After launching a pair or satellites last year he could not reach the right orbit around the Moon, the China Technology and Engineering Center for the use of space (CSU) came up with a novel tactic, using a severity of gravity “in correct.
China launched the satellites, named Dro-A and Dro-BIn March 2024 on a long rocket of March 2c, according to The Global Television Network of China (CGTN) administered by the State. They were supposed to go to distant retrograde orbit, the drug in the name of the couple, around The moonto help provide navigation and monitoring for the spacecraft in the land of the Earth’s moon.
The first and second stage of the rocket worked as planned. But a technical problem with the upper stage of Yuanzheng-1S avoided the Satellites To achieve his planned orbit, and CSU lost contact with the duo.
“If the satellites were destroyed, that would have a loss of the years of effort we made and the money invested in the mission. It would also be a mental blow to the team,” said Zhang Hao, a member of the team that worked to save the satellites.
When CSU managed to locate rebel satellites, they were turning in an orbit much closer to Earth. Then, the team asked to solve a solution to deliver the satellites to their planned path.
“We divide into two teams,” said Hao. “A team remotely controls the satellite propellants to reduce the speed of the turn. The other team, my team, calculated the best route to move the satellites again to the track.”
Because the satellites had a partial duration damaged in the launch, they could not obtain enough sunlight to provide energy for the shift that was required. Then, the team solved the problem using the seriousness of the LandLuna and Sol for “slopes” the satellites of his destiny.
The procedure took 123 days to complete. “If you don’t want to consume much, you must replace it with something else,” said CSU researcher Mao Xinyuan to CGTN. “We chose to consume more time to save energy.”
The rescue operation was completed in mid -July 2024, and the two satellites separated from each other six weeks later, Compliance with spacers. Dro-A and Dro-B are now surrounding the moon and working with a third satellite, Dred-L, which had previously launched Low terrestrial orbit.
“They will perform as headlights in space,” Mao said. Now, with thesis satellites in position, “we can locate a spacecraft in just three hours, unlike two or more with the traditional land -based positioning.”
