Fengyunxing News | New progress: Y6 carrier rocket has completed unloading and transfer!At noon on November 7, the Y6 carrier rocket arrived safely at Wenchang Qinglan Wharf. The unloading and packing work was completed on the morning of November 8, and it was transferred back to the factory as planned at 2:30 pm. According to Cao Guobin, deputy general manager of Wenchang Space Launch Support Co., Ltd., this transportation adopted a one-time transportation plan of six product containers, which was difficult to organize and command. Through the coordination and support of all parties, the transportation mission was successfully completed. The Y6 carrier rocket will be transferred to the CZ-8 rocket assembly and test plant for assembly and testing, waiting for the launch mission.
With Y5 schedule for the end of December, Y6 will only be launched next year (January?).
To ensure the smooth progress of the first transfer, the liquid hydrogen group of the filling and supply room of Wenchang Space Launch Support Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the launch company) arrived at 3 am on February 25 and carried out hydrogen replacement operations on the liquid hydrogen tank trucks in strict accordance with the regulations. At the scene, two liquid hydrogen tank trucks were parked steadily in the transfer storage area. The storage tanks were originally filled with nitrogen to maintain pressure. Before the liquid was filled, 10 hydrogen replacements were required. The responsible entity of the project, Hainan Jiufeng Special Gas Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Hainan Jiufeng) and the launch company jointly sampled and tested the gas in the car to ensure that it met the standards before proceeding to the next step.Liquid hydrogen truck operator Du Minghan introduced that a replacement process takes nearly 2 hours, and it is necessary to monitor the changes in the air pressure in the tank truck at all times to determine whether to release the pressure, and complete the blind section purge work on time. To avoid fatigue work, shifts are arranged for each replacement. Until 10 am on February 26, after 13 rounds of replacement, good news came from both laboratories: the test was qualified! Afterwards, the staff immediately started precooling the tanks and officially started the high-flow transfer operation at 22:10 that evening.As the numbers on the tank level gauge steadily increased, the members of the liquid hydrogen team who had been working continuously for 46 hours finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Liquid hydrogen needs to be stored at around -253°C. If it is directly injected into a normal temperature tank at a large flow rate, it will evaporate quickly, so precooling is very important."It is understood that since the project started in April last year, Hainan Jiufeng has adhered to the principle of "people stop but machines don't stop", adopted a four-shift two-shift mode, and made every effort to promote the construction of the first liquid hydrogen supply project for the No. 1 launch station. On December 30, 2024, the methanol hydrogen production unit of the project was successfully tested; on January 24, 2025, liquid hydrogen was produced for the first time, with a daily output of nearly 2 tons, becoming my country's first domestic special fuel and special gas manufacturer to provide liquid hydrogen for commercial space launch sites.As a rocket propellant, liquid hydrogen has the advantages of high specific impulse and no pollution, but it also has the characteristics of flammability, explosion, and low temperature, and has extremely high requirements for transportation and storage. During the production operation, Hainan Jiufeng strictly followed the national hazardous chemical operation requirements, limited the number of on-site workers in the liquid hydrogen operation area, and the staff wore anti-static suits and anti-freeze gloves. The site was equipped with accident prevention equipment and explosion-proof tools. During the liquid hydrogen transportation and transfer, all high-risk construction operations were suspended on site.During this period, Yang Tianliang, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Hainan International Commercial Space Launch Co., Ltd., and other major leaders went to the site for inspection and guidance many times, and had an in-depth understanding of the liquid hydrogen system and supply guarantee, and put forward clear requirements for production, transfer operation procedures and personnel safety protection. The two sides worked together and worked closely to build a solid "food and grass" guarantee for the high-density and normalized rocket launch missions in the new year.
