At 7:43 yesterday, my country used the Long March 2 D carrier rocket at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center to successfully launch the advanced space-based solar observatory "Kuafu-1". The satellite successfully entered the predetermined orbit, and the launch mission was a complete success. This satellite is a comprehensive solar exploration satellite in my country. It will focus on the observation of solar magnetic field , solar flare and coronal matter ejection, open up the era of my country's comprehensive solar exploration and achieve a leapfrog breakthrough in my country's space-based solar exploration satellite.
What mission does "Kuafu-1" carry
In 2017, the Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory was approved as one of the second phase of the space science pilot special satellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Previously, the idea of using satellites to "see the sun" has been brewing in the minds of Chinese scientific researchers for more than 40 years. The scientific goals of this satellite are different from the existing solar exploration satellites in the world. It aims at the sun's "one magnet and two storms" - "one magnet" refers to the solar magnetic field, and most of the solar activities are directly dominated by the solar magnetic field; and the "two storms" refer to the two most violent explosion phenomena on the sun, namely solar flares and coronal material ejection.
Focusing on this scientific goal, after five years of engineering development, "Kuafu-1" will fly into a sun-synchronous orbit 720 kilometers away from the earth. The orbital altitude has been carefully selected. Here, the satellite has only less than 3 months of the year and the rest of the time is full sunshine. The satellite can "look closely at" the sun without interruption.
Chang'e Flying on the moon, Kuafu From the sun, is the romance of the Chinese nation to explore deep space. Named the advanced space-based solar observatory "Kuafu-1" is a commemoration of the unremitting pursuit of trying to unveil the mystery of the sun for thousands of years, demonstrating the spirit of great ambition, exploring nature, bravery and tenaciousness, and opening up the era of comprehensive solar observation in China.
"It is time to launch 'Kuafu One' now." Gan Weiqun , chief scientist of "Kuafu One" and researcher at the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, introduced that the solar activity cycle is about 11 years, and is currently in the early stage of the 25th solar activity cycle , and is expected to reach its peak from 2024 to 2025. The satellite's design life is 4 years. After the in-orbit debugging is completed, about 500 Gigabytes of scientific data will be returned every day, and its observation period just covers the maximum period of the peak solar activity year. By then, all scientific data of satellites will be open to the world.
Why do you have to go to space to detect the sun
Su Yang, assistant to the chief scientist of "Kuafu-1", explained that in fact, a large number of observation equipment for the Sun have been built on the earth, but continuous observation cannot be achieved due to the influence of the earth's rotation, and the earth's atmosphere will also have a certain impact on observation. More importantly, many bands of observations must be carried out in space to see the complete process of astrophysical , otherwise it is like a "blind man touching an elephant", such as solar flare observations from the ultraviolet band, and the relevant conditions are not met on the ground.
In order to achieve better observation results, "Kuafu One" is equipped with three payloads, one of the all-day vector magnetographs, Lehmann Alpha solar telescopes, and one of the solar hard X-ray imagers. Each device keeps the optical axis consistent and points to the sun accurately. This satellite has achieved the first international observation of the full-day surface vector magnetic field, non-thermal radiation imaging of solar flares, the formation of coronal material ejection and recent coronal propagation on a satellite platform; for the first time, the full-day surface and recent coronal observations have been achieved in the Lehman Alpha band.
Using the observation data of "Kuafu-1", scientists can better analyze the sun's activity patterns and predict space weather more accurately. Gan Weiqun said that the solar outbreak is the source of catastrophic space weather events and will seriously affect geomagnetic activity and the ionosphere. The first-hand data obtained by "Kuafu-1" is very important for carrying out relevant forecasts and will provide scientific forecast support for the production and life of modern society such as aerospace, satellite security, ground navigation and communications.
Related news
Mengtian Experimental Cabin has completed propellant replenishment
Yesterday, space station Mengtian Experimental Cabin completed propellant replenishment as planned.Since the Mengtian Experimental Cabin arrived at the Wenchang Space Launch Site, the technical zone assembly and testing have been completed successively. The system function joint inspection will be carried out together with the Long March 5 B Yao-4 launch vehicle.
At present, the facilities and equipment of Wenchang Aerospace Launch Site are in good condition, and the participating systems are carrying out mission preparations in an orderly manner.
htmlOn September 30, the space station's Wentian Experimental Cabin had completed its redirection, from the forward-to-end interface to the lateral parking port. The space station assembly changed from the two-cabin "One" configuration to the two-cabin "L" configuration, waiting for the arrival of the Mengtian Experimental Cabin. Mengtian Experimental Cabin is mainly aimed at microgravity scientific research, and is equipped with multi-disciplinary experimental cabinets such as fluid physics and materials science. It will support the study of the essential laws of matter such as material solidification mechanism under gravity masking, as well as cutting-edge experimental research such as ultra-cold atomic physics.Source: Beijing Evening News | Reporter Liu Suya
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