Tiangong space station is a space station independently designed and developed by China. In order to build and operate the space station, it was necessary to make breakthroughs in many fields and master several key technologies, which were characterized over a long technological span and underwent difficult verifications. Therefore, in addition to ground verification, on-orbit flight tests of key technologies for the assembly, construction and operation of the space station were planned to be conducted used by the core module, taking into account the differences in the gravity environment between space and the Earth, in order to lay a foundation for the subsequent comprehensive assembly, construction and long-term on-orbit operation of the space station. In this paper, the mission characteristics of the space station are briefly introduced, along with the key technologies for the assembly and construction of the space station, and then the on-orbit verification tests are comprehensively introduced.

China’s first solid-liquid bundled launch vehicle, the Long March 6A (LM-6A) successfully adopted a number of key new technologies, launching the Pujiang 2 and Tiankun 2 satellites precisely into their predetermined orbits, thus demonstrating that China has mastered solid-liquid bundled launch vehicle technology and has a new member in the new generation launch vehicle family. For the first time in China, a booster adopted a 2 m-diameter solid motor and a 270 V, 20 kW high-voltage and high-power electric servo system was used to control the swing of the solid motor nozzles. A health diagnosis system for the core first stage engine and unattended automation technology were also adopted for the first time. 

Based on the requirements of manned spaceships, this paper introduces the characteristics of the propulsion system from the perspectives of design scheme, basic composition, safety and reliability measures, and also introduces the ground test verification and on-orbit flight characteristics of the Shenzhou 13 propulsion system. According to the flight results, it was seen that the performance of the Shenzhou 13 propulsion system fully met the engineering requirements for the manned space mission.

China’s ocean satellites are divided into three series based on ocean color satellites (HY-1), ocean dynamic environment satellites (HY-2) and ocean monitoring satellites (HY-3). The three series of ocean satellites operate today in a multi-satellite network. The HY-1D satellite launched in June 2020 and the HY-1C satellite, already in orbit, realized a network observation capability and completed the formation of the ocean color satellite constellation. The HY-2D satellite launched in May 2021 joined the HY-2B and HY-2C satellites, which have been on orbit already and completed a network observation capability, thus establishing the ocean dynamic environment satellite constellation. The GF-3 02 satellite (1 m C-SAR 01) launched in November 2021 has networked with GF-3, initially establishing an ocean monitoring satellite constellation, which has finally completed its construction with the launch of the GF-3 03 satellite (1 m C-SAR 02) in April 2022. The GF-3 three-satellite network effectively boasts a wide capability in applications of satellite data products and services in many fields, such as ocean environmental monitoring, ocean disaster prevention and mitigation, marine scientific research and polar research.

The solid rocket motors for the escape system of China’s LM-2F manned launch vehicle are described, the key technologies and technical innovations utilized are summarized. The technical features and development of foreign manned launch abort systems are also presented. The development trends of the solid rocket motor for future Chinese manned launch vehicle escape systems are proposed, which can provide a reference for the future development of manned launch vehicle escape systems.

 As China’s only manned launch vehicle, the LM-2F Launch vehicle successfully launched the Shenzhou 12 manned spacecraft into its predetermined orbit on June 12, 2021, signifying the successful completion of the first manned launch mission in the construction and key technology test stage of China Space Station (CSS). From the launch of the Shenzhou 11 manned spacecraft on October 12, 2016 to the launch of Shenzhou 12 in 2021, over the past five years, the LM-2F launch vehicle has been continuously improved in terms of product reliability through technological innovation and design improvement, and its flight reliability index has increased from 0.97 to 0.98. Based on the new launch mission requirements for the construction stage of CSS, this paper introduces the technological innovation and reliability improvement methods of the LM-2F from the aspects of design improvement, research methods and process optimization. The LM-2F launch vehicle will make greater contributions in supporting the construction of CSS with higher reliability and perfect launch success rate.

In this paper, based upon the characteristics of elastic modal combination of large solid bundled launch vehicles, the finite element theory is used to describe the complex elastic vibration of a solid bundled launch vehicle, and a new three-channel unified elastic vibration equation was established. The elastic vibration equation can reflect the coupling between channels and between boosters and core stage. Some issues need consideration in the theoretical derivation, an engineering application was proposed, and the elastic vibration model was verified. The results of the theoretical derivation and simulation show that the elastic vibration equation of a solid bundled launch vehicle established in the paper is correct and can meet the needs for the engineering application.

 Non-pyrotechnic separation devices have been fully recognized for their high performance and high reliability. The focus of this paper is mainly around the development of memory alloy satellite and rocket separation devices. Due to the increasing demand for small-sized rockets and satellites, some suggestions and experiments for developing this new type of non-pyrotechnic device are proposed and conducted.

The LM-6A new generation solid-liquid strap-on launch vehicle has the structural dynamic characteristics of lower frequencies, denser modes and coupling modes in longitudinal, bending and torsion modal space. During the development phase of LM-6A, modal tests of partial stacks and the full vehicle were designed to obtain the structural dynamic properties. The structural dynamic models using the finite element method (FEM) have been verified and calibrated based on the modal test data. This paper describes the pre-test predictions and test execution, and details the comparison between the pre-test predictions and the test data. The successful maiden flight of LM-6A further confirmed the effectiveness of structural dynamic modeling and modal test for LM-6A.

According to the unattended loading requirements of the new generation launch vehicles, auto-docking technology for the first stage fill-drain connector and zero-second quick detachment technology for the second stage fill-drain connector were proposed based on the analysis and summary of unattended loading connector technology at home and abroad. These technical solutions were verified to be reasonable and feasible by tests, and they had been successfully applied to the Long March 6A (LM-6A), laying a foundation for the unattended test and launch of the new generation launch vehicles.

The research status on the development of large segmented solid boosters is introduced, showing that the key technologies of the motor have now been acquired and meet the operational requirements of the rocket, which may provide a reference for subsequent development of large segmented solid booster motors and their application in space launchers with solid strap-on boosters.

The 30 kW high-power electric servo system used in the solid booster of the Long March 6A (LM-6A) launch vehicle is introduced, and the function, composition of the system as well as its constituent equipments are detailed. To solve the problem of out-of-tolerance in the system dynamic characteristics, an advanced correction network algorithm architecture and double notch filter were designed. Experimental verification was conducted to prove that the dynamic characteristics requirement under multiple operating conditions could be met.

Compared with using liquid rocket engines, there are a lot of high-temperature solid particles in the solid-liquid bundled rocket, which make the rocket base thermal environment worse. In order to study the influence of high-temperature solid particles on the base thermal environment, firstly, the effect of particle diameter on the jet distribution and the thermal environment in a single solid motor jet was analyzed using a numerical simulation method, and the results were compared with those of a ground test. Further, the effects of high-temperature solid particles on the jet and the thermal environment of the solid-liquid bundled rocket were analyzed and compared with flight data. The results show that high-temperature solid particles can increase the jet temperature and reduce the jet velocity. The larger the particle diameter, the greater the impact on the jet core temperature. The role of high-temperature solid particles cannot be ignored in the study of the base thermal environment.

This paper investigates the servo mechanism reconfiguration and fault tolerance control issue for a launch vehicle. Firstly, the servo reconfiguration algorithm is considered as an optimization model, and commonly used optimization algorithms are analyzed and compared. An improved method based on Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) for solving the suboptimal solution of the direct assignment problem is proposed, being suitable for engineering application, while maintaining the advantages of existing algorithms. Theoretical analysis and simulation results confirm that the proposed method is able to provide the optimal reconfiguration strategy with higher computational efficiency. Finally, the numerical simulation of launch vehicle fault tolerance control fully verifies the feasibility and effectiveness of the improved method, which indicates that the method met the engineering application conditions.

High-power electric actuators are generally used on solid propellant motors, which further enhances the requirement on onboard supply voltage and output power of a launch vehicle. In this paper, combined with the electrical demand of China’s new generation solid-liquid bundled launch vehicle (LM-6A), high-voltage battery technology, high-power switch control technology, insulation protection technology under low pressure are studied, and the key technologies and schemes are presented. The flight test of LM-6A shows that the high-voltage power supply and distribution technology adopted is reasonable and feasible, and can be used as a reference for the designs of other launch vehicles or spacecrafts.

The Smart Dragon 3 launch vehicle is a commercial carrier rocket based on the experience with the existing solid-fuel rocket Long March 11 to meet the growing market demand in China for launching commercial satellites to low and medium orbits. The carrier rocket has the characteristics of integral rocket storage, usable for both sea- and land-based launches, rapid response and cost-effectiveness. It is a solid carrier rocket with the largest lift capacity and the largest fairing envelope successfully flown domestically. This paper introduces the main technical index and overall scheme of the rocket. It also introduces the main difficulties encountered in the development of the rocket focusing on the aspects of the thermal emission at sea, the “Big hood” configuration and low commercial cost, as well as the interfaces with satellites. It is expected to provide a better commercial launch service for users through technological and economic integration.

Liquid bipropellant attitude control rocket engines are widely used in satellites, manned spaceships, deep space probes and other spacecraft. The performance of an attitude control engine is directly related to the lifetime, control precision and safety of a spacecraft. The study of flow characteristics of an engine transient process is important 
to improve its performance. In this paper, the transient flow test of a transparent test piece was carried out during the starting process of the attitude control engine. Then the transient process of the test piece was simulated and compared with the test results to verify the rationality of the simulation model. Transient flow simulation was carried out for the starting process of the real engine injector. The results show that the filling of the outer ring of the oxidant circuit is slower than that of the central collecting cavity, and the filling of the second layer of the outer ring is slower than that of the first layer. The filling process in the fuel path starts from the cooling hole near the inlet side and the fuel flows out in the circumferential direction. Installation direction has little influence on engine starting flow process in the ground state. 
The filling time of the engine in its vacuum state is longer than that in the ground state, the filling time of oxidizer is 31% longer than that in ground state, and the filling time of fuel is 57% longer than that in ground state.

A virtual thermal test system was built through the co-simulation using Simulink and Comsol to realize the complete virtualization of the thermal test. Using the co-simulation technology, comprehensive simulation analysis of the control system, electric field and thermal field was realized. The data state of each observation point could be directly observed at one time, including the output state information of the power amplifier, the output state information of the heater, and the thermal state information of the test unit. The virtual thermal test system has a predictive and guiding role for engineering thermal tests, and can realize thermal environment simulation beyond the existing thermal environment ground simulation capabilities, providing a basis for the development of future models.

Based on current research, the development trend of reusable liquid rocket engines was analyzed. Key technologies and research focuses of the reusable liquid rocket engine have been analyzed and summarized, and then suggestions on the development of future key technologies are proposed.

On March 29, 2022, the Long March 6A launch vehicle developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology successfully made its maiden flight at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. The Long March 6A launch vehicle was China’s first solid bundled rocket. It uses non-toxic and non-polluting propellants, and has a 700 km sun-synchronous orbit carrying capacity of no less than 4.5 t, which is more than 50% higher than that of a LM-4C launch vehicle. During the development of the LM-6A launch vehicle, the matching relationship between systems and the overall performance of the entire rocket improved significantly through continuous overall optimization work. This paper introduces the typical overall optimization work during the development of the LM-6A launch vehicle.

Optimal design of the tank has a significant effect on reducing the weight of a launch vehicle’s structure. In this paper, the key characteristics of a stiffened shell are dentified from the design requirements, focusing on the influence of the internal pressure on the axial compression load-bearing capacity. The computing method of the ultimate load of the stiffened shell, the parametric modeling method and the surrogate modeling technique for optimal design are reviewed. An optimization process applicable to the stiffened shell was developed and applied in the optimization work for the tanks of solid-liquid bundled launch vehicle, so a better weight reduction effect could be achieved.

In this paper, the properties of different low-density heat-resistant coating prescriptions were compared, and a heat-resistant coating with a density of 0.65 g/cm3, a tensile strength of 2.04 MPa, and a thermal conductivity of 0.126 W/(m·K) was obtained. The thermal performance of the coating was characterized by an oxygen-acetylene ablation test, a hot radiation test using a quartz lamp and in an arc-heated wind tunnel test. The results indicated that the low-density heat-resistant coating prescription has advantages of high temperature resistance, erosion resistance, ablative resistance and excellent heat resistance, which can satisfy the heat resistance requirements of new-generation launch vehicle fairings.
The successful application of this heat-resistant coating technology resolved the problems of low efficiency and poor adhesive performance of the traditional hand-pasted cork process, and realized the rapid spray application of the thermal protection layer, effectively improved the manufacturing efficiency and production quality of the heat-resistant layer of new-generation launch vehicle fairings.

In the industrial field, tailored blank forming with aluminum alloy (Al-alloy) has developed fast to meet the demands for large size integrated components with curved surfaces of high precision and with uniform mechanical properties. Traditional forming methods for tailored blank components faced challenges with uneven deformation behaviors and coexistence of rupture and wrinkling defects occuring during the forming process. In this paper, a new manufacturing procedure is proposed with advanced welding and forming technologies for forming integrated shell components. Friction stir welding with post-weld heat treatment was employed to prepare the tailor welded blank and improve its formability prior to forming. A double-sided pressure sheet hydroforming process was introduced to fabricate the Al-alloy tailored blank into a curved surface shell. Finite element modeling was established to analyze the effect of the weld line position and loading paths of stress distributions during the double-sided sheet hydroforming (DSHF) process. A large double-action CNC sheet hydroforming press with tonnage of 150 MN and high pressure liquid volume of 5 m3  was developed in China. As an application case of the proposed process and equipment, a full-scale tank dome with a diameter of 3 m was successfully hydroformed with a large size Al-alloy tailored blank. It was shown that the DSHF process has the advantages in controlling rupture and wrinkling defects with an Al-alloy tailored blank, and the novel manufacturing procedure enables the production of integrated thin-walled component more competitively than traditional methods.

The slug rivet is widely used in wing assembly due to its longer fatigue life and better sealing performance compared with other connection technologies. As a countersink with dual-angle is widely adopted for this type of connection, the countersink diameter and depth are key factors that affect assembly quality. Therefore, it is of great importance to efficiently inspect the countersink quality to ensure high accuracy. However, contact measurements are susceptible to the loss of accuracy due to cutting debris and lube build-up, while the hole-scanning method using laser profilometry is time consuming and complex. In this paper, a non-contact method for countersink diameter and depth measurement based on a machine vision system is proposed. The countersink diameter can be directly measured by the machine vision system, while the countersink depth is determined through the countersink diameter indirectly. First, by means of image processing technology together with an improved edge detection algorithm, the countersink diameter can be obtained. Then, a 3D microscope is employed to measure the countersink depth, which helps to model the countersink. As a result, once the countersink diameter is measured, so is the depth. The experimentation demonstrated that this method has strong easibility and enables time saving, which is conducive to improve the riveting 
efficiency.

The Kinetica-1 rocket is designed for small- and medium-sized spacecraft launch missions to sun-synchronous orbit and low Earth orbit. The maiden flight was performed on July 27, 2022. The inetica-1 rocket is characterized by competitive payload capability and cost, robust orbital nsertion accuracy, high reliability, availability at short notice and logistical versatility. 12 new core technologies have been achieved during the development of the rocket. It is of great significance in promoting the innovation of China’s solid carrier rocket technology and science exploration.

In order to improve efficiency of the integrated test of a launch vehicle electrical system while meeting the requirement of high-density, a cloud test platform for the electrical system was designed based on a data-driven approach, using secure private cloud technology and virtualization technology. The platform has a general hardware and software rchitecture, which integrates the functions of graphical editing, automated testing, data processing, fault diagnosis and so on. It can realize multi-task parallel testing. Compared with the traditional test mode, the platform has obvious advantages on testing efficiency and effectiveness.

Inspired by the mysteries of the universe, humans have been exploring outer space since the 1950s. 
Proceeding from 1-day (Shenzhou 5) to 6-month (Shenzhou 15) missions, one of the perspectives of Chinese space exploration has shifted from not just how to safely survive but to how to healthily live in outer space. In current review, we ntroduce some common psychological stressors during space missions and how researchers simulate these stressors on the ground firstly. Then, we briefly introduce classic and state-of-the-art measurements and tools used in measuring the mental state of crew members. Self-reporting questionnaires, behavioral observations, and computerized tests are widely used as measurement strategies in this field. We discuss, respectively, how challenging missions negatively and positively affect crew members. As psychological issues are sensitive to individual and cultural backgrounds, we focus on Chinese crew members and potential cultural differences. Finally, we propose some potential future directions this research could evolve based on previous findings.

In this study, taking China’s Smart Dragon 3 solid launch vehicle, which made its first successful offshore launch on December 9, 2022, as an example, we focus on the technical characteristics and key technologies of various solid motors used for the launch vehicle. The current technological development status is introduced, and the key technologies needed for large solid motors are summarized. For comparison, we also list and analyze the technical characteristics of world-class P80 and P120C solid motors used in ESA’s Vega series of launch vehicles. On this basis, the development trends of large solid motors based on the requirements for launch vehicles is proposed, providing a reference for the development of large solid motor technology for future launch vehicles in China.