These three stages of study generally take 3-5 years, and "quasi-astronaut" is equivalent to another undergraduate course. During the training, they will also go to deserts, cold regions, rainforests and the sea to cooperate with search and rescue forces to conduct search and rescue exercises. Physical training and special physiological function training will always be accompanied by three learning stages.
Astronauts are the core of manned space flight. The work of astronaut system mainly focuses on how to select and train qualified astronauts to ensure their safety, health and work efficiency. Therefore, it is also an important job to provide astronauts with a comfortable home in the sky.
After entering space, the spacecraft will be in microgravity, high vacuum and strong space radiation environment. In order to ensure astronauts to work safely, healthily and efficiently, it is necessary to artificially create a living and working environment as close as possible to the earth's surface. Therefore, it is necessary to put forward medical and ergonomic requirements for manned spacecraft as the main basis for spacecraft design and construction.
The spacecraft is also equipped with a complete set of astronaut medical supervision equipment. In manned flight, through these devices, space medical science and technology workers can monitor and judge the physical condition of astronauts and provide medical supervision and medical support for astronauts. This is also a special telescience between heaven and earth.
Su Shuangning told reporters that in addition to astronauts, there are onboard engineers and load experts, and there will be space tourists in the future, so the physical requirements for the latter three types of people will be relaxed. Therefore, with the development of manned space flight technology in China, maybe one day, you will practice your dream of flying for thousands of years like an astronaut in China, which is not only your own, but also an increasingly powerful nation.
One hero in a hundred.
Manned space flight is much more complicated than aviation, and it needs to overcome a series of difficulties and obstacles such as weightlessness, overweight, lack of oxygen, loneliness, vibration and noise of rocket engines, the influence of cosmic rays, the impact of meteoroids on spacecraft, and so on, which requires higher physical and psychological quality of astronauts. For example, we must have a strong sense of professionalism and dedication, because manned space flight is very risky, and so far 22 astronauts have shed their blood in the blue sky; To have a good physique, the body surface has no physical obstacles such as deformities that affect the wearing or using of spacesuits and instruments, and there is no trauma and its sequelae. People with potential chronic diseases, mental disorders and neuropathy are even worse. People who like to smoke and drink are excluded, because the space in the spaceship cabin is narrow and there are many equipment, smoking will pollute the air, which is prone to fire, and drinking will induce potential diseases in the body and interfere with normal work; You should have good psychological quality, be bold and cautious, be calm when things go wrong, be good at controlling your emotions and get along well with others. When Apollo 13 spacecraft landed on the moon, although the service module exploded, the astronauts on board finally turned the corner because of their perseverance and courage. In the future, the international space station will have higher psychological requirements for astronauts, because it requires the joint efforts of astronauts from all countries.
In addition, manned space flight is an extremely comprehensive technology, so astronauts are required to have high scientific and cultural knowledge and receive space skills training in order to undertake complex space missions. Generally, undergraduate, master or doctor is better.
Astronauts should also have extraordinary working ability and rich working experience, so as to deal with dangerous situations independently and in real time. One of the reasons for selecting space pilots from Air Force pilots is that they have many years of flying experience.
To make astronauts have the above qualities, it takes two steps: selection and training. Of course, according to the space mission and its different requirements for all kinds of astronauts, the selection and training items, contents and standards of astronauts are also different. For example, the United States divides astronauts' physical fitness into three grades, and the training time and content are different.
Astronaut selection is generally divided into two stages. First of all, we should recruit a group of volunteers. Good health, height 1.6 ~ 1.75 meters, generally no more than 40 years old, with higher education. After a series of investigations, they will first select and prepare astronauts. Then on this basis, the pre-flight qualification selection is carried out.
The selection of astronauts usually goes through basic qualification examination, clinical medical examination, physiological function selection, psychological selection, endurance and adaptability selection of special environmental factors, etc. Its implementation stage is generally divided into: pre-selection, outpatient inspection, hospitalization inspection, special environmental factors inspection and training. The time in the process is about 1 year, and its elimination ratio is about 1: 100, which is higher in the early stage.
Astronaut selection and training experts said that in the above selection, medical selection is the most critical level, physiological function selection is the most basic level, endurance selection for special environmental factors is the most difficult level, and psychological selection is the most important level. For example, endurance selection for special environmental factors requires low-pressure hypoxia endurance check, maximum physical load check and vibration force check.
In addition to the United States and Soviet Russia, France, Japan, ESA, China and other countries have conducted astronaut selection, with similar steps and procedures.
According to a book published in China, China conducted the selection of the first astronauts as early as the early 1970s. The selection criteria are the same as those of the United States and the Soviet Union, and the candidates are air force pilots. China has also formulated the selection criteria for China load experts according to the national conditions.
Everyone in heaven needs training.
After the astronauts are selected, they must undergo strict special training and be selected again during the training. Its purpose is to improve the physical strength, intelligence, physiological function, engineering technology and scientific knowledge level of the selected personnel through training; Adapt to and tolerate the special stress environment encountered in space flight and complete specific flight tasks. Without training, it is extremely difficult for people to live in space, even in general.
Astronaut training includes physical training, theoretical knowledge education, psychological training, endurance and adaptability to special environmental factors, space flight skills training, survival training and comprehensive training. Among them, professional astronauts generally need to be trained for 3 to 4 years, load experts need 2.5 years, and space tourists need less than half a year. Some people can't help but ask, how to carry out weightlessness training on the ground? At present, it is mostly carried out by modified weightless aircraft. There is a lot of space in the cabin of this kind of plane for students to use. When it flies to a certain height and speed and enters a specially designed weightless parabolic flight with a certain control program, weightlessness can occur. Through this kind of training, people's fear of weightlessness can be eliminated.
In addition to basic space training, space vocational skills training is also very important. Only by mastering it can we participate in real space missions. To this end, the United States and Russia have also developed many functional trainers and flight simulators. Including the wearing and use of space suits, the use of space food and tableware, etc. You should also train one by one, otherwise food will easily be put in your nose when you eat and feces will float everywhere when you go to the toilet.
In addition, mission training is also essential, such as extravehicular activity training and rendezvous and docking training. In order to build the International Space Station, the United States has conducted a lot of related training on the Mir space station in Russia and its own space shuttle.
At present, the United States, Russia and other countries have their own astronaut training centers. American astronaut training centers include Johnson Space Center and Kennedy Space Center, both of which are named after the President of the United States. Among them, Johnson Space Center is the main one, and Kennedy Space Center only conducts necessary training for a short time before launch. In the United States, ordinary space tourists only need to train for half a year to go to heaven.
NASA began a new round of astronaut selection in July 2003. American citizens who want to participate in the selection can obtain the application form in two ways, one is by mail, and the other is downloaded from the special website of the astronaut selection office. According to the regulations, anyone with advanced skills in science and engineering can apply for election. But if you want to be an astronaut flying the space shuttle, the applicant must also have rich experience in flying jumbo jets. From July 2003, NASA spent half a year testing, interviewing and physical examination all applicants, and announced the selection results in early 2004. Starting from the summer of 2004, the selected astronauts will be trained in Houston to adapt to future space flight.
In addition, according to the Astronaut Educator Program, NASA will also select astronaut teachers. According to statistics, from June to April, 2003, more than 1 100 people applied on the website of NASA, but only 3-4 people were selected by NASA.
Soviet Russia trains astronauts in Gagarin Training Center named "Star City", where there are 1: 1 spacecraft model devices, large training pools, planetarium training building and so on. Tito, the world's first space tourist, trained here for more than three weeks and then took off. In order to further study the physiology and psychology of manned space flight and improve the life support system in manned spacecraft, Russia launched a new experimental facility that can highly simulate the internal environment of spacecraft for the first time on 200 1. The Institute of Medicine and Biology of the Russian Academy of Sciences used this new manned space simulation facility for the first time, combining weightlessness and loneliness adaptation experiments. The facility is a fully enclosed structure, and the internal temperature and humidity are almost the same as those in the manned spacecraft. Turn off 16 hours of light and 8 hours of light source to simulate the alternation of day and night felt on the spacecraft. Among them, the manned space simulation research is helpful to improve the endurance of astronauts and is also of great value to improve the internal facilities of manned spacecraft. Russian experts say that in weightlessness, human blood will be redistributed. The blood volume of the head increased, the blood volume of the lower limbs decreased, and the arterial and venous blood pressure and atrial pressure increased. This state will increase water consumption and reduce plasma volume. If left unchecked, it will lead to muscle atrophy, fragile bones and decreased immunity. In addition, long-term space flight can easily make people feel lonely, impatient and depressed. If it cannot be eliminated in time, it will inevitably affect the scientific research work of astronauts. At present, astronauts mainly overcome the above adverse effects through space simulation training, physical exercise and scientific diet rest.
From June 5438 to February 2002, the Russian Institute of Medicine and Biology began to test three kinds of space training and protection devices-weightless training membrane, air cushion shoes and multifunctional fitness equipment. According to the ITAR-TASS news agency, the weightlessness training membrane is a special waterproof membrane, which researchers will spread on the water surface of the reservoir, and then two volunteers will lie on the membrane. The weightlessness training membrane has good elasticity, which can make volunteers fall below the water surface, but the degree of falling does not hinder people's activities. In this state, the supporting force on muscles and bones is very similar to that in weightlessness. In order to test the performance of the training film, eight volunteers will be divided into four groups and live on the training film 1 month.
In the second experiment, volunteers will try on a special kind of leather shoes under artificial weightlessness. A plurality of elastic air ducts and inflatable devices are arranged at the bottom of the leather shoes. A plurality of ducts filled with gas will form an air cushion, which will moderately squeeze the soles of people's feet. According to experts, people's feet can't feel the usual support in weightlessness, so some astronauts often feel uncomfortable. Under the extrusion of the above leather shoes air cushion, astronauts will feel that their soles have been stepping on a solid surface. If the test is successful, the air cushion shoes will be transported to the manned space station.
In the last experiment, researchers will test a multifunctional exercise machine. Using this fitness equipment, astronauts can simulate rowing, shot put, weight lifting, cycling, jogging and other sports in the spacecraft. According to experts, long-term space flight is easy to make the human body fall. In order to eliminate this adverse effect, the astronauts of the International Space Station have been exercising on time with fitness equipment. When astronauts are about to take a spacewalk or receive an order to postpone their return, they will also increase their exercise intensity.
Selection and Training of Astronauts in China
What kind of people can be astronauts in China? According to Su Shuangning, chief engineer of China astronaut system, fighter pilots proved to be the best candidates for astronauts.
The first astronauts in China not only have the "soft" conditions such as good ideological style, high political quality, stable mind and staying calm in times of crisis, but also have superb flying skills, rich flying experience and strong physique.
The United States, Russia and other space powers all select astronauts from air force pilots. Because the working environment and quality of fighter pilots are closest to astronauts. Fighters have fast take-off and landing speed and complicated operation, which is easy to cause life threat. Its supersonic flight, high-altitude flight and various difficult stunts require pilots to get used to the discomfort caused by the rapid change of high and low air pressure, and can still correctly operate the complex instruments on the plane under the load of several times their own weight, which is quite similar to the work of astronauts. In addition, fighter pilots usually deal with emergencies in the air. For example, many fighter pilots have had "special" experiences such as emergency skydiving and emergency handling of faults, which are valuable experience wealth for future work in space.
To be an astronaut, you must pass multiple tests of body and mind. People who can overcome all difficulties must be "double" in body and mind.
The physical examination of astronauts is very different from that of ordinary people. The "quasi-astronaut" will be hospitalized for nearly a month, and various modern medical testing methods will always pay attention to the astronauts. See if he has any potential diseases and genetic diseases. Even the spouse closest to his life should be carefully investigated.
But this is really just the beginning. The next special physical examination is another severe barrier. Candidates should add 8g to the centrifuge to test their endurance and reaction ability. Check the hypoxia tolerance in the low-pressure cabin; You also need to turn on the swivel chair 15 minutes, which rotates rapidly and constantly changes direction, to examine the adaptability of your vestibular function to space flight. China already has its own astronaut training center, including centrifuge for human use, vacuum chamber for human use, planetarium, low-pressure greenhouse and so on.
Astronauts should not only have healthy bodies and special physiological functions, but also have different general psychological qualities. Candidates have to pass a series of psychological tests in different scenarios. In this process, examine the ability of candidates to face difficulties and to coordinate and communicate with others.
The space in the manned spacecraft is only equivalent to the size of an ordinary bathroom, and the area in the "International Space Station" is even smaller than a set of ordinary two-bedroom and one-living rooms. In such a narrow space, we must have extraordinary courage and unusual state of mind to be calm and calm about all kinds of unpredictable factors from space.
According to the requirements of China's manned spaceflight project "Astronaut Training Plan", various trainings have been actively carried out. Some events do not require astronauts to get full marks. However, they all trained very hard.
Captain Su Shuangning told reporters that the standard height of China astronauts is about 1.70 meters and their weight is about 65 kilograms. This is the standard figure of China people. However, in the world, such external conditions are not absolute. Today, this standard has been relaxed in the Russian New Generation Spacecraft Alliance TMA. Because, if a person is a little shorter, his spine will be shorter and his ability to bear the impact of landing will be more favorable.
The training of China astronauts is also divided into three stages: 1 stage is basic theoretical training. At this stage, astronauts should learn the design principles of rockets and spacecraft, flight dynamics, meteorology, astronomy, communication, equipment testing, aerospace medical knowledge and so on. The second stage is professional skills training. Astronauts should be familiar with the structure and composition of the spacecraft, the working principle and mode of each system of the spacecraft, and even master the situation of important components and single machines. The third stage is flight procedures and mission training. Astronauts should master and know what to observe and when to contact the ground through the real simulation on the same training simulator as the real spacecraft. At this stage, astronauts should also learn to find and eliminate emergencies, so as to test and exercise their judgment and quick response ability to things.
These three stages of study generally take 3-5 years, and "quasi-astronaut" is equivalent to another undergraduate course. During the training, they will also go to deserts, cold regions, rainforests and the sea to cooperate with search and rescue forces to conduct search and rescue exercises. Physical training and special physiological function training will always be accompanied by three learning stages.
Astronauts are the core of manned space flight. The work of astronaut system mainly focuses on how to select and train qualified astronauts to ensure their safety, health and work efficiency. Therefore, it is also an important job to provide astronauts with a comfortable home in the sky.
After entering space, the spacecraft will be in microgravity, high vacuum and strong space radiation environment. In order to ensure astronauts to work safely, healthily and efficiently, it is necessary to artificially create a living and working environment as close as possible to the earth's surface. Therefore, it is necessary to put forward medical and ergonomic requirements for manned spacecraft as the main basis for spacecraft design and construction.
The spacecraft is also equipped with a complete set of astronaut medical supervision equipment. In manned flight, through these devices, space medical science and technology workers can monitor and judge the physical condition of astronauts and provide medical supervision and medical support for astronauts. This is also a special telescience between heaven and earth.
Su Shuangning told reporters that in addition to astronauts, there are onboard engineers and load experts, and there will be space tourists in the future, so the physical requirements for the latter three types of people will be relaxed. Therefore, with the development of manned space flight technology in China, maybe one day, you will practice your dream of flying for thousands of years like an astronaut in China, which is not only your own, but also an increasingly powerful nation.