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Zhuji-produced springs used in Long March rockets

chinadaily.com.cn| Updated: June 8, 2021 L M S

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Tianzhou 2, a robotic cargo ship, blasts off on a Long March 7 carrier rocket at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province on May 29. [Photo by Tu Haichao/for chinadaily.com.cn]

Tianzhou 2, the first spacecraft to visit the recently deployed core module of China's Tiangong space station, flew with a Long March 7 carrier rocket that took off from Hainan province on May 29.

After a 10-minute flight atop the 53-meter rocket, the craft entered a low-Earth orbit and soon unfolded its solar panels, entering its operational mode, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

Han Yingsheng, head engineer of Zhuji Hardware and Spring Factory, was quite excited at the news as it was his company that produced the carrier rocket's key components, springs.

In 2014, the 20-person company undertook a business order from Shanghai Aerospace Equipments Manufacturer Co. "They sent us a blueprint for springs with a wire diameter of eight millimeters, saying they will consider cooperation with us if we can deliver as demanded," said Han.

"I gathered our best people and spent five days designing and testing. Finally, we finished 10 sample springs, with diameter errors that were controlled between 0.2 and 0.4 mm," said Han. "It's quite amazing as the diameter errors of springs in spacecrafts are usually between 1.5 and 2 mm."

Shanghai Aerospace Equipments Manufacturer Co signed a cooperation agreement with Zhuji Hardware and Spring Factory one day after they received the samples, saying they chose partners "not because of their scale, but for their product quality and service attitude."

Since then, the small Zhuji company has provided more than 10,000 springs for China's carrier rockets, spacecrafts, and lunar rovers.

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A letter of thanks from the scientists and technicians developing China's largest carrier rocket, the Long March 5. [Photo/shaoxing.com.cn]