Chapter 1682 [Arrived at Lagrange Point L2]

In order to get this telescope up, the total budget of more than 70 billion yuan has been spent. It is really too expensive. This one has been sent up, and we don’t know when the next one will be available.

Moreover, there are too many satellites in the Earth orbit now, and there has been a space version of "horse racing". In the future, there will be 100,000 or 200,000 satellites of all sizes operating in the Earth orbit.

The observatories and optical telescopes on the ground are basically useless.

The status of the "survey telescope" in the future astronomical observation field is self-evident, which is why astronomers all over the world have applied for it several years in advance.

Western astronomers also have to come here to fill in the application form honestly. Although they also have the "Hubble Telescope" with a long standby time, it is a product of the last century after all. As for the "Webb Telescope", there is still no sign of it, and there is even the possibility of it being cut off.

Moreover, the "survey telescope" of the Eastern power is more advanced than the "Webb Telescope" that has not been put up in the West, and it is several generations ahead of the "Hubble Telescope".

Then you have to come here to line up and fill in the application.

When the "Survey Telescope" is officially operational, the Eastern country will have two astronomical observation devices open to the world in the field of space. In addition to this telescope, there is another space laser gravitational wave detection device "Sky Mirror" that was launched earlier.

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On the fourth day of the launch, the real challenge came. The sunshade of the "Survey Telescope" needed to be controlled to unfold, and this process took several days. It was also the most critical and difficult part of this unfolding mission.

The sunshade was stacked on two trays on both sides, and the trays and the telescope itself were kept parallel to save space to the greatest extent and ensure that it could be loaded into the rocket.

"Heating device activated."

Before the front tray was opened, the ground control center controlled the "Survey Telescope" to tilt a little, so that sunlight could shine on the front tray, and activated the heating device to heat the key parts.

Space is already very cold. The Lagrange L2 point is in a straight line where the sun, the earth, and the L2 point are in a straight line. The sunlight is also blocked by the earth, and the L2 point is in the shadow of the earth.

If the key parts of the "Survey Telescope" are not preheated, it will be a disaster if it cannot be deployed later.

As the front tray release device is activated, it is locked after being deployed in place. Then the rear tray will go through the same process, which takes about a day to complete.

The next day, which is the fifth day after the launch, the deployment tower of the "Survey Telescope" gradually rises from the tray. This is to leave enough space for the sun visor to unfold, and at the same time to keep the telescope's deployment tower components away from the sun visor, so as to leave enough space for heat dissipation.

The telescope is really delicate and cannot work properly if the temperature is slightly higher.

This telescopic structure is also to save launch space. The CG demonstration animation does not look very long, but in fact this telescopic structure will extend 3.5 meters.

Its internal structure is also controlled by a motor, and there are also release structures and locking structures.

The next process begins to release the rear momentum flap. The function of this component is to reduce the swing of the telescope in space. The huge sun visor is equivalent to a sail in space. The solar wind will also cause disturbances if it acts on the body for a long time.

With this component, the swing of the telescope can be effectively reduced. After unfolding, it is a fixed device and cannot be adjusted later.

The next step is to reach the most difficult part of the task, the unfolding of the sun visor.

The sun visor can be said to be the most critical part of the "Sky Survey Telescope". There are a total of six layers, each of which is made of polyimide film material. This material has a high degree of heat resistance, is not afraid of cold or heat, and can maintain stability in the range of -269 degrees Celsius to 400 degrees Celsius.

This material was originally transparent, and each layer will be coated with aluminum film. The aluminum film can not only prevent radiation but also conduct electricity, so that static electricity will not be transmitted to the electronic components of the telescope, so the aluminum coating is a more suitable material choice.

The first layer of structure is 0.05 mm, which is the thickest layer, and the other five layers are 0.025 mm. The aluminum coating is 100 nanometers. The reason why it is so thin is the result of many considerations.

Making it very thin is first conducive to heat dissipation, and secondly, the weight itself is also lighter.

The color of the two outermost sunshields looks pink, because these two layers are responsible for absorbing most of the heat, so there will be a silicon coating. These six layers will determine whether the "Sky Survey Telescope" can work properly.

If the temperature of the telescope's mirror itself is lower than -223.2 degrees Celsius, it will not work properly, so the function of the sunshield is to block the heat radiated from the earth, the sun, and the moon.

It is not so easy to open and unfold these six layers of film. The total area exceeds that of a tennis court. How to pack it well and fully unfold it in space requires very precise steps.

The design of the sunshield uses 165 release structures alone, more than 100 hinges, 10 unfolding motors, 450 pulleys and 105 cables, as well as bearings, springs, gears, etc.

Each of the hundreds of parts here must be ensured to work properly.

On the sixth day after the launch, the protective cover of the sun visor was successfully released and rolled back to the predetermined position. The protective cover is also very important because the sun visor is very thin. Without a cover, it will be GG if it is punctured during transportation or launch.

Before the sun visor is unfolded, 117 release structures need to be opened in strict accordance with the correct order. This is also a very tense moment, but you can't be impatient or careless. Any slight misoperation may lead to failure. It can be said that the whole team is highly nervous during this period.

However, everything was completed smoothly, everything was ready, and the protective cover was completely rolled up.

Then the support rod slowly extended. This telescopic structure is controlled by a motor and can be extended at a certain speed to prevent the sun visor from being torn.

After it is fully extended, the motor will tighten the excess cable and fully stretch the sun visor.

After the extension structure on both sides is released, the next step is to release and separate the six layers of film in sequence, and the six layers are distributed alternately. This process is very slow and takes about two days to complete.

After all the mechanical mechanisms of the sunshield are in place, they will be fine-tuned by the motor to ensure that the sunshield can be fully tightened after precise alignment.

On the eighth day, the most critical part of this mission, the deployment of the sunshield, was successfully completed without any danger.

This is a device with a temperature difference of more than 600 degrees Celsius. The side facing the sun can be so hot that you doubt your life, while the side facing the deep space is so cold that you doubt your life. It is a real double world of ice and fire.

The entire telescope needs several months to cool down, so it is impossible for the telescope to work immediately after arriving at the destination, and let alone the cooling, there are still processes that have not been completed.

The secondary mirror is also a very critical part. If this thing cannot be opened normally, the telescope will also be useless.

If the sunshield is not fully deployed, the telescope can still be used, but the performance ceiling will be greatly discounted. The previous maximum value can see the light of 13.6 billion years ago. It is not unusable to see the light of 13.5 billion years ago with a discount.

The main mirror wing is not deployed, and there are still 18 mirrors that can be used, which is not completely unusable.

But if the secondary mirror is not deployed, it can only be completely cold.

Fortunately, the deployment of this part was relatively simple. In the end, it was successfully deployed and locked and calibrated. The whole team was relieved.

On the 11th day, it was the turn of the integrated scientific instrument module behind the main mirror. This is similar to the body of a camera, or a computer. It contains various electronic components. When it is running, it will generate heat. If there is heat, it must be dissipated. The heat dissipation of this part is simple, and it does not generate much heat.

After the 12th day, the main mirror wings on both sides were also successfully deployed, still controlled by the motor. After deployment, they were locked and completed.

After 12 cycles of Earth sunshine, the entire process of the "Sky Survey Space Telescope" was successfully completed. Next, it only needs to fly to the L2 Lagrange point according to the calculated scheduled orbit.

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(Ps: Those plots of the big G game are in line with the facts. They are written into the small black room. I can only be forced to pass it over and accelerate to finish it within the month. I have no other request, just hope that there will be a completion)