The world’s largest space environment simulator begins operation in northeast China

“Since the testing began in June, all systems have been operating stably,” Li Liyi, deputy general commander of the project at Harbin Institute of Technology, said in a CCTV report.

Li said the facility’s main mission is to support the safe operation of China’s spacecraft and the long-term stay of humanity in space. “It is also open to the global scientific community to carry out relevant basic research.”

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How did China’s space program progress from launching satellites to building its own space station?

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Li told state-run Xinhua news agency in June that more than 110 universities and research institutes from more than 30 countries have signed agreements to use the platform.

China’s role in outer space has expanded rapidly over the past two decades, with the goal of becoming one of the world’s major aerospace powers by 2030 and a comprehensive space power by 2045. .

To achieve its ambitions, it is increasingly important for China to study the harsh and complex space environment, which not only tests the reliability of its spacecraft but also challenges the safety and health of its astronauts. It has become.

Simulator platforms like SESRI (also known as ground space stations) provide a cost-effective way to run experiments and test equipment without the expense of sending equipment into orbit.

The facility was approved by the government in 2015 and is the first major research infrastructure in the aerospace sector. It was built by Harbin Institute of Technology and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the country’s main space contractor.

CCTV said SESRI, located in Harbin’s Science and Technology Innovation Park, will allow researchers to set specific parameters based on scientific and engineering needs and repeat experiments more conveniently and safely.

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The facility consists of four laboratories: Space Environment Laboratory, Space Plasma Science Laboratory, Magnetic Environment Laboratory, and Animal Breeding Room.

Each laboratory is equipped with a number of simulators that reproduce various conditions such as microgravity, solar radiation, cosmic dust, and cryogenic temperatures.

The Lunar Dust Simulation Chamber, approximately 2 cubic meters (6 feet) in size, can be used to study dust formation and its effects on spacecraft, spacesuits, and astronauts. The magnetic chamber has a near-zero magnetic field for pre-launch equipment testing.

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Li said SESRI has already served many users and organizations at home and abroad, leading to a series of major technology and independent innovation breakthroughs, CCTV said.

Harbin Institute of Technology physicist Jin Chenggang told Xinhua that he hopes SESRI will attract “high-level scientific talent from all over the world.”

“Further research will be carried out here, from the development of aerospace electronics to the detection of gravitational waves, from agricultural breeding to life science experiments,” he said.