The 30th anniversary of China's Beidou
30 years ago today, the state approved the Beidou-1 project, and China's Beidou "three steps" began to take the first step.
From 1994 to 2024, in the 30-year journey, every launch mission of the Beidou Project is indispensable for the support of the Long March-3A series of carrier rockets (referred to as "Changsanjia series rockets") developed by the Rocket Institute, and everyone also vividly calls this series of rockets "Beidou special train".
The Changsanjia series of rockets consists of the Long March-3A, the Long March-3B, and the Long March-3C (referred to as "Changsanjia", "Changsanyi", "Changsanc") three types of carrier rockets, and its successful development is a major technological innovation achievement in the field of aerospace in China, and the Changsanjia and ChangsanB rockets won the special prize of national scientific and technological progress in 1998, and the Changsanjia series rockets won the title of "Gold Medal Rocket" in 2007.
Hand in hand with "Beidou".
In the 90s of the 20th century, the Chinese gradually realized the importance of independent and controllable navigation systems, and the development of China's own satellite navigation and positioning system as soon as possible was put on the agenda. On January 10, 1994, the state approved the official project of Beidou-1, and China's Beidou began to take the first step in "three steps".
Beidou satellites have a large weight and various operating orbits, some of which are far away from the earth. In order to send dozens of heavy satellites that make up the Beidou system into space, the Changsanjia series rockets equipped with new hydrogen-oxygen engines and powerful power became the best choice for transporting Beidou satellites to the sky at that time.
The first Beidou navigation test satellite stood at the launch site.
Long top three rocket lift.
On October 31, 2000, the Changsanjia rocket successfully launched China's first Beidou navigation test satellite, which opened the prelude to China's independent construction of satellite navigation test network. In the same year, the Changsanjia series of rockets continued to lift the "Beidou" into space, and then the Beidou-1 system was completed.
The official completion and operation of the Beidou-1 system marks that China has become the third country in the world to have a satellite navigation system, and has achieved a breakthrough in China's satellite navigation from scratch.
Schematic diagram of the Beidou-1 system.
Since then, the "Beidou Special Train" has made persistent efforts and completed the launch tasks of the Beidou-2 and Beidou-3 navigation projects with a 100% launch success rate. As of December 26, 2023, as the "Beidou special train", the Changsanjia series rockets have successfully escorted 62 Beidou navigation satellites (4 Beidou navigation test satellites and 58 Beidou navigation satellites) into space.
For "Beidou" to "new".
The reason why the Changsanjia series of rockets can become the "Beidou special train" is that in addition to its initial configuration master plan and overall technical scheme, it has a good forward-looking, overall situation and adaptability, and it is also inseparable from the unremitting pursuit of technological innovation and rocket reliability by the research and development team.
Electronic quality confirmation.
The Beidou system is a huge space project composed of dozens of satellites. In order to keep up with the networking rhythm of Beidou navigation, the Changsanjia series rocket development team has continued to innovate, practiced more "skills" in technology and management, and adopted methods such as de-tasking to improve rocket production capacity; Develop and deploy the overall network and dynamic measurement and control system, accurately grasp the health status of each equipment of the rocket, so that all kinds of hidden dangers during launch have nowhere to hide ......There are also batch production management mode, multi-task parallel factory continuous launch mode, launch process optimization, refined process, quality confirmation system, etc., to ensure that the rocket is at a high level of reliability and high quality.
The Changsanyi rocket partnered with the expedition 1 to escort the "Beidou".
At the same time, the "space ferry" developed by the Rocket Institute, the upper stage of Yuanzheng-1, also flies in partnership with the Changsanjia series of rockets, sending the Beidou navigation satellite directly into the working orbit or sending it closer to the working orbit, saving energy for the satellite and prolonging the working life ......of the satellite
A series of innovations have greatly improved the mission adaptability of the Changsanjia series rockets and ensured that the rockets are "launched" and "launched accurately".
Star and arrow hand in hand to achieve steady and far-reaching results
From Beidou-1 to Beidou-3, from several launches a year to more than a dozen launches a year, the Changsanjia series rocket development team has been constantly exploring on the road of innovation. Standing at a new historical starting point, the "Beidou Special Train" will continue to join hands with "Beidou" to shine in the sky, and continue to write "China's Beidou, the world's Beidou, and the first-class Beidou".
Part**: CCTV Beidou Navigation Satellite System official website.
Editor: Wang Hailu.
Producer: Wang Shu.