On the afternoon of July 24, with the Long March 5 B yao-3 carrier rocket soaring into the sky, the first experimental module in the construction stage of China's space station and the heaviest spacecraft launched by China so far, the 23 ton sky inquiry experimental module, was launched. With a total length of 17.9 meters and a diameter of 4.2 meters, the Wentian experimental module is "stronger" and "stronger" than the Tianhe core module; It also has three "unique artifacts": the special exit area for astronauts - the airlock cabin; Small mechanical arm with more dexterous and fine operation; Flexible solar wings that can collect energy for the entire space station. Airlock module: after the astronauts' special space station mission was opened, Chinese astronauts have carried out many extravehicular activities. The hatch on the Tianhe core module is called "node module", which has multiple functions of spacecraft docking and berthing and astronauts' extravehicular activities. There are many equipment, pipelines and cables in the module. After the space experiment module lifted off, the astronauts will have a special exit area - airlock module in the future. According to Zhang Hao, the chief designer of the space station system of the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Science and technology group, the airlock cabin is a cabin with an inner circle and an outer side, which has the characteristics of larger cabin capacity, wider cabin door and cleaner cabin. In the future, the airlock will become the main exit channel of the entire space station system. The space for astronauts' activities outside the node module is about 78 cubic meters, and the airlock module can reach 123 cubic meters; The airlock cabin is cleaner than the node cabin, and only the equipment related to exit is configured in the cabin, without the fetters of other pipelines and cables; The diameter of the hatch is 1 meter, which is 15 cm larger than that of the node hatch. "Astronauts can go in and out from here, which can be more relaxed and leisurely. They can also carry large equipment to work out of the capsule, and their ability to get out of the capsule is greatly improved." Zhang Hao said. There are 22 standard load interfaces in the Wentian experimental module. In the next ten years, the scientific experimental load carried on the space station can be accurately "delivered" to its corresponding standard load interface position through the manipulator, "plug and play", and it can be operated manually without astronauts leaving the cabin. Small mechanical arm: "short and tough", which can independently complete the care outside the cabin. Like the Tianhe core cabin, the Wentian experimental cabin is also equipped with a mechanical arm. Compared with the large manipulator equipped in the core module with a deployment length of 10 meters and a maximum bearing mass of 25 tons, the manipulator of the Wentian experimental module is more "short and vigorous". Zhang Hao introduced that the large manipulator arm is long enough, the transfer range is larger, and the operation radius is nearly 10 meters; With enough strength, he is simply a "Hercules" who can grasp and transfer a complete spacecraft. In contrast, the small mechanical arm of the Wentian experimental module is about 5 meters long and has a bearing capacity of 3 tons, but the design purpose of this "small hand" is to grasp small and medium-sized equipment for more refined operation. For example, it can independently complete the installation, replacement and other care operations of extravehicular loads without the need for astronauts to leave the capsule, which can effectively save astronauts' on orbit workload. Large and small mechanical arms can also be combined to form a combined arm about 15 meters long to carry out more extravehicular operations. "We can regard the large and small manipulator as two human hands, which can hand over things to each other and use them cooperatively; we can also hold the two arms together to form a longer manipulator, which can carry out some operations and crawling needs covering the entire surface of the space station." Zhang Hao said. Flexible solar wing: it is the solar wing carried by the longest and largest sky inquiry experimental module in China at present, and it is the longest and largest flexible solar wing in China at present, breaking the record of using solar panels in orbit for spacecraft in China. According to Zhang Hao, the solar wing array of the sky inquiry experimental module, with some installation structures, is nearly 28 meters long, and the two solar wings are all deployed nearly 56 meters, which is larger than the size of the cabin combined with the three modules of the space station, and the area of one solar wing array can reach more than 100 square meters, which will effectively collect more solar energy and provide sufficient energy for the operation of the space station. "The power generation of such a large solar wing is 9 kW for one wing and 18 kW for both wings, and the daily average power generation is more than 430 degrees. After the rendezvous and docking with the core module, it can meet the power demand of the entire space station." Zhang Hao said. The solar wing of the Wentian experimental module has large area and flexibility. Songxiaoguang, deputy director of the GNC subsystem of the space science and Technology Group's Fifth Academy Wentian experimental module, said that this solar wing is only a little harder than the clothes, and it uses dual axis control, so that the orientation can be adjusted at any time without adjusting the attitude of the cabin. After the on orbit construction of the space station is completed, a solar sail of the Tianhe core module will be transferred to the tail of the Wentian experimental module resource module. At that time, the Wentian experimental module will become a veritable "main power station" to continuously supply power to the assembly. (Xinhua News Agency)