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Original title: Ten years of sharpening a sword to install “Parking Radar” in Chang’e-5
The developers continue to test and verify the products.
It is unimaginable that ordinary people meet and dock two planes in the lunar orbit 380,000 kilometers from Earth; But under the guidance of aerospace systems engineering ideas, astronauts turned this impossible into It is possible. The meeting and docking of the two planes is just one link in the Chang’e-5 probe’s lunar exploration mission. You can imagine the complexity and technical difficulty of engineering the system. The R&D team of the Xi’an Branch of the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (hereinafter referred to as the Xi’an Branch) is a major force in the system engineering team Chang’e-5. The Chang’e-5 Microwave Docking and Encounter Radar is a measurement sensor used for rendezvous and docking between the orbiter and the ascendant. It provides the relative distance, speed, angle, and other information between the two aircraft for the high-precision orbit and position control system of rendezvous and docking. With the air-to-air communication function, it is a key measurement method for rendezvous and docking, which is equivalent to installing a “parking radar” on the Chang’e-5 lander.
Text and Image / Guangzhou Daily Correspondent for All Media Xiao Huanhuan Correspondent Zhang Xueliang, Su Hongwei, Guo Liping
Starting in 2011, the docking microwave radar and R&D development team of Xi’an branch completed the development of the main prototype for a year, proposed a microwave communication and measurement system and method for the meeting and docking, and won the docking microwave radar and Chang’e 5 encounter in the competition. In 2012, the institute completed the engineering prototype development task and determined the key technical routes and indicators; In 2013, the Xi’an branch officially began the development of the first sample product of the docking and meeting microwave radar, and in June 2016 it completed two sets of prototype docking and meeting microwave radar development tasks.
Multiprofessional collaboration to create an autonomous “housing” machine
The Xi’an branch research team must meet the strict indicators of the total satellite weight and detector power consumption, while achieving the product functions and index requirements. From the perspective of the Chang’e-5 detector, the docking and meeting microwave radar is only one product, but this product covers the functions of nearly 10 complex independent products. It turns out that this system-level radar product has the ability to measure With the four functions of distance measurement, speed measurement, angle measurement and communication, it can be said that the docking and meeting microwave radar is a single unit of “accommodation” level.
According to Zhong Xingwang, head of radar research and development of the Xi’an branch, the close cooperation of professionals from various units during the development process, the team integrated the signal processing and servo control functions, greatly improved the degree of integration of the product.
Achieve communication of 100 kilometers at 0.2 meters
To achieve rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit 380,000 kilometers away, it is necessary to fully consider the lunar orbit environment in which the radar operates. In accordance with mission requirements, the docking and rendezvous microwave radars must achieve docking communication within a range of 100 kilometers to 0.2 meters. To do this, the project team designed a microwave radar short-range wireless docking communication darkroom test. In the testing process, the developers used a complete set of microwave radar positive samples. Under the condition of simulating the relative motion of the two devices, the function and control flow of the entire microwave radar system were fully tested and verified.
10 years of perseverance in exchange for a successful coupling
In 2014, the Chang’e 5 docking and rendezvous microwave radar field test was conducted at the airport. The flight test was scheduled at 7 a.m. and 3 a.m. on the same day. test flight woke up on time and headed to the airport waiting. However, due to weather conditions, the hanging test was conducted in the afternoon of the same day.
At 3 in the afternoon, the members of the test team waiting at the capture and monitoring site received the takeoff message and prepared everything early, waiting for the signal to appear in real time; then the target signal appeared on the monitor in time, and the microwave radar was also full of spirituality. Turning down and launching and following the target persistently, this means that the Chang’e-5 docking and encounter microwave radar field flight test has been successful, fully verifying the working performance of the microwave radar docking and meeting.
From the beginning of the program demonstration in 2010 to the successful launch of the Chang’e-5 probe and the completion of the meeting and docking in 2020, the development team of the Xi’an branch has experienced 10 years.
The meeting and docking microwave radar will play an important role in the return of the third phase of China’s lunar exploration project, and the Xi’an branch research team will also make a significant contribution to the upside of the Chang ‘detector. e-5 with the persistence of the last ten years.
