Distant space, close concern ■ zhankang Liberation Army Daily reporter Gaoliying wanglingshuo Even though there is no land under my feet, I can still take every step firmly. Even though flying without wings, I can still open my hands bravely. I know that there is a vast space ahead, and you are behind! On the way to conquer the universe, we are always together. —— taikonaut When astronaut Chen Dong breathed fresh air and drank circulating water on the Chinese space station; When astronaut Liu Yang was drinking homemade delicious yogurt and eating rich food in the "space kitchen"; When astronaut caixuzhe ran freely on the Chinese space station and fell asleep in the "private room"... There was a group of people who kept an eye on the astronauts' every move in the sky. They are the people closest to the astronauts - the staff of the Chinese Astronaut Research and training center. Every day astronauts spend in space can not be separated from their 24-hour meticulous protection on the ground. As "the cradle of the growth of Chinese astronauts", in the manned space project, the Chinese Astronaut Research and training center mainly shoulders the functional mission of "cultivating, supporting and researching people". This group of aerospace researchers, who have made silent contributions behind the astronauts, have constantly challenged technical difficulties, climbed scientific and technological peaks, and built a solid ladder to space for flying heroes with their painstaking efforts and wisdom. The ordinary makes the extraordinary, and the nameless makes the famous. Today, we approached the researchers of the center to explore the story behind the flying sky. Key words: dare to be the first Some things must be done first, even if they are extremely difficult and dangerous In the huge water tank with a depth of 10 meters and a diameter of 23 meters, the underwater training model of the space station is like a behemoth, lying quietly under the water. This is the main training ground for the simulated cabin of the center. Astronaut instructor Zhaoyang has been carrying out underwater training with astronauts for a long time. Once busy, Zhao Yang only sleeps four hours a day and eats a meal. The task of the instructor is to decompose each action, refine each posture, and help the astronauts quickly and safely find their way back. In March, 2022, astronaut caixuzhe (right) and astronaut instructor Zhaoyang (left) prepared for the space station mission and carried out underwater training. Photo by Kong Fangzhou After joining the astronaut brigade, astronauts have to study and train hundreds of subjects in eight categories. Among them, the training work is mainly organized and implemented by the instructors in the astronaut selection and training room. "Be willing to be a ladder to others, and dare to be the first." This is the room training of the astronaut selection and training room, and it is also the motto of every astronaut instructor. Overweight endurance training, low-pressure training, simulated weightlessness training, field survival training... Teachers are the first to "eat crabs" for any training involving physiological limits and hidden dangers. Since the launch of China's manned space program, 13 re-entry modules have landed in the scheduled area as planned. However, there have been many cases of "disobedience" in the world aerospace history. On march18,1965, when a Soviet manned spacecraft returned to land, it made an emergency landing in the birch forest of Ural Mountain due to failure. The two astronauts could only write a distress signal in the snow while using their emergency pistols to ward off wolves and bears and light a fire to keep out the cold. Finally, the well-trained astronauts got out of the dilemma by relying on survival skills. No matter where Chinese astronauts land, they must be able to cope with the challenges of different environments. To achieve this, it is necessary to carry out field survival and emergency rescue training under severe conditions. In the tropical jungle, at the risk of being trampled by wild elephants and bitten by poisonous snakes and insects, the instructor team made a difficult survey of the site selection. They encountered bamboo leaf green snakes and were bitten by leeches... Finally, after 8 days, they determined the training site from three alternative sites. In Badain Jaran Desert, the temperature difference between day and night is as high as 39 ℃, and the instructor team carries out 48 hours of pre training here. At night, people crowded in the desert shelter, even if they were baked with fire, their backs were still cold. In this way, they verified the rationality and feasibility of the design of the astronaut desert survival training course. Some things must be done first, even if they are extremely difficult and dangerous. On september27,2008, astronaut ZhaiZhiGang completed his first mission of extravehicular activities wearing the "Feitian" extravehicular service independently developed by China, marking that China has become the third country to independently master extravehicular activities technology. The extravehicular service weighing more than 100 kilograms is the armor for astronauts to perform extravehicular activities. It is equivalent to a humanoid spaceship. After being charged with a certain amount of pressure, it can protect the life safety of astronauts and resist the high and low temperature, vacuum, strong radiation and other environmental factors in outer space. After the extravehicular suit has passed the strict test, before the astronauts put it on, there is another key test - volunteers need to wear new extravehicular suits and enter the low-pressure chamber simulating the vacuum environment in orbit for manned test. This test is extremely dangerous. When the pressure in the cabin is released to a nearly vacuum state, any minor failure of the extravehicular spacesuit will directly threaten the life safety of the volunteers. Who dares to risk his life? Although the extravehicular service has been tested layer by layer from the initial sample to the normal sample, it is safe. But how can there be 100% of the world? In september2020, the manned low-pressure test of extravehicular service was started again. At this time, 12 years have passed since the first test. At 21:58 that night, the lights in the test hall were bright. After 17 hours, volunteers Wang Hao and Yue Yueqing experienced the actual pressure relief process in the extravehicular service test module, and successfully completed the extravehicular activity procedures. Facing the warm applause of the people present, Wang Hao and Yue Yueqing successfully got out of the cabin, and everyone's heart was finally relieved. Volunteers Wang Hao and Yue Yueqing were selected from 12 people who signed up enthusiastically. Wang Hao has participated in five extravehicular service pressurization life tests, more than 20 mechanical arm or extravehicular equipment maintenance verification tests under suspended conditions, and two centrifuge overweight load tests. Each test means a huge challenge. The new generation of "Feitian" extravehicular service was assembled by the team led by Yue Yueqing. He also personally participated in the testing of a series of spacesuits. For him, extravehicular service is like a child raised by himself. Test after test, improvement after improvement... Each test is faced with a risk test. In this regard, the family was puzzled: "just be a tailor to make spacesuits. Why bother yourself so much?" "Because I am a different tailor, it is related to the safety of astronauts and the success or failure of manned space missions." For the best comfort and safety of the spacesuit, Yue Yueqing always threw himself into the next test without hesitation. "The motherland is above everything, and life is above everything." This sentence is deeply imprinted in their hearts. So far, the two manned low-voltage tests organized by the center have been successful. Keywords independent innovation Ten years of sharpening a sword, realizing the leap from "nothing to existence" to "from existence to excellence" The completion of the Chinese space station is an important symbol of China's transformation from a "space power" to a "space power", and it is also the dream of generations of the center. Since the implementation of the space station project, in order to meet the needs of the mission, the scientific researchers of the center have undertaken many pioneering tasks. There is neither a model to follow nor experience to learn from. As the world's third largest astronaut center, since its birth, the center's researchers have struggled to explore and advance under the circumstances of foreign technology blockade and domestic inexperience. The stars do not lose the passers-by, and the years do not lose the heart. In 1992, with the launch of China's manned space program, the center ushered in great opportunities and development. The scientific researchers have gathered their wisdom to tackle key problems and worked together. So far, they have successfully completed the launching and in orbit operation of five unmanned spacecraft, eight manned spacecraft, Tiangong-1 target aircraft, tiangong-2 space laboratory, Tianhe core module and four cargo spacecraft. At present, there are 14 astronauts and 23 people in space, realizing the dream of flying the Chinese nation. At present, the manned space project has entered the construction stage of the space station. Faced with difficulties, they continued to struggle and gnawed down hard bones. The environmental control and life support (hereinafter referred to as environmental control and life support) room of the center is responsible for supporting an "umbrella" for astronauts in space. They have created basic living conditions and a suitable working environment in the space capsule to ensure that the capsule has air pressure, wind speed, air quality and water suitable for human survival. Before the Shenzhou 12 space mission, astronauts needed oxygen and water to survive in space. In the space station mission, the astronauts have been in orbit for more than three months, and it is expensive to transport materials from the earth. The environmental control and life insurance technology must realize the recycling of oxygen and water in the cabin, which is the key technology for the long-term on orbit operation of the space station. It is conceivable that it is difficult to build a recyclable life support system similar to the earth environment and operate stably for a long time in a closed and narrow space station cabin. In 2011, a scientific research team with an average age of less than 35 received this task. From demonstration to preliminary sample development and then to the normal sample, they felt the stone all the way across the river, checked the data, invited experts, made research, kept testing, and made a reciprocating cycle and spiral development in the occurrence and solution of problems. It seems inconceivable to ordinary people to turn urine into drinkable water after purification. More than 10 years ago, this has become the research direction of the urine treatment team of the environmental control and life insurance regeneration subsystem of the center. The biggest problem encountered by researchers is how to separate water and gas while distilling. The international space station is designed as a double rotating distillation unit, which is relatively mature but bulky. The team blazed a new trail and pioneered the development of a single rotary distillation unit with halved weight, reduced volume and better reliability. At that time, there was no cooperative unit that could undertake the product in China, so they had to do it by themselves. After modifying the design over and over again, the problem was finally solved. Challenges follow. Generally, the bearing works in the environment with lubricating oil, but the rotating bearing should work in the medium without oil and strong acid. At that time, there was no bearing on the market that met this condition. The urine treatment device on the international space station also faces this problem. In response to this world problem, the research team, together with the top bearing technology research institute in China, selected a variety of materials and different structural schemes, repeated experiments and comparisons, found the optimal materials and structures, and increased the bearing life to thousands of hours. Finally, after nearly 4000 days and nights of hard work by team members, the urine treatment device with good performance was successfully launched. The electrolytic oxygen generation team is also facing the problem of water gas separation under microgravity conditions. After repeated investigation and test, the team developed a certain membrane material, but the weight and service life of the material still do not meet the requirements of relevant indicators. They gathered their wisdom, traveled all over the country, visited and consulted senior experts in the industry, and creatively designed new membrane structures. Later, they took another 9 years to increase the service life of the film by 10 times and reduce its weight to 1/4 of the original. Ten years to sharpen a sword. Through key technology research and engineering development, the regenerative life insurance team has overcome a number of key technologies and technical difficulties and completed the engineering development of regenerative life insurance devices. At present, the center has achieved many leaps from "nothing to existence" to "from existence to excellence"—— Functionality of space station extravehicular service