On the early morning of March 12th, the Long March 8 Y-6 carrier rocket was ignited and launched from the first launch station of Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site (hereinafter referred to as "Hainan Commercial Launch Site"), successfully sending the fifth batch of networked satellites of the Qianfan Constellation into the predetermined orbit in a "one rocket, eighteen satellites" manner. This launch is not only the "debut" of Hainan Commercial Launch Station 1, but also the first time that the Chang-8 rocket relies on a dedicated station to carry out a mission, marking a major breakthrough in China's high-density commercial space launch capability. On November 30, 2024, the first successful launch of Hainan Commercial Development Station 2 was achieved with a "7+7 testing cycle" and faster frequency. The successful maiden flight of Station 1 in this mission marks China's first commercial space launch site with dual station launch capability. Approaching the first station that had just experienced its maiden flight, the residual temperature of the rocket's tail flame still lingered in the air. Pointing to the residual water marks on the bidirectional guide cone at the bottom of the tower, Zhang Guodong, the director of the Hainan Commercial Development Construction Task Team, said, "Unlike traditional underground guide channels, Station 1 uses bidirectional guide cones for ground drainage to divert the heat generated by the rocket launch engine." In the future, Station 1 will adopt a "7+7 testing cycle" plan, which means 7 days for launch preparation and 7 days for equipment recovery. How to meet the higher performance requirements of the launch station due to the fast-paced launch frequency? Whether it's construction or equipment recovery, it must be done quickly! Faster Zhang Guodong stated that in order to reduce the erosion and damage caused to ground equipment after rocket ignition, the first station adopts an extrusion type water spraying system. By using high-pressure and high flow water spraying, the ground equipment is protected and a water curtain is formed, which improves the cooling and noise reduction efficiency by 30%. At the same time, it reduces the time for equipment recovery after launch. Moreover, the system does not require additional power water supply, and the maintenance cycle is shortened by 50%, laying the foundation for high-frequency launches. In addition, technological breakthroughs such as unmanned front-end operation after refueling, pioneering ground diversion device, possessing two-stage liquid oxygen fully subcooled refueling capability, and 100% autonomous and controllable measurement and control system have also become the biggest confidence for the No.1 station to build an international first-class launch station. The "Smart Launch Site System" provides more convenient management. During the preparation process before the rocket launch, the staff in the test and launch command hall can view and monitor all the systems of Hainan Commercial Development at any time without leaving their homes. This is inseparable from the "strategic planning" of the "Smart Launch Site System". The 'Smart Launch Site System' is the 'brain' and 'central nervous system' of Hainan Commercial Development. It adopts integrated measurement and launch command information fusion technology to comprehensively command and control all elements of launch tasks, and comprehensively improve the operational management efficiency and intelligent application level of Hainan Commercial Development Liu Qiaozhen, the chief designer of the "Smart Launch Site System", introduced that when the system equipment malfunctions, the system can also clearly and intuitively mark the location of the fault point in the first time, greatly improving the efficiency of fault diagnosis. In this launch mission, the "Smart Launch Site System" has also expanded the health management function of Hainan Commercial Development for the first time. Once an abnormal situation occurs, it can quickly diagnose and propose solutions, and then reflect it to the comprehensive operation and maintenance management platform. The platform can not only clearly view the health status of all equipment in Hainan Shangfa, but also issue reminders when the equipment is approaching its end of life, thereby reducing a lot of manual inspection work. At the same time, thanks to the successful development of remote control solenoid valves and pressure regulating valves, staff can complete the filling, pressure regulation and other work that originally required manual personnel to go to the site with just a few clicks. "In Liu Qiaozhen's opinion, these have greatly improved the automation and unmanned level of the first workstation. The launch efficiency and capability of the Long March 8 rocket are among the top in China's medium-sized rockets of the same class, especially suitable for large-scale constellation networking tasks in sun synchronous orbit and low orbit. Its modular design can flexibly adapt to various configurations, providing the best solution for the construction of a 1100 kilometer orbit satellite network, "said Song Zhengyu, chief designer of the Long March 8 series rockets. As a pioneer of the Long March series carrier rockets targeting the commercial aerospace market, how does the Chang-8 rocket adapt to the new requirements of rapid response, cost reduction, and efficiency improvement in commercial aerospace? In this launch mission, the Long 8 rocket and the No. 1 station were "strongly combined". The breakthrough was to adopt the "new three vertical launch mode" to transport the rocket body vertically in sections. The core primary booster assembly, core secondary rocket body, and satellite cover assembly were transported to the launch area by road and then completed the final assembly. This mode significantly reduced the launch cost and plant occupancy time, and it is expected to meet the demand for high-density missions launched once a week in the future. We have also pioneered the 'pulsating production, testing, and launch integration' mode, equipped with dual pulsating production lines and three vertical workstations in the Hainan final assembly and testing plant, achieving efficient connection throughout the entire process of rocket production, testing, and launch Song Zhengyu told reporters that by streamlining the launch site process and optimizing the configuration of the testing and launch team, the rocket development team has combined traditional factory testing with launch site testing, improving work efficiency by more than 30%. As the main model of China's new generation of medium-sized carrier rockets, the Chang-8 rocket has previously been launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Site. With the use of dedicated workstations, the annual launch capability of the Chang-8 rocket will achieve a leapfrog growth. "Xiao Yun, the commander-in-chief of the Long March 8 series rockets, said that this year the Chang-8 rocket will undertake multiple batches of networked launch missions, and the efficient operation capability of the dedicated workstations can significantly shorten the mission cycle, providing faster and more reliable services for commercial users. (New Society)