China's Space Program Thread II

[by78]

Construction on a new high-thrust engine test bench in Tongchuan (铜川) is making good progress. Concrete pouring for the phase I of the project is complete. The new test bench will be used to test the 500-ton YF-130 engine for the Long March 9, China's upcoming super heavy carrier rocket.

Phase I construction of the new engine test complex is almost complete, during which two test stands will be built. Right now, equipment installation and testing are underway. By the first half of this year, the facility is expected to carry out an initial test of the 500-ton YF-130 engine for the Long March 9 rocket.

Images below depict the installation of two 100-cubic-meter cryogenic oxygen tanks. Each tank weighs 70 tons and is 17m tall and 4.2m in diameter.

An

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on the construction progress. The test bench for the 500-ton YF-130 engine has finished debugging and review. I guess an official commissioning ceremony is not far off.

近日，位于中国航天科技集团有限公司六院165所铜川试验区的亚洲最大推力液体火箭发动机试车台完成全系统调试，考台试车方案通过评审。目前，六院165所铜川试验中心正锚定“考台试车一次成功”目标，紧张有序地进行试验准备。该试车台将有力推动液体动力“八年九机”研制任务。

Recently, Asia's largest liquid rocket engine test bench has completed whole-system debugging, and the test plan of the test bench has passed review...

 

[by78]

Lunar rover tires.

 

[by78]

An academic paper exploring the design, layout, and construction methods for China's future lunar base. It proposes two designs, named "Clover" and "China Star", respectively. Clover is suited for flat lunar surface, whereas China Star is to be built inside impact craters. Both proposals feature inflatable modules connected to a central core module.

The "Clover" consists of a core module at the center and three connected peripheral modules: work module, living quarters, and a biosphere module. The core module has an airlock and houses communications, power, environmental control, and life support systems. The work module contains equipment and supplies for carrying out scientific experiments. The living quarters module is where Taikonauts rest, sleep, and also contains waste disposal equipment. The biosphere module contains a

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(of plants, animals, microbes, and other organisms) which, in combination with external re-supplies, can guarantee long-term survival of Taikonauts on the Moon.

The "China Star" also features a core module, work module, biosphere module, and living quarters module. However, the modules are stacked vertically inside a crater and then buried (but with the airlock exposed to the surface). A protective cover shaped like a star is then placed over the crater. The surface of the protective cover is lined with photovoltaic cells to generate electricity for the station. Immediately below the exposed airlock is the core module, and below that lies the biosphere, and the living quarters and work module are located at the bottom level.

A machine translated version is attached to this post.

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Abstract: In this article, the general principles of lunar building, including demand-orientation, intensive planning module extension, in-situ utilization, and Earth-Moon combination were discussed. Based on the two different construction environments of the moon surface and the moon pit, the “Clover” and the “Red Star” lunar building schemes were systematically proposed, and main key construction technologies needed to be broken through in advance were provided.

The "Clover" design proposal:

The "China Star" design proposal:

 

[siegecrossbow]

An academic paper exploring the design, layout, and construction methods for China's future lunar base. It proposes two designs, named "Clover" and "China Star", respectively. Clover is suited for flat lunar surface, whereas China Star is to be built inside impact craters. Both proposals feature inflatable modules connected to a central core module.

The "Clover" consists of a core module at the center and three connected peripheral modules: work module, living quarters, and a biosphere module. The core module has an airlock and houses communications, power, environmental control, and life support systems. The work module contains equipment and supplies for carrying out scientific experiments. The living quarters module is where Taikonauts rest, sleep, and also contains waste disposal equipment. The biosphere module contains a

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

(of plants, animals, microbes, and other organisms) which, in combination with external re-supplies, can guarantee long-term survival of Taikonauts on the Moon.

The "China Star" also features a core module, work module, biosphere module, and living quarters module. However, the modules are stacked vertically inside a crater and then buried (but with the airlock exposed to the surface). A protective cover shaped like a star is then placed over the crater. The surface of the protective cover is lined with photovoltaic cells to generate electricity for the station. Immediately below the exposed airlock is the core module, and below that lies the biosphere, and the living quarters and work module are located at the bottom level.

A machine translated version is attached to this post.

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The "Clover" design proposal:

The "China Star" design proposal:

Is there any doubt? Go for the Star version. One big star for the main base and four little ones scattered nearby.

 

[Cybertron42]

Lunar rover tires.

Do we know which lunar rover is it for?

 

[by78]

Do we know which lunar rover is it for?

It might be for the manned lunar roving vehicle (1st image).

However, judging by the very large size of that wheel, it might instead be destined for a much more sizable vehicle, such as the roving laboratory concept depicted in the 2nd image.

 

[by78]

The "Super Mason" construction robot for building habitats on the Moon. The robot is capable of fabricating bricks from lunar soil and then assemble the bricks into habitable structures. It's currently being developed for the Chang'e 8 program, which will hopefully carry a prototype (weighing ≤50kg) to the Moon to verify its design and feasibility.

 

[Andy1974]

The "Super Mason" construction robot for building habitats on the Moon. The robot is capable of fabricating bricks from lunar soil and then assemble the bricks into habitable structures. It's currently being developed for the Chang'e 8 program, which will hopefully carry a prototype (weighing ≤50kg) to the Moon to verify its design and feasibility.

I can’t think how it can be used to build a habitat, but these would be great for lunar roads and other surfaces to keep dust down.

 

[Atomicfrog]

It doesn't look small enough nor light enough to be carried by an individual. As an "emergency vehicle", do they intend on having their main lunar rover carry this thing as well? I'm not sure if it's good for that intended use, versus making the main rover more robust.

Things on the moon weight quite less with lower gravity... that thing will weight only 17% of it's earth weight.

 

[Quickie]

Things on the moon weight quite less with lower gravity... that thing will weight only 17% of it's earth weight.

The thing will still have the same mass and so the same mass inertia against which the astronaut must deal to move it around.

Pushing a 200 kg trolley will require some tremendous effort even if we imagine its wheels are designed to have zero friction. And that goes as well for stopping the trolley once it starts getting going at some speed.