Homegrown tech breakthroughs make Shenzhou- 12 fast docking reality

The success of China’s first manned spacecraft fast docking reflects a steady and robust development of China’s automation technology application in space through the decades, Shenzhou- 12 mission insiders and space analysts said on Thursday.

China pulled off the country’s first- ever automated fast rendezvous and docking of a manned spacecraft with China’s orbiting space station core cabin on Thursday, after the Shenzhou- 12 manned spacecraft was successfully launched on the Long March- 2F Y12 carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

This success also shows that China has developed a highly advanced automation technology application in space and space tracking and monitoring capabilities, said Wang Ya’nan, editor- in- chief of the Aerospace Knowledge magazine.

The speedy docking performance has been backed by a number of technological breakthroughs, including updates in the core subsystem of the Shenzhou- 12 spacecraft, and China’s home- developed BeiDou Navigation Satellites System.

A new feature that has assisted in the fast docking is the “midway aiming point,” located at the lower back of the space station. It is the “transfer station” between the core cabin and the cargo ship or manned spacecraft before rendezvous and docking takes place, the Global Times learned from the China Academy of Space Technology ( CAST).

Through this point, it would be most convenient and quick to dock with the station from all directions, saving time and propellant of the spacecraft by up to 40 percent during the process.

China’s homemade BeiDou Navigation Satellites System, or BDS, has also played a crucial part in the accurate positioning of each spacecraft that ensured the smooth and safe “space kissing.”

During the mission, the Xi’an Satellite Control Center has worked together with the Beijing Aerospace Control Center on tracking and monitoring China’s space activities, the center told the Global Times.