China says improved space docking technology will help future missions
The new ‘eye’ guidance system will be used for country’s second orbiting space lab, the Tiangong-2, with mainland leaders keen to establish the nation as a space power
Chinese scientists have developed the world’s most sensitive “eye” guidance system that will enable two orbiting spacecraft – travelling at up to eight times the speed of a bullet – to dock more safely and efficiently.
The “eye” technology was China’s newly developed third-generation rendezvous and docking optical imaging sensor, the Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.
It will be used on China’s second orbiting space lab, Tiangong-2 (or Heavenly Palace-2), the Chang’e-5 lunar probe and the permanent manned space station.
“Good eyesight is crucial for one spacecraft chasing another for hundreds of thousands of kilometres to achieve a perfect rendezvous and docking – it’s like threading the needle,” said Gong Dezhu, a designer at the China Academy of Space Technology.
“The last 150 metres between the two spacecraft is the most critical moment. A slight deviation during docking might lead to a disaster, like the one caused by Mann, the main antagonist in the movie Interstellar.”