Introduction

The Integrated Support Division is a professional division which is established to provide support for application task of the space station in each phase based on need of discipline layout and construction.The main focus is to promote the division’s full life-cycle support work for the payload in space application system, and enhance China’s ability in supporting space exploration missions.

The division, at present, has a total of 10 staffs, 4 with senior professional title and 6 with primary technical title. Among them, 5 people have Doctor’s degree, and the other 5 people have Master degree. 3 graduate students are also included. Its main research contents include: collaborative design and integrated analysis technology indicating space product risk,  efficient verification and comprehensive evaluation technology on the safety, reliability and maintainability of space application payload,  reliability data processing technology on space application payload, intelligent maintenance technology, productization and popularization of integrated support technology and in-orbit maintenance specific technique and product development.

Main tasks include three aspects

1 Provide integrated support work fo the space utilization system of China Manned Space Program

The priority task of the division is to provide support for the space utilization system. Focusing on the overall technical requirements for the support engineering on safety, reliability and maintainability of space payload, the division will strengthen the construction of technical specification engineering system of the utilization system,  carry out practical engineering technology training and publicization, and guide and supervise the effective implementation of all (special) support work of the subsystems, to provide substantial technical support and service for the support engineering on  the safety, reliability and maintainability of space payload.

2 Carry out cutting-edge technical research and make the division a characteristic discipline of CSU

As one of the professional divisions of the CSU, the Integrated Support Division will uphold the discipline based tradition of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, take charge of the cultivation and development of relevant disciplines, carry out cutting-edge technical research on integrated support, actively apply for different vertical subjects, and constantly improve the theoretical and application level of the team.

In the selection of research direction, the division refers to the development trend of "integration", "simulation" and " intelligentization" of the discipline it belongs to, to select technology which is closely related to the project and possible to come to the fore in the domestic industry to tackle technical problems with all efforts, accumulate and form technology having its own characteristics.

3 Expand the application of the integrated support technology and promote the industrialization of the technical products

When finishing engineering tasks and scientific research, the Integrated Support Division actively expand to and compete for all kinds of transverse tasks of other national major projects and in other key industries besides the utilization system of China Manned Space Program, to create sustainable benefit for the CSU by consultation and technical transformation of its scientific payoffs and to regurgitate the discipline and the construction of the team.

The development goal of the division is to build specialized scientific research platform based on the integrated design of space product’s safety, reliability, maintainability, testability, supportability in its life circle with human-computer ergonomics; form a solid technical accumulation in the field of integrated support analysis, modeling, design, verification and evaluation; and become a core support team for the utilization system and in the integrated support of China Manned Space Program.

Development and achievements

In the development of various payloads of Shenzhou Spacecrafts, Tiangong and other mission, the division accumulated solid experience in safety and reliability assurance. With the progress of manned space station engineering, the division is building a lab for integrated support overall design and proof of complex systems. The division has integrated professional technical platforms such as the proof, analysis and design, test and assessment of safety, reliability and maintainability to provide support for the security, reliability and maintainability of various space payloads in the whole life cycle.

In May 2014, the Advanced Integrated Support Laboratory for Complex Systems (AISL) co-constructed with the College of Mechatronic Engineering and Automation of National University of Defense Technology institute was officially inaugurated.

Other planning labs include:

The integrated laboratory for maintainability

The lab will support maintainability design and developing experimental verification on maintainability and ergonomics, and develop platforms adapting to the process planning, simulation and optimization of maintenance tasks of space station phase payloads.  

The integrated laboratory for testability

The lab supports testability design and developing experimental verification on the testability of different products.

The health management technology laboratory

The lab is set up to develop and verify ground and in-orbit distributed health monitoring and management technology, and develop relevant products that can be industrialized. 

 Specific technique laboratory for in-orbit maintenance

The lab is established to carry out researches on specific techniques such as space 3D print technology, in-orbit components welding, space free liquid removal technology, prevention, monitoring and evaluation of space fluid loop corrosion .

As the an overall unit of the China Manned Space Program, the Integrated Support Laboratory division has published dozens of documents, including development research and technical requirements, technical specifications, test programs, technical manual for specific projects on reliability, safety, maintainability, testability, supportability and environment worthiness. In addition, our engineers published papers in journals like the Manned Spaceflight, ICRMS and in conferences.

The data-driven equipment health assessment and decision support system which is developed by engineers in the laboratory independently has applied for a patent for invention.