Tiangong space station is a space station independently designed and developed by China. In order to build and operate the space station, it was necessary to make breakthroughs in many fields and master several key technologies, which were characterized over a long technological span and underwent difficult verifications. Therefore, in addition to ground verification, on-orbit flight tests of key technologies for the assembly, construction and operation of the space station were planned to be conducted used by the core module, taking into account the differences in the gravity environment between space and the Earth, in order to lay a foundation for the subsequent comprehensive assembly, construction and long-term on-orbit operation of the space station. In this paper, the mission characteristics of the space station are briefly introduced, along with the key technologies for the assembly and construction of the space station, and then the on-orbit verification tests are comprehensively introduced.

 As China’s only manned launch vehicle, the LM-2F Launch vehicle successfully launched the Shenzhou 12 manned spacecraft into its predetermined orbit on June 12, 2021, signifying the successful completion of the first manned launch mission in the construction and key technology test stage of China Space Station (CSS). From the launch of the Shenzhou 11 manned spacecraft on October 12, 2016 to the launch of Shenzhou 12 in 2021, over the past five years, the LM-2F launch vehicle has been continuously improved in terms of product reliability through technological innovation and design improvement, and its flight reliability index has increased from 0.97 to 0.98. Based on the new launch mission requirements for the construction stage of CSS, this paper introduces the technological innovation and reliability improvement methods of the LM-2F from the aspects of design improvement, research methods and process optimization. The LM-2F launch vehicle will make greater contributions in supporting the construction of CSS with higher reliability and perfect launch success rate.

The solid rocket motors for the escape system of China’s LM-2F manned launch vehicle are described, the key technologies and technical innovations utilized are summarized. The technical features and development of foreign manned launch abort systems are also presented. The development trends of the solid rocket motor for future Chinese manned launch vehicle escape systems are proposed, which can provide a reference for the future development of manned launch vehicle escape systems.

Based on the requirements of manned spaceships, this paper introduces the characteristics of the propulsion system from the perspectives of design scheme, basic composition, safety and reliability measures, and also introduces the ground test verification and on-orbit flight characteristics of the Shenzhou 13 propulsion system. According to the flight results, it was seen that the performance of the Shenzhou 13 propulsion system fully met the engineering requirements for the manned space mission.

China’s ocean satellites are divided into three series based on ocean color satellites (HY-1), ocean dynamic environment satellites (HY-2) and ocean monitoring satellites (HY-3). The three series of ocean satellites operate today in a multi-satellite network. The HY-1D satellite launched in June 2020 and the HY-1C satellite, already in orbit, realized a network observation capability and completed the formation of the ocean color satellite constellation. The HY-2D satellite launched in May 2021 joined the HY-2B and HY-2C satellites, which have been on orbit already and completed a network observation capability, thus establishing the ocean dynamic environment satellite constellation. The GF-3 02 satellite (1 m C-SAR 01) launched in November 2021 has networked with GF-3, initially establishing an ocean monitoring satellite constellation, which has finally completed its construction with the launch of the GF-3 03 satellite (1 m C-SAR 02) in April 2022. The GF-3 three-satellite network effectively boasts a wide capability in applications of satellite data products and services in many fields, such as ocean environmental monitoring, ocean disaster prevention and mitigation, marine scientific research and polar research.

 Non-pyrotechnic separation devices have been fully recognized for their high performance and high reliability. The focus of this paper is mainly around the development of memory alloy satellite and rocket separation devices. Due to the increasing demand for small-sized rockets and satellites, some suggestions and experiments for developing this new type of non-pyrotechnic device are proposed and conducted.