There is less than a year left before Shenzhou-3 will actually carry out manned space flight.
The training of astronauts is in full swing.
The training of the first batch of astronauts was very difficult and heavy.
It includes more than 100 subjects in eight categories, including physical training, aerospace environment adaptability training, psychological training, basic theoretical training, aerospace professional and technical training, flight procedure and mission simulation training, survival and life-saving training, and large-scale joint exercises.
Each person's training time exceeds 6,000 hours.
You know, the first batch of astronauts were originally selected from the best pilots in the Air Force.
You can take a look at the selection conditions for the first batch of astronauts:
Have firm will, dedication and good compatibility, height 160~172 cm, weight 55~70 kg, age 25~35 years old,
Must be a fighter or attack aircraft pilot with a cumulative flight time of more than 600 hours.
Have a college degree or above, and have excellent flight performance, no grade accidents, no smoking or alcohol addiction, and all physical examinations in the past three years have been "A".
The standards of the 1990s were enough to get rid of 99% of the people in the country, but even these were considered harsh conditions.
More than 1,500 people were still selected from the Air Force for the second screening.
In ten large sanatoriums, more than a thousand elite pilots underwent more stringent physical examinations.
Every little blemish on the body will be brushed away.
It is even necessary to check the family medical history. Even if you do not have any problems yourself, but there are diseases in the family history that are not conducive to aerospace work, it will still be brushed off.
At this level, half of the candidates were eliminated, and there were still 800 people left.
These people are excellent in all aspects, but they still need to be selected in the third round!
This round is a competition to see who's body can better adapt to the work of an astronaut.
At this level, 60 people who are truly suitable for aerospace work will be selected from 800 people.
Finally, these people received special physiological function tests at the Institute of Aerospace Medical Engineering.
Discover whether they have stronger aerospace physiological functions than ordinary people.
For example, an overweight test is conducted on a centrifuge to see whether the body can withstand extreme overload.
Undergo the hypoxic endurance test in the pressure test chamber. After the tester enters the low-pressure chamber, the oxygen in the chamber will be removed.
As the air pressure drops to an altitude of five thousand meters, if someone cannot adapt, they will be eliminated.
If you reach an altitude of 10,000 meters and your skin feels itchy like ants crawling, it means you have decompression syndrome and will be eliminated.
Swing on a six-meter electric swing at high speed for 15 minutes to detect vertigo.
In a room full of noise and vibration, endure constant external disturbances and observe whether agitation appears.
Endurance tests such as standing up and lying down on an inclined bed with the head lowered and the feet higher to measure carotid artery blood flow, heart compliance, negative pressure on the lower body, etc.
After these cruel and long selection tests, twelve people were finally selected to join the astronaut team.
These people have been training for nearly three years now.
Because our first batch of astronauts are basically trained as pilots. They not only have to operate the spacecraft, but also take on the role of onboard engineers and payload experts.
Therefore, their training subjects are many and very arduous, just like the astronauts in front of Zhang Xingyang now.
"After the Hongyan rocket's propulsion system fails, what should we do immediately?"
As the chief designer of the Hongyan rocket, Zhang Xingyang is assessing the astronauts in front of him.
As pilots, they need to learn a lot of theoretical knowledge, including rocket and spacecraft design principles, flight dynamics, meteorology, astronomy, communications, equipment testing, aerospace medical knowledge, etc.
Of course, those are just theoretical knowledge. Zhang Xingyang is now studying and assessing flight procedures and mission scenarios.
They must learn to detect and troubleshoot emergencies.
This is not only for the success of manned space missions, but also for their own life safety.
"This issue needs to be considered based on time points."
Sitting opposite Zhang Xingyang, the serious Yang Hongwei answered according to the theoretical knowledge he had learned before.
"If there is a problem with the propulsion system before the rocket is ignited."
"Then you need to contact the control center as soon as possible to suspend the launch of the rocket."
"Then the launch site engineer is notified to inspect the rocket's propulsion system."
This situation is actually the simplest one. After all, the engine has not started working yet, so the risk is not very great.
"If a failure in the propulsion system is discovered after the first stage rocket is ignited."
"First enter the escape tower, and then it depends on the situation."
If a problem occurs after ignition, it is difficult for astronauts to solve the problem of the rocket propulsion system by themselves.
And for the personal safety of the astronauts, they must enter the escape tower as soon as possible to escape.
Otherwise, it is very likely that a major accident will occur when there is a problem with the rocket.
The escape tower will maintain a safe enough distance from the rocket under the action of the separation engine to protect the lives of astronauts.
After all, the lives of astronauts are more precious than the same weight of gold.
In order to train qualified astronauts, the country has invested hundreds of millions in funds to provide them with various trainings.
Not to mention anything else, the construction cost of specialized training equipment alone is as high as tens of millions, and this is just the material cost.
Daily training plans and nutrition plans are all handled by dedicated personnel.
It can be said that every gram of meat on their bodies has been accounted for.
There will be no large deviations in weight, but will remain at a relatively stable value all year round.
Zhang Xingyang then asked a few more questions about rocket emergency handling, and the other party's answers were all correct.
After writing "excellent" on the evaluation in his hand, Zhang Xingyang smiled and said:
"You passed the assessment this time, congratulations."
Yang Hongwei, who was sitting opposite, although his body posture did not change much, his body was obviously not as tense as before and his whole body relaxed.
This assessment is directly related to whether he can be selected to carry out the first manned space mission later.
Everyone in the astronaut team is now staring at this only position, and they all want to be the first to go to heaven.
Twelve people, almost all working hard to learn various aerospace knowledge.
Because as long as there is a little bit of imperfect learning, you may be eliminated in the subsequent selection process!
"Thank you, Dean Zhang."
Yang Hongwei thanked Zhang Xingyang sincerely.
But Zhang Xingyang didn’t have any special ideas:
"Thank me for what."
"You should thank yourself."
"After all, the only one you can rely on after going to heaven is yourself."
There was only room for one astronaut in the first manned space program, so no matter what happened.
The astronauts could only find a solution on their own for the first time.
After saying goodbye to the astronauts, Zhang Xingyang came to a larger laboratory.
This time, being a rocket expert and evaluating astronauts is just a matter of course.
The real purpose is something else.
"Hey, Dean Zhang is here."
As soon as he entered the laboratory, a middle-aged man with a fair face greeted him.
Yang Bing is responsible for the development of space suits in the manned space system.
"Lao Yang, you are so anxious to call me here. Is there anything about the space suit that needs to be improved?"
Before Zhang Xingyang came, he only knew that the other party wanted to discuss the issue of space suits with him, but it was not clear what the specific issue was.
"The anti-overload design of the space suit currently has certain problems."
Yang Bing was not too polite. Everyone's time was precious. Any more nonsense would be a waste of time.
"We used to use inflatables to resist overload."
"But now it is discovered that during the re-entry process, the overload is very high, and the original design cannot achieve the ideal effect."
This time, during Shenzhou-2's re-entry into the atmosphere, they detected that the maximum overload reached 9 G!
Such overload, and it occurs in a very short period of time, will directly cause astronauts to have various adverse reactions in an instant.
Although there is no direct life danger, it will have a great impact on their professional life.
Domestic astronauts are not disposable products. In the follow-up planning, many of them will need to go to space multiple times.
Therefore, this problem must be solved, otherwise it will have a great impact on the subsequent manned space program.
"Why not use a liquid-filled type to resist overload?"
Zhang Xingyang looked at the spacesuit that was a little taller than him and asked with some confusion.
It should be common sense to them that the liquid-filled type can react faster and complete the anti-overload process.
Moreover, the liquid-filled type is a purely physical process and does not involve chemical reactions, so the effect is also very good.
This is why Zhang Xingyang was so confused after seeing the space suit.
Yang Bing naturally knows the benefits of using a liquid-filled anti-load system, but they also have their own considerations.
"We also thought about using a liquid-filled type before, but there is also a problem with the liquid-filled type."
"It's just that it's too heavy!"
At this time, Yang Bing led Zhang Xingyang to another small room in the laboratory.
There is another set of space suits that look different.
"This is what we've tried before to create a spacesuit with a fluid-filled anti-load system."
"How much does this set weigh?"
Zhang Xingyang also asked curiously. After all, if the weight difference was not too big, they would not give up on such a plan.
“The fluid-filled load-bearing system alone weighs thirty kilograms.”
"If you include the total weight of the space suit, it reaches one hundred and forty kilograms!"
"With the power source lost, astronauts would be unable to walk a hundred meters in it."
Yang Bing said with emotion, touching the cold surface coating of the space suit.
"The probability that the power cannot be started is very low. To be honest, you guys are a bit choking."
Although he knew that what he said might not be pleasant to listen to, Zhang Xingyang still pointed out that their idea was not very tenable.
"Furthermore, even without the use of a liquid-filled anti-load system, with an inflatable design, the weight will reach about one hundred and twenty kilograms."
"It is still difficult for astronauts to move without a power source."
There is nothing wrong with what Zhang Xingyang said, it's just that they thought it was too extreme.
It is unrealistic for them to hope that astronauts can still work when they lose their power source.
"Maybe we were wrong."
After Yang Bing was silent for a while, he smiled bitterly and said.
"We also want to enable astronauts to survive in extreme situations."
"However, judging from the current situation, this is not realistic."
Zhang Xingyang patted Yang Bing on the shoulder and said:
"Lao Yang, believe us, the probability of something going wrong with our power system is lower than the probability of you turning into a woman."
Zhang Xingyang's teasing words made Yang Bing feel a little better.
The power system of the space suit uses two high-energy-density batteries. The value of these two batteries alone has reached seven figures.
This is why the cost of a space suit reaches tens of millions. Every component on it is not cheap!
"Xingyang, you haven't seen astronauts training, right?"
"Want to see it?"
At this time, Yang Bing also changed his mentality.
In fact, in the future, Zhang Xingyang will have experienced a lot of astronaut training himself, not to mention watching others train.
But at that time, the content of his training should be very different from now.
It's not just a matter of the progress of the times, but also a difference in identity. Of course, he was trained as a technician.
Some physical training content is not as abnormal as those for drivers that require extremely strong physical strength and endurance.
"Is anyone training now?"
"What are you training for?"
Zhang Xingyang asked curiously.
"They should be conducting overload training at this time."
The two walked out of the space suit laboratory and came to another large laboratory in the base.
In the large room, a huge swing arm was rotating at high speed.
This is a large centrifuge that rotates to simulate overload.
In the rotating cabin, under the strong force, the astronaut's facial muscles began to deform and droop. Even though he tried his best to control himself, tears still flowed down involuntarily.
"The next one is super-weight training in the cephalopelvic direction."
Yang Bing outside introduced Zhang Xingyang to the astronauts' subsequent training subjects.
The cephalopelvic direction is the direction of the line from the top of the head to the pelvis.
While doing this training, the astronauts in the spin room felt as if all the blood in their bodies was being thrown to their spines.
Moreover, there is no time interval between projects. One second it was training in the cephalopelvic direction, and the next second it was training in the chest and back direction.
The astronauts were not given any time to breathe. It was as if a boulder weighing hundreds of kilograms was pressing on their chests, making their heart beat faster, breathing difficult, and their internal organs feeling as if they were about to be crushed.
Zhang Xingyang looked at the arm length and speed in the field and had his own guess about the intensity of the load, but in order to verify his idea.
Or he asked:
"What's the maximum overload they have to carry?"
Yang Bing turned around at this time:
"Overdrive up to 12 G."
Even Zhang Xingyang, who has always been well-informed, was a little shocked.
Generally speaking, excellent pilots will have various adverse reactions when they bear a 9 G overload.
Such as subcutaneous bleeding, black vision, red vision, etc.
However, the time that astronauts need to withstand high overload is much shorter than that of pilots.
This is one of the reasons why they can withstand high overloads.
But even if the time is short, this training is still the most painful and dangerous.
During training, everyone will have one hand holding the alarm. As long as you feel that you can't support it anymore, you can press the button on the alarm at any time.
The centrifuge will complete the deceleration work in the shortest time.
However, during several years of training, no one has ever stopped training due to subjective reasons. They all relied on their strong willpower to complete the training.
Forty seconds of training time is very long for astronauts inside the centrifuge.
To those observing from the outside, it passed quickly.
After the centrifuge stopped, the medical staff in the laboratory rushed forward as quickly as possible.
Every time he undergoes such extreme training, it will cause great damage to the astronaut's body.
Therefore, medical personnel must carefully examine the astronauts' bodies as soon as possible.
The person doing the training this time was Jing Haipeng. When he was in the rotating cabin, he was basically unable to stand on his own.
The medical staff could only support him and transfer him to a stretcher.
Zhang Xingyang could see that there were many fine bleeding spots on his body.
These are caused by excessive load and rupture of subcutaneous capillaries.
"Would this still happen if they had liquid-filled spacesuits?"
Zhang Xingyang asked, pointing to the astronauts who were still taking various first aid measures.
"No, the overload that the space suit can withstand is very large. Even if it is twelve times the gravity, after putting on the space suit, it will only be about the same as four times the normal gravity."
Four times the gravity may be extremely uncomfortable for ordinary people, but for astronauts, it can only be regarded as a sprinkle of water.
"Four times gravity is indeed acceptable."
At this time, Zhang Xingyang explained the power system of the space suit again, hoping to dispel the other party's prejudice:
"As for the power source issue, if you are really worried, we can arrange a backup energy system."
"But in this case, the backup energy system cannot be installed on the space suit."
"It can only be externally connected to the manned spacecraft and used in connection with extreme circumstances."
Yang Bing also knew that their previous thoughts were indeed a bit extreme.
But considering the extreme situation, it is understandable. After all, any situation may lead to the death of astronauts.
And this is a situation that no one wants to see.
“If we can avoid extreme situations where there is no power, that would be great.”
The two of them had a tacit understanding and did not mention the issue that might add a lot of load.
Fortunately, the Hongyan rocket has a large carrying capacity, and even if a backup energy system is added, it can still be launched.
There is another chapter tonight, and I would like to ask for monthly votes. If you have monthly votes, please vote.
(End of chapter)
