Chinese Astronauts’ Landing Incident: Parachute Canopy Hole Investigation and Prevention

2023-11-02 18:12:00

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02.11.2023 21:12, Gennady Detinich

How did it happen? known, the landing of the taikonaut crew in the Shenzhou-16 ship did not go entirely smoothly. It appears that China’s manned program has experienced its first major incident that has put the lives of astronauts at risk. There are no official comments yet. Obviously there needs to be an investigation. However, in the footage of the descent vehicle meeting, a large hole in the parachute canopy is clearly visible, which could lead to death.

There is a hole in the parachute canopy through which you can see the sky. Image source: CCTV

The parachute soft landing system of the Shenzhou ships withstood 15 descents and the acceptance stage without any complaints. Each dome with a diameter of 40 meters is sewn by hand. A product weighing 100 kg is created in a process of 100 stages with acceptance by a commission of inspectors after each of them. How the hole formed in the dome and how it could have ended will now be determined by experts. The main danger was that the hole could expand, which would cause the capsule to fall at a speed that could kill the taikonauts.

The capsule after landing. She rolled on the ground and bounced several times

The parachute on the Shenzhou ships opens at an altitude of 10 km. It reduces the capsule’s falling speed from 180 m/s to 7 m/s. The position of the capsule after landing also raised questions. Now the source reports that the capsule rolled on the ground after landing and turned over several times. However, the crew as a whole was not injured and felt well.

Image source: Xinhua

A recent study in the journal speaks about the high strength of parachutes for descent vehicles. Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, to which the source refers. The scientific article claims that the 22nd parachute does not collapse during strength tests with a hole in the canopy even at a descent speed of 580 m/s – this is Mach 1.7. All that remains is to find out how it formed there and do everything to prevent it from happening again.

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