Research Institute for Space-Related Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Beijing

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The Research Institute for Space-related Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Beijing ( Chinese  北京 空間 機電 研究所  /  北京 空间 机电 研究所 , Pinyin Běijīng Kōngjiān Jīdiàn Yánjiūsuǒ , English Beijing Institute of Space Mechanics and Electricity or BISME ), also known as "Institute 508" (五〇八所) is a device of the Chinese Academy of space technology in road quarter Donggaodi (东高地街道) of the municipality Fengtai , the focus in the development of optical remote sensing devices, fuses, composite materials involved, laser measuring devices and landing systems.

history

The history of the institute begins on August 21, 1958. On that day, Qian Xuesen , Zhao Jiuzhang and the geophysicist Wei Yiqing (卫 一 清, 1915–1988) founded three engineering offices in connection with " Project 581 " to develop a Chinese satellite:

  • Engineering office 1001 (1001 设计院, overall planning for satellite and launcher)
  • Engineering office 1002 (1002 设计院, control systems)
  • Engineering office 1003 (1003 设计院, payload of the satellite)

At the time, Shanghai was one of the few industrial centers in China. After negotiations between the Chinese Academy of Sciences , the sponsor of the satellite project, and the board of directors of the Shanghai branch of the CCP, the 1001 engineering office was relocated from Beijing to Shanghai and renamed "Shanghai Engineering Office for Mechanical and Electrical Engineering" (上海 机电 设计院). In November 1958, Wang Xiji , then vice dean of the Faculty of Engineering Mechanics (工程 力学 系) at Shanghai Jiaotong University , was transferred to the engineering office as chief engineer by order of the local council of the CCP; He also had to carry out his administrative duties at the university on the side. Yang Nansheng (杨南生, 1921–2013), until then head of the central development laboratory of the number one automobile factory in Changchun, became the deputy director of the engineering office . Several hundred higher-semester students from universities across the country were assigned to the two as employees. The average age of the technical staff at the engineering office was 21 years.

At that time, Qian Xuesen, the head of "Group 581", was the only engineer in China who - during his time at the California Institute of Technology - had already dealt with liquid rocket engines. Nobody in Shanghai had any experience in this field. As a first step we started there with the development of sounding rockets , due to the Chinese expression探空火箭, Pinyin Tànkōng Huǒjiàn denoted by "T" plus serial number. Initially, the rockets were only designed on paper, with the previously untested combination of methanol and liquid fluorine being considered as fuel . The first concrete model, for which some parts had already been produced on a trial basis, was a two-stage rocket, the first stage being called T-3, the second stage T-4. The problem was the fluorine used as an oxidizer, with which, in theory, a high specific impulse of the engine was achieved, but which China's chemical industry, which was still developing at the time, could not provide in sufficient quantities. The two-stage rocket plan was abandoned and a smaller model called the T-5 was constructed that used ethanol and liquid oxygen as Diergol fuel . However, since China did not yet have a test bench on which such an engine could have been tested, the concept of the T-5 was also abandoned.

The planned missiles got smaller and smaller until they finally arrived at the 5.30 m long T-7M, a prototype of the later, 8 m long T-7 (the “M” stood for 模型 火箭, Pinyin Móxíng Huǒjiàn , ie “model rocket "). The working conditions at the time were very simple: only simple crank calculators and a few electric calculators were available to calculate the rocket's trajectories , so that it took twenty to thirty people working in shifts to do this one and a half months. For the ignition of the rocket the glass flask was removed from a flashlight bulb and tungsten - filament in guncotton packed. At what was then the Jiangwan military airport in the Yangpu district , the technicians had set up a reasonably safe test bench in an old concrete bunker of the Japanese occupation forces, where the engine could be observed from outside through the loopholes. After an initial false start in January 1960, in which a fuel line was torn by the vibration and escaping fuel had set the launch frame on fire, a T-7M finally succeeded on February 19, 1960, with a height of 8 km in that attempt reached.

The Laogang launch site, a few kilometers south of today's Shanghai Pudong International Airport , was close to the sea, which made it difficult to recover the rocket returning to earth on a parachute or the detached payload capsule. Therefore, from March 1960, under the direction of Yang Nansheng, the generously equipped base 603 was built in the area of ​​today's administrative village Maolin in Anhui province . Several dozen sounding rockets of the types T-7, T-7A and T-7A / S were launched from there until 1966. These rockets were actually used to conduct altitude research under the direction of Zhao Jiuzhang from the Institute of Geophysics at the Academy of Sciences. From the engineering office's point of view, however, these rockets were only preliminary studies for the actual satellite project. While they were working there from January 1962 on the T-7A, which could reach heights of 100 km, they began at the same time with the plans for a steerable rocket (T-8) and a launcher that could put a satellite into orbit, the T-9.

In the meantime, however, the Jiuquan Cosmodrome had made good progress in developing military surface-to-surface missiles. On November 5, 1960, the first short-range missile, later called "Dongfeng 1", was launched, and on March 21, 1962, the first flight of a medium-range missile took place, even if it only lasted one minute. The country's leadership then came to the conclusion that it would be better to redesign the existing surface-to-surface missiles so that they could carry a satellite into orbit. Work on the T-8 and T-9 was stopped in January 1963 and the engineering office was placed under the Ministry of Defense's 5th Research Institute , which was responsible for the development of military missiles.

In 1964, Field Marshal Nie Rongzhen , the head of the Defense Technology Commission of the People's Liberation Army , officially instructed the engineering office to take over the supervision of the construction of the planned launcher. When the 5th Research Institute was finally outsourced from the Ministry of Defense by decision of the National People's Congress of January 4, 1965 and converted into the independent “ Seventh Ministry of Mechanical Engineering ”, the Shanghai facility was named “8 Engineering office "(七 机 部 第八 设计院) subordinated. The entire office was relocated to Beijing and moved into a building complex on South Dahongmen Street in the Fengtai district , directly across from Factory 211 (today “Hauptstätdtische Raumflugkörper GmbH”), where the 1st Academy of the Seventh Ministry (today's China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology ) built the Dongfeng missiles.

While Yang Nansheng was transferred as deputy director of the Seventh Ministry's 4th Academy, now the Solid Rocket Engine Technology Academy, after the move , Wang Xiji remained chief engineer at the 8th Engineering Bureau. After carefully studying the military material and the requirements for a launch vehicle developed by the Project Planning Institute 651 of the Chinese Academy of Sciences with regard to the satellite constructed there , Wang Xiji came to the conclusion that Nie Rongzhen's plan was to convert an existing surface-to-surface missile was not feasible. Instead, he and his colleagues proposed to put a third stage with a solid rocket engine on the two-stage medium-range missile Dongfeng 2A, which was successfully launched on June 29, 1964 , which was to be developed by the 4th Academy.

This concept made significantly higher demands on the firing device of the solid fuel rocket than on the T-7 , where the solid fuel booster formed the first stage and was ignited from the ground. For this reason, the 4th Academy first built a 2.2 m long test rocket with the "solid rocket engine 01A" (固体 火箭 发动机, Pinyin Gùtǐ Huǒjiàn Fādòngjī , hence "GF-01A" for short). This additional step was mounted on a T-7A by the 8th engineering office. On August 8 and 20, 1968, the combination was launched from the Jiuquan Cosmodrome, with the ignition device later used in the third stage of the Changzheng 1 satellite launcher for the first attempt at a height of a few dozen kilometers and for the second attempt at one Reliably ignited at an altitude of 320 km.

The Cultural Revolution broke out in 1966 , but since the rocket builders were under the protection of the Defense Technology Commission of the People's Liberation Army, the work was progressing relatively well despite the endless, absolutely irrelevant combat and criticism meetings at the time. The 8th engineering office was in charge of the supervision, the 1st academy built the 1st and 2nd stages on the opposite side of the street, the 4th academy the 3rd stage of Changzheng 1. After the successful tests in August 1968, the project planning phase was in principle complete . The 8th engineering office then handed the lead over the rocket to the 1st academy. After an initial false start on November 16, 1969, China's first 173 kg satellite, Dong Fang Hong I , lifted off into space on April 24, 1970 from the Jiuquan Cosmodrome.

As early as February 20, 1968, at the suggestion of Nie Rongzhen, under the umbrella of the Seventh Ministry, the “5th” was established from a number of research institutes and precision engineering factories. Academy ”, also known at that time as the“ Academy for Space Technology ”. There one should deal specifically with the development of spacecraft, initially satellites, later also manned spaceships and deep space probes. In addition to the satellite engineering office of the Chinese Academy of Sciences , the 8th engineering office was one of the institutes that formed the new academy. From “5. Academy "and" 8. Office "the name" Institute 508 "(五 〇 八 所) was formed.

In parallel to the work on the satellite, which the Defense Technology Commission named Dong Fang Hong I in May 1966, the Academy of Sciences began developing a satellite in August 1965 that could return to Earth unscathed. In June 1966, a working group for return satellites was formed at the engineering office for satellite construction, which Wang Xiji took over as head of the 8th engineering office. After founding the 5th Academy, Wang stepped up the planning work, now also focusing on the financial aspects and the technical feasibility under the real conditions in China during the Cultural Revolution.

Since the then engineering office for mechanical engineering and electrical engineering in Shanghai had already gained experience with landing systems during the development of the T-7 sounding rocket - the payload head separated at the apex of the flight path and the rocket itself returned to earth on parachutes - it fell to Institute 508, to develop the appropriate systems for the return satellite. For this purpose, under the direction of Lin Huabao (林 华宝, 1931–2003), who had been with the engineering office 1001 from the start, mostly in the Badain-Jaran desert at the Jiuquan cosmodrome , but also on the steppe near Ulanqab and in the reed marshes near Tianjin , a total of 58 drop tests were carried out, in which models of the satellite, partly reduced in size and weighing only a few dozen kilograms, partly in original size with several hundred kilograms, were dropped from an aircraft flying at different heights and at different speeds and the functioning of the parachute release was tested while data on the speed of fall, etc., was recorded at the same time.

Between 1975 and 2005, a total of 22 return satellites of the pioneering series (尖兵, Pinyin Jiānbīng ) were launched from the Jiuquan Cosmodrome . Even if the landing site of the first specimens was sometimes hundreds of kilometers away from the planned location, they all returned safely to earth - with one exception in 1993. Of course, the development of the landing systems for the manned Shenzhou spaceships was also transferred to Institute 508, where Gao Shuyi (高 树 义, * 1973) has been chief engineer of the “Laboratory for Landing Technology for Returning Spacecraft” (航天 器 回收 着陆 技术 研究室) since 2003 . Gao Shuyi had been involved in developing the systems since 1996 and witnessed the Shenzhou 2 hard landing in 2001 . However, after the development of an improved landing system, there were no more problems from Shenzhou 3 (2002). Today's main landing site for Shenzhou spaceships is in the area of ​​the Dörbed banner , Ulanqab, not far from Lin Huabao's old test site, the alternative landing site in the Baidan Jaran desert.

Work areas

Today the institute operates under 508, from older employees still “8. Office "(八 院) called, externally as the" Research Institute for Space-Related Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Beijing ". The campus on Südliche Dahongmen-Strasse no longer only conducts development work, but also basic research, production and tests. There are currently six departments:

The institute also has a factory in the village of Zhuzhuang (朱 庄村) in Changziying (长子 营镇) in the east of the Daxing district , where the statics of spacecraft can be tested. For example, the spherical lock section of the core module of the Chinese space station was tested there in May 2015. In addition to the docking spaceships, two science modules of 22 t each are permanently attached to it.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 北京 空间 机电 研究所 简介. In: cncos.org. Retrieved November 21, 2019 (Chinese).
  2. ↑ 北京 空间 机电 研究所. In: opticsjournal.net. Retrieved November 21, 2019 (Chinese).
  3. ↑ Andrew Jones: China's 2020 Mars probe undergoing testing for entry, descent and landing on the red planet. In: gbtimes.com. March 12, 2018, accessed November 21, 2019 .
  4. ^ Laurie Burkitt et al .: The Lessons of History: The Chinese People's Liberation Army at 75. Strategic Studies Institute, United States Army War College , Carlisle 2003, p. 204.
  5. ↑ 王希 季: 箭 击 长空 忆 当年. In: cas.cn. Retrieved November 22, 2019 (Chinese).
  6. ↑ 解密 603 ： 中国 探空 火箭 发祥地. In: news.sina.com.cn. June 13, 2012, Retrieved November 21, 2019 (Chinese).
  7. ↑ T-7M in the Encyclopedia Astronautica , accessed on November 22, 2019 (English).
  8. ↑ T-7 in the Encyclopedia Astronautica , accessed on November 23, 2019 (English).
  9. ↑ T-7A in the Encyclopedia Astronautica , accessed on November 23, 2019 (English).
  10. ↑ 首都 航天 机械 公司 是 清 政府 创办 的 第一 家 飞机 修造 厂. In: calt.com. August 30, 2016, accessed November 23, 2019 (Chinese).
  11. ↑ 航天 动力 技术 研究院 简介. In: aaspt.net. Retrieved November 23, 2019 (Chinese).
  12. ↑ 王希 季: 箭 击 长空 忆 当年. In: cas.cn. Retrieved November 23, 2019 (Chinese).
  13. ↑ CZ-1D-3 in the Encyclopedia Astronautica , accessed on November 23, 2019.
  14. ↑ T-7 / GF-01A in the Encyclopedia Astronautica , accessed on November 23, 2019 (English).
  15. ↑ FSW in the Encyclopedia Astronautica , accessed on November 24, 2019 (English).
  16. ↑ 林 华宝. In: cae.cn. Retrieved November 24, 2019 (Chinese).
  17. ↑ 王希 季: 箭 击 长空 忆 当年. In: cas.cn. Retrieved November 24, 2019 (Chinese).
  18. ↑ FSW in the Encyclopedia Astronautica , accessed on November 24, 2019 (English).
  19. ↑ 周 雁: 寄语 神舟 一号 祝福 载人 航天. In: cmse.gov.cn. November 20, 2019, accessed November 24, 2019 (Chinese). The video shows the various tests of the landing systems of the Shenzhou return capsule from 00:43.
  20. ↑ 索 轩: 回收 着陆 专家 高 树 义 ： 我 被 航天 的 荣誉 所 感召. In: scitech.people.com.cn. June 29, 2012, Retrieved November 24, 2019 (Chinese).
  21. ↑ 慕 泉: 李继 耐 回忆 我国 载人 航天 工程 的 艰辛 与 喜悦. In: cctv.com. October 26, 2003, accessed November 24, 2019 (Chinese).
  22. ↑ 中巴 友好 之 “眼” 见证 航天 国际 合作 新篇章 —— 聚焦 中巴 地球 资源 卫星 04A 星. In: cnsa.gov.cn. December 20, 2019, accessed December 22, 2019 (Chinese).
  23. ↑ 徐 宙 超: 中法 海洋 卫星 发射 成功 首次 实现 海风 海浪 同步 观测. In: xinhuanet.com. October 29, 2018, Retrieved November 25, 2019 (Chinese).
  24. ↑ 北京 空间 机电 研究所. In: cast.cn. April 21, 2016, Retrieved November 25, 2019 (Chinese).
  25. ↑ Beijing Institute of Space Mechanics and Electricity (BISME). In: cast.cn. Retrieved November 25, 2019 .
  26. ↑ 中国 空间 技术 研究院 完成 空间站 节点 舱 静 力 试验. In: cmse.gov.cn. May 20, 2015, accessed January 29, 2020 (Chinese).
  27. ↑ 中国 航天 科技 集团公司 第五 研究院 508 所. In: szhx5.com. March 29, 2018, accessed January 29, 2020 (Chinese).

Coordinates: 39 ° 48 ′ 9.7 ″  N , 116 ° 24 ′ 49 ″  E