Manned spacecraft overall structure suitable for expansion of T-shaped space station assembly
By designing a spacecraft configuration suitable for space station expansion, the problems of insufficient sealed space, energy, and heat dissipation resources were solved, enabling the efficient mounting and deployment of large equipment and improving the operational capabilities of the space station.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202511398513.7
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-09-28
- Publication Date
- 2025-12-12
- Estimated Expiration
- Not applicable · inactive patent
AI Technical Summary
When existing manned spacecraft expand the space station, they lack sufficient sealed space, energy, and heat dissipation resources, making it difficult to meet the needs of large equipment uplink and deployment missions.
Design a spacecraft overall configuration suitable for the expansion of the space station assembly from a T-shape to a cross shape, including a work module, a multi-purpose module, an external propulsion module, and a node module. By setting up large-diameter openings, internal pressure doors, a double-layer layout, solar panels, and radiators, it is possible to carry and deploy large equipment.
It improved the sealed space, energy and heat dissipation resources of the expanded space station, reduced the sealing safety risks, and enhanced the flexibility and efficiency of equipment deployment.
Smart Images
Figure CN121106745A_ABST
Abstract
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of manned spacecraft, and relates to a general configuration of a manned spacecraft suitable for expansion of a T-shaped space station combination. BACKGROUND
[0002] Configuration design is the primary factor to be considered for a spacecraft, is the basis for achieving specific tasks or functional requirements, affects the deployment space planning of large functional devices such as energy and thermal control of the spacecraft, and determines the ability of the spacecraft to provide basic resources such as sealed space, power generation, and heat dissipation.
[0003] With the capability of space shuttle transportation between space and earth and astronaut operation in orbit, the construction of the International Space Station adopts the strategy of ascending sealed cabin bodies and large extravehicular equipment in steps, greatly expanding the size of the whole station. Starting from the Russian independent flight cabin section, the International Space Station forms a large integrated truss through the mode of ascending modules by space shuttles and in-orbit assembly, providing deployment space and interfaces for the whole station solar cell wings and deployable radiators. Through the docking and long-term parking of subsequent ascending cabin sections of various types, a width of about 88m, a longitudinal length of about 110m, and a total weight of more than 400 tons are formed.
[0004] China's manned space program has developed for more than 30 years, from the initial goal of breaking through basic technologies to meeting the needs of various different tasks. China's manned spacecraft has evolved from small to large in terms of quality and volume, and has formed four series, namely the Shenzhou series manned spacecraft, the Tiangong series space laboratory, the Tianzhou series cargo spacecraft, and the Tiangong space station cabin section. Except for the existing cabin sections of the space station, the remaining series are medium and small-sized manned spacecraft. At present, China's space station is in the basic configuration state of the combination body, the three-cabin combination body has a width of about 42m, and the solar cell wing has a wing span length of 55.6m, with a capacity of expanding to more than 180 tons. It has been determined that the expansion of the cabin section will continue to adopt the mode of launch by carrier, independent flight, and active docking to expand China's space station. The configuration of the large manned spacecraft will have an important impact on the combination body, and needs to be optimized within the constraints of launch to achieve significant improvement in the long-term stable operation capability and application efficiency of the expanded China's space station. SUMMARY
[0005] The present application aims to provide a spacecraft general configuration suitable for expansion of a T-shaped space station combination body from a T shape to a cross shape, which can realize large equipment ascending and deployment tasks, and greatly improve the sealed space, energy, and heat dissipation resources of the expanded China's space station.
[0006] The present application aims to provide a spacecraft general configuration suitable for expansion of a T-shaped space station combination body, characterized in that the front end to the tail of the spacecraft is sequentially a working cabin, a multipurpose cabin, an externally hung propulsion cabin, and a node cabin; wherein,
[0007] The node cabin is connected with a multi-purpose cabin, and an external propulsion cabin is arranged outside the node cabin;
[0008] An inner cabin door is arranged at the joint of the multi-purpose cabin and the working cabin and the node cabin;
[0009] After the inner cabin door is opened, the multi-purpose cabin is communicated with the working cabin and the node cabin, forming an astronaut activity channel;
[0010] The multi-purpose cabin is provided with a large-diameter opening to the ground and two large inner pressure-bearing doors; after the two large inner pressure-bearing doors are opened, the multi-purpose cabin is communicated with the space environment; during the launching and independent flight stage, the multi-purpose cabin can carry large extravehicular equipment;
[0011] During the combination stage, the large extravehicular equipment department completes the extravehicular deployment task through the large-diameter opening of the multi-purpose cabin.
[0012] Preferably, the working cabin comprises a front bottom, a cylinder segment, a cone segment and a front short shell; wherein,
[0013] The front bottom is provided with a main active docking mechanism and a rendezvous docking sensor device;
[0014] The surface of the cylinder segment is covered with a radiator, a GNC sensor, a TT&C antenna and a mechanical arm adapter device;
[0015] The front short shell and the cone segment are both provided with an attitude control engine in the circumferential direction.
[0016] Preferably, the multi-purpose cabin comprises a cylinder segment, a sandwich layer and a cone segment; wherein,
[0017] The axial ends of the cylinder segment are provided with cabin doors, which are communicated with the working cabin and the node cabin respectively;
[0018] The radial direction of the cylinder segment is provided with a large-diameter opening to the ground and two large inner pressure-bearing doors; wherein, the inner pressure-bearing door on the inner side is a sliding door, and the outer pressure-bearing door on the outer side is an outward turning door; the large inner pressure-bearing doors form a sandwich layer;
[0019] During the combination stage, the large extravehicular equipment department completes the extravehicular deployment task through the large-diameter opening of the multi-purpose cabin.
[0020] The cone segment of the multi-purpose cabin is provided with a track control engine.
[0021] Preferably, the non-opening area of the cylinder segment of the multi-purpose cabin adopts a double-layer layout mode;
[0022] The non-opening part of the barrel section can be provided with a body-mounted radiator; the valve and pipeline of the thermal control fluid circuit are installed below the radiator mounting surface, which is not replaceable in orbit; part of the protruding envelope equipment is directly installed on the cabin wall through the radiator hole digging method.
[0023] Preferably, the two-dimensional directional solar cell wing is provided outside the multipurpose cabin;
[0024] The two-dimensional driver is installed on the two side quadrants of the multipurpose cabin.
[0025] In the uplink stage, the solar cell wings are folded respectively and pressed against the outer surface of the cabin section along the swinging direction of the driving mechanism; after entering the orbit, the solar wings can be unfolded to the plane where the II-IV quadrant line of the cabin is located, and the swinging around the longitudinal axis of the cabin section and the sun-tracking rotation are realized respectively based on this reference.
[0026] Preferably, the node cabin includes a column section and a spherical structure; wherein,
[0027] The column section of the node cabin is used to connect the node cabin spherical structure of the conical section of the multipurpose cabin.
[0028] The passive end of the docking mechanism is installed on the axial, radial and both sides of the spherical structure of the node cabin, and the corresponding docking equipment is provided to support the active docking of the visiting spacecraft in the axial and radial directions; the subsequent extended cabin section is parked in the lateral direction for a long time.
[0029] The relay antenna TT&C communication equipment is installed on the sky-facing surface of the node cabin spherical structure.
[0030] Preferably, the externally mounted propulsion cabin includes a structural support and a protective cover; wherein,
[0031] The diameter difference between the multipurpose cabin and the node cabin column section is utilized to centrally layout the gas cylinder, fuel tank and pipeline propulsion related equipment through the structural support connected with the conical section and the barrel section of the multipurpose cabin, and the equipment weight is carried by the conical section of the multipurpose cabin; the outermost layer of the externally mounted propulsion cabin is installed with a space debris protective cover, which is used to prevent the impact damage of space debris.
[0032] Preferably, the two-dimensional driving mechanism is installed on both sides of the multipurpose cabin, so that the solar cell wings have the ability to swing to compensate for the solar altitude angle and rotate to track the sun.
[0033] In the launch stage, the solar cell array in the constrained state is pressed against the sky-facing surface in the barrel section area by utilizing the diameter difference between the multipurpose cabin and the working cabin barrel section and the freedom degree of the swinging direction of the solar wing driving mechanism.
[0034] Preferably, a large observation window is provided on the sliding inner pressure-bearing door of the multipurpose cabin, which provides a window for the cabin occupants to observe the ground directly when the outer folding inner pressure-bearing door is opened.
[0035] The beneficial effects of the present application include: the beneficial effects of the present application compared with the traditional space station cabin configuration are
[0036] (1) Make full use of the fairing envelope to provide maximum sealed cabin resources for the expansion configuration of the space station, and provide basic support for subsequent improvement of space application benefits and astronaut residence level.
[0037] (2) By setting up independent cabin sections and double-door internal pressure-bearing doors, realize the on-orbit deployment of large cabin-outside equipment cabin-mounted uplink and out-of-cabin deployment, and reduce the cabin space sealing safety risk brought by the opening.
[0038] (3) By setting up two-dimensional driving solar cell wings, providing large-area body-mounted radiator installation area, realizing sufficient power generation and heat dissipation capacity in the combined state, improving the energy supply margin of the space station and the heat dissipation capacity of the cabin equipment, and improving the subsequent operation benefits of the space station. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0039] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall configuration and layout of the spacecraft of the present application;
[0040] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the overall configuration and layout of the spacecraft of the present application;
[0041] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the spacecraft configuration participating in forming a cross-shaped station configuration of the present application;
[0042] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the spacecraft solar cell wing and radiator distribution of the present application;
[0043] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the observation window formed by the overall configuration of the multipurpose cabin of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0044] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, not all. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor are within the scope of protection of the present application.
[0045] The technical solution of the present application is: an overall configuration of a spacecraft suitable for expansion of a space station combination from a T-shaped type to a cross-shaped type, comprising a working cabin, a multipurpose cabin, an externally mounted propulsion cabin and a node cabin.
[0046] As shown in Figure 1 The present application provides an overall configuration of a spacecraft suitable for expansion of a space station combination from a T-shaped type to a cross-shaped type, comprising the following cabin sections:
[0047] Working cabin, the length of the structural body is 7540 mm, and the diameter is 4100 mm; the surface of the cylinder section is covered with a body-mounted radiator, GNC sensors, measurement and control antennas, and mechanical arm adapters, etc.; eight translation / orientation control engines are mounted circumferentially on the front short shell; four anti-thrust engines and eight roll engines are mounted on the cone section.
[0048] Multipurpose cabin, the length of the structural body is 4600 mm, and the diameter is 3300 mm; the cross-sectional passage of the ground opening is 2000 mm x 2800 mm. The sliding pressure-bearing door is arranged in the I quadrant of the cylinder section of the multipurpose cabin; an outer turning inner pressure-bearing door is arranged outside the sliding pressure-bearing door in the I quadrant, and a 550 mm high interlayer space is formed between the two doors; the two doors are backup for each other, ensuring the sealing safety of the multipurpose cabin. Eight translation / orientation control engines, four forward thrust engines, and four orbit control engines are mounted on the cone section of the multipurpose cabin. As shown in Figure 2 , the double-layer layout mode is adopted in the non-opening area of the cylinder section of the multipurpose cabin, the outer loop heat control pipeline, temperature control, and self-locking valve devices are mounted on the bottom layer, and the body-mounted radiator is mounted on the upper layer through a support; the envelope protruding devices include loop pump groups, outer loop in-orbit expansion adapters, etc., which are directly mounted on the cabin wall through the radiator hole digging mode. The expandable solar cell wings and driving mechanisms are mounted on both sides of the multipurpose cabin, and are constrained and compressed on the surface of the radiator in the uplink stage. Orbit control engines are mounted on the cone section of the multipurpose cabin.
[0049] As shown in Figure 2 , the two-dimensional driving mechanisms of the two solar wings are symmetrically arranged in the II and IV quadrants of the multipurpose cabin. The single-sided solar cell array of the multipurpose cabin includes one connecting frame, five substrates with an outer size of 4 m x 2 m, one constraint point, and eight compression points. In the uplink stage, the solar cell array is mounted on the skyward surface of the cylinder section of the multipurpose cabin through the eight compression points, meeting the requirement of the fairing envelope.
[0050] Node cabin, including a cylinder section and a spherical structure. The cylinder section is used to connect the cone section of the multipurpose cabin and the spherical structure of the node cabin. The passive end of the docking mechanism is mounted on the axial, radial, and both sides of the spherical structure of the node cabin, and corresponding rendezvous docking devices are arranged to support the visiting spacecraft to implement active docking in the axial, radial directions; the subsequent extended cabin section is parked in the lateral direction for a long time. Relay antennas and other measurement and control communication devices are mounted on the skyward surface of the spherical structure of the node cabin.
[0051] The cylinder section and the spherical structure are adopted, the total length is 3900 mm, the diameter of the cylinder section is 1926 mm, and the outer diameter of the sphere is 2850 mm. The sphere is connected with the multipurpose cabin through the cylinder section. Four passive docking mechanisms and corresponding rendezvous docking devices are arranged in the axial, radial, and both sides of the spherical structure of the node cabin; Ka relay antennas and related measurement and control communication devices are mounted on the skyward surface.
[0052] The external propulsion cabin includes a structure support and a protective cover. By using the diameter difference between the multipurpose cabin and the node cabin column segment, the propulsion-related equipment such as gas cylinders, fuel storage tanks and pipelines is arranged in a concentrated manner through the structure support connected with the cabin wall of the multipurpose cabin cone segment and the cylinder segment. The light protective cover is used to prevent the impact damage of space debris. The external propulsion cabin, the propulsion system 4 storage tanks, 4 high-pressure gas cylinders, pipelines and propulsion management equipment are connected with the multipurpose cabin cone segment and the node cabin column segment through the structure support. The structure support provides a mounting interface for the light protective cover.
[0053] As shown in Figure 3 , the spacecraft overall configuration provided by the application forms the whole station cross-shaped combination through the active docking mechanism of the front cone of the working cabin connected with the forward port of the space station T-shaped combination, and the node cabin of the spacecraft provides one axial docking port, one radial docking port and two lateral parking ports for the whole station.
[0054] As shown in Figure 4 , the two-dimensional driving mechanism is installed on both sides of the multipurpose cabin, so that the solar cell wing has the ability of swinging to compensate the solar altitude angle and rotating to track the sun. During the launching stage, the solar cell array in the constrained state is compressed on the sky-facing surface in the cylinder segment area by using the diameter difference between the multipurpose cabin and the working cabin cylinder segment and the swinging direction freedom of the solar wing driving mechanism.
[0055] The spacecraft configuration provided by the application realizes the uplink and in-orbit layout of the 80 square meter solar cell wing and the layout of the about 85 square meter body-mounted radiator. During the in-orbit stage, the solar cell wing realizes two-dimensional sun orientation through the movement range of ±50° of the swinging axis and ±360° of the rotating axis in the two-dimensional driving mechanism.
[0056] As shown in Figure 5 , the radius of curvature of the sliding door and the everted door of the multipurpose cabin in the configuration of the application can be designed and optimized to form the required interlayer height, and the high-transmittance quartz glass device is installed on the sliding door. In this state, the everted door serves as a space debris protection device, and when it is opened, the astronauts can observe the earth through the observation window on the sliding door.
[0057] Although the content of the application has been described in detail through the above preferred embodiments, it should be recognized that the above description should not be considered as a limitation of the application. After reading the above content, various modifications and alternatives of the application will be obvious to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the protection scope of the application should be defined by the appended claims.
Claims
1. A spacecraft suitable for expansion of a space station T-shaped assembly, characterized in that, The front-to-tail of the spacecraft is in turn a working cabin, a multi-purpose cabin, an externally-mounted propulsion cabin, and a node cabin; wherein, The node cabin is connected with the multi-purpose cabin, and the externally-mounted propulsion cabin is arranged outside the node cabin; An inner cabin door is arranged at the junction of the multi-purpose cabin and the working cabin and the node cabin; After the inner cabin door is opened, the multi-purpose cabin is connected with the working cabin and the node cabin, forming an astronaut activity channel; The multi-purpose cabin is provided with a large-diameter opening to the ground and two large inner pressure doors; after the two large inner pressure doors are opened, the multi-purpose cabin is connected with the space environment; during the launch and independent flight stage, the multi-purpose cabin can carry large extravehicular equipment during the uplink stage; During the combination stage, the large extravehicular equipment can complete the extravehicular deployment task through the large-diameter opening of the multi-purpose cabin.
2. The spacecraft suitable for T-shaped combination expansion of a space station according to claim 1, wherein, The working cabin comprises a front bottom, a cylinder segment, a cone segment, and a front short shell; wherein, The front bottom is provided with a main active docking mechanism and a rendezvous docking sensor device; The surface of the cylinder segment is covered with a radiator, a GNC sensor, a TT&C antenna, and a mechanical arm adapter device; The front short shell and the cone segment are both provided with attitude control engines in the circumferential direction.
3. The spacecraft suitable for T-shaped combination expansion of a space station according to claim 1, wherein, The multi-purpose cabin comprises a cylinder segment, a sandwich layer, and a cone segment; wherein, The axial ends of the cylinder segment are provided with cabin doors, which are connected with the working cabin and the node cabin respectively; The cylinder segment is provided with a large-diameter opening to the ground in the radial direction, and two large inner pressure doors; wherein, the inner pressure door on the inner side is a sliding door, and the inner pressure door on the outer side is an outwardly-flipping door; the sandwich layer is formed between the two large inner pressure doors; During the combination stage, the large extravehicular equipment can complete the extravehicular deployment task through the large-diameter opening of the multi-purpose cabin; The cone segment of the multi-purpose cabin is provided with a trajectory control engine.
4. The spacecraft suitable for T-shaped combination expansion of a space station according to claim 3, wherein, The non-opening area of the cylinder segment of the multi-purpose cabin adopts a double-layer layout mode; The cabin walls at the non-opening area of the cylinder segment can be provided with body-mounted radiators; below the mounting surface of the radiators, valve doors and pipelines of a thermal control fluid circuit are arranged, which are non-orbit-replaceable devices; part of the convex envelope devices are directly mounted on the cabin walls through the radiator hole digging method.
5. The spacecraft suitable for T-shaped combination expansion of a space station according to claim 4, wherein, The multi-purpose cabin is provided with two-dimensional directional solar cell wings outside the cabin; The multi-purpose cabin is provided with unfolded solar cell wings and two-dimensional drivers on the two side quadrantal lines; During the uplink stage, the solar cell wings are respectively folded and compressed on the outer surface of the cabin segment along the swinging direction of the driving mechanism; After entering the orbit, the solar wings can be unfolded to the plane where the II-IV quadrantal lines of the cabin are located, and each solar wing can realize swinging around the longitudinal axis of the cabin segment and tracking rotation to the sun.
6. The spacecraft suitable for T-shaped combination expansion of a space station according to claim 1, wherein, The node cabin comprises a column segment and a spherical structure; wherein, The column segment of the node cabin is used to connect the cone segment of the multi-purpose cabin and the spherical structure of the node cabin. The axial, radial and both sides of the spherical structure of the node cabin are respectively installed with passive end of docking mechanism and corresponding equipment for intersection docking, supporting the visiting aircraft to implement active docking in axial and radial directions; the subsequent extended cabin section is docked in lateral direction for long time; The relay antenna for TT&C communication equipment is installed on the top surface of the spherical structure of the node cabin. 7.The spacecraft suitable for expansion of T-shaped combination of space station according to claim 3, characterized in that, The external propulsion cabin comprises a structural support and a protective cover; wherein, By using the diameter difference between the multipurpose cabin and the node cabin column section, the structural support connected with the cabin wall of the cone section and the cylinder section of the multipurpose cabin is used to centrally arrange the gas cylinder, fuel tank and pipeline propulsion related equipment, and the equipment weight is borne by the cone section of the multipurpose cabin; the outermost layer of the external propulsion cabin is installed with a space debris protective cover, which is used to prevent the impact damage of space debris. 8.The spacecraft suitable for expansion of T-shaped combination of space station according to claim 7, characterized in that, Two-dimensional driving mechanisms are installed on both sides of the multipurpose cabin, so that the solar cell wing has the ability of sun orientation, i.e., swinging to compensate the solar elevation angle and rotating to track the sun; During the launching stage, by using the diameter difference between the multipurpose cabin and the cylinder section of the working cabin and the swinging direction freedom of the solar wing driving mechanism, the solar cell array in the constrained state is compressed on the skyward surface in the cylinder section area. 9.The spacecraft suitable for expansion of T-shaped combination of space station according to claim 3, characterized in that, A large observation window is arranged on the sliding inner pressure bearing door of the multipurpose cabin, which provides a window for the cabin occupants to observe the earth directly when the sandwiched outer-inversion inner pressure bearing door is opened.