launch missions, of which 21 were successful. Only once was the hull destroyed due to a rocket explosion. Because it can be reused, the launch cost is reduced to less than one-tenth of the space shuttle, while the cargo capacity can reach one-third of the space shuttle.

The second-generation manned Dragon spacecraft that successfully docked with the International Space Station also maintains its low-cost advantage. The United States currently purchases a seat on the Russian "Soyuz" spacecraft for up to 90 million U.S. dollars, while the manned "Dragon" spacecraft only costs about 55 million U.S. dollars (also said to be 20 million U.S. dollars), significantly reducing NASA's manned space expenditures and saving money. The money can be used for other projects.

Technically, "The biggest technical highlight of the Manned Dragon spacecraft is the adoption of a pioneering new launch escape system. The spacecraft does not need a rocket escape tower to escape, but uses its own 8 'super Draco's engine escape." Aerospace expert Pang Zhihao told The Paper (www.thepaper.cn), "Unlike previous escape tower systems, the spacecraft can escape at any time during the ascent stage, which is safer."

< p> In addition, "The Manned Dragon spacecraft is highly automated and is equipped with a touch control screen, a fully automatic driving system, etc. This launch will also continue to verify some of the world's leading aerospace technologies, which is helpful for improving the strength of U.S. aerospace science and technology. It’s a big help,” Pang Zhihao said.

After the successful first flight, SpaceX became the first private aerospace company with the ability to independently launch a manned spacecraft. As a private company considering revenue, SpaceX has undertaken two space tourism projects through agents. In the not-too-distant future, four paying passengers can board the Dragon spacecraft for a five-day space trip. Different from previous space travel projects, passengers on the Dragon spacecraft do not need professional astronauts to guide them, and the spacecraft can achieve autonomous orbit and return. At a time when demand for commercial launches is declining, space tourism may provide some profit opportunities.

With launch orders and other profits, SpaceX has more ambitious space exploration goals. As early as 2016, Musk announced the "Colonization of Mars Plan", hoping to establish immigrant cities on the surface of Mars where liquid water has been confirmed to exist.

Of course, the timetable for colonizing Mars announced by Musk in his excitement is quite confusing. It is now getting closer and closer to his planned manned landing on Mars in the second half of the 2020s, and the goal of "moving one million people to Mars within this century" appears to be out of reach. However, the successive successes of the Dragon spacecraft and Falcon rockets at least show that the first basic condition for colonizing Mars - the reusability of rockets and spacecrafts is becoming a reality step by step.

The United States and Russia are competing to develop a new generation of manned spacecraft

SpaceX is thriving with the strong support of its "parental family" the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), but other aerospace powers will not relax their pursuit. footsteps. In Russia, the sense of urgency is particularly strong.

Musk’s little joke at the press conference immediately “stinged” the Russians. On Russian social media, netizens used a large number of emoticons to ridicule Rogozin, the director of the Russian Space Agency. His name was even trending on Twitter in Russia.

Rogozin, who has become an "Internet celebrity", did not remain silent. His spokesperson immediately responded to the online discussion: "We really don't understand the successful launch of the Dragon spacecraft (in Russia). Hysteria. (The Americans) just achieved something that should have been achieved a long time ago.” The spokesman also generously applauded the Dragon spacecraft, saying it was “great” that Americans and Russians can finally fly to the International Space Station together. .

They paid lip service to compliments, but the Russians also took action. On May 31, the Russian Space Agency announced that it would test two new rockets within the year and restart the long-awaited moon landing plan next year. Among the two rocket tests, the test launch of the "Angara" heavy-lift launch vehicle to be conducted this fall is noteworthy. If successful, it will greatly enhance the launch and carrying capabilities of Russia's aerospace industry.

French "Le Monde" commented that it cannot but admit that there is a strong sense of urgency at work behind this series of actions. The sudden rise of SpaceX is now putting huge pressure on the Russian space system. The monopoly held by Russia's Soyuz spacecraft since 2011 has been challenged. Over the years, NASA has paid a huge sum of US$3.3 billion to Russia to pay for the tickets for the "Soyuz" spacecraft.

Facing dual competition from the traditional U.S. and private aerospace industries, Russia began planning its own new generation of manned spacecraft early. The veteran "Soyuz" is a classic manned spacecraft developed by the Soviet Korolev Design Bureau (now Energy Group). However, after decades of service, the Russian government urgently needs to develop a new spacecraft with reusability capabilities. . So the Energy Group began the development of a new spacecraft in 2009, which was called the "Future Manned Transportation System" (PPTS) at the time. It was later named "Federation" in 2015.

The core technical indicators of the "Federation" are that the return module has the ability to be reused ten times, and it has a larger lunar landing model with a service module that can escape from the lunar orbit and return, meeting Russia's requirements for achieving a lunar landing. need. According to the original plan, after the spacecraft is put into use, it will be paired with Russia's self-developed new launch vehicle "Angara 5P" to realize the upgrading of Russian space vehicles.

However, the development process of the "Federation" was full of twists and turns. Unlike SpaceX, which frequently encountered technical difficulties such as rocket explosions and recovery failures in the early days, the energy group's research and development work was more affected by major environmental factors such as economic shrinkage and budget decline. In 2012, the Energy Group announced that it had completed the technical design of the spacecraft. As long as the budget funds are allocated on time, flight tests can begin in 2017. Geopolitical turmoil in 2014 combined with external sanctions and economic malaise led Russia to cut its space budget. At the end of that year, Russia announced that the first launch of the new spacecraft would be postponed to 2021, and then announced that it would be postponed to 2022, and the first manned launch mission would have to wait until 2024.

In recent years, the development progress of the "Federation" has continued to be delayed, and even the launch vehicle model has been changed to the newly developed "Soyuz 5" rocket. In 2018, due to development problems with this type of rocket, the first flight of the "Federation" was once again postponed to around 2025.

Until then, Russia will still use the "Soyuz" to perform resupply missions to the space station. Roscosmos believes that the United States will still need to carry out space cooperation with Russia. "It is important to ensure that there are at least two ways to get to the International Space Station because you never know what might happen," Rogozin's spokesman said.