Sun Kaizhi/Wu Qingze/Wu Zhitao/Zhen Heng of China compete during the bobsleigh four-man heat at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the National Sliding Centre in Yanqing District, Beijing, China, February 20, 2022. /Xinhua
The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology houses a dedicated workshop to manufacture rocket fairings and return capsules for bringing taikonauts back to Earth. However, it has now expanded its assembly line to include a new product – the bobsled.
Renowned for its awe-inspiring velocity and precision, the bobsled race is poised to become even swifter and fiercer as a novel sled crafted with Chinese rocket technology takes on the high-speed sporting slopes.
In collaboration with domestic luxury auto brand Hongqi, the academy has recently presented the latest sled they co-created to the national bobsled team, marking a new milestone in their collaborative efforts to develop the third generation of the domestic bobsled.
Du Jiani and Ying Qing of China compete during the bobsleigh two-woman heat at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the National Sliding Centre in Yanqing District, Beijing, China, February 19, 2022. /Xinhua
In January 2021, they unveiled the first version of their own sled. Subsequently, in September 2021, five months before the Beijing Winter Olympics, they delivered the second-generation to the Chinese sports authorities.
As one of the fastest sports on Earth, bobsledding is a team event in which two to four people race down an ice track riding a specially designed sled, with the winning team completing the route in the shortest time. A bobsled in the race can achieve a speed ranging from 135 to 165 km per hour. The event has been a part of the Winter Games since its first edition in 1924.
However, China did not set up a national bobsled squad until 2016. In October 2019, researchers at the academy, China's leading rocket manufacturer, were tasked with designing the first homegrown racing bobsled.
Noting the critical nature of the equipment in the sport, they had hoped to take advantage of rocket material and aerospace engineering to make the Chinese team more competitive.
Ying Qing of China competes during the bobsleigh women's monobob competition at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the National Sliding Centre in Yanqing District, Beijing, China, February 14, 2022. /Xinhua
But none of the engineers had ever seen an actual sled.
"Constructing a previously unseen product within a year presented us with an immense challenge," lead researcher Zhou Yu recalled. "Before this task, our knowledge of bobsledding was limited to mere glimpses from online imagery. However, the design and manufacturing process remained elusive."
In the early stage of the project, there were only a few players and no racing track in China. Furthermore, the bobsleds purchased by the national team had been sent overseas due to training requirements, leaving no race sled available for research reference within China.
Zhou's team started with only a technical manual and two old models purchased from abroad, which they were not allowed to disassemble.
Huai Mingming (front) and Wang Xuan of China competes during the bobsleigh two-woman heat at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the National Sliding Centre in Yanqing District, Beijing, China, February 19, 2022. /Xinhua
After weeks of study, they found that the rocketry aerodynamics and structural design could be adapted to help the sled's body minimize air resistance.
They chose carbon fiber composite, a lightweight material used in the rocket nose cones, as the sled's surface material.
In integrating rocket tech with the architecture of sports facilities, rocket scientists prioritized speed and safety. At the same time, car experts focused on comfort, making the sled tailored to suit the physique and customs of Chinese athletes.
According to the designers, the speed of the China-made sled exceeded 160 km per hour in tests, making it among the fastest in the world.
The third generation delivered a better performance on ice. Mao Kezhu, a senior engineer at the academy, said the new version adopts blended wing body architecture and design, further reducing air resistance by 13 percent compared to the previous generations, which can massively enhance the performance of athletes.
The academy now can produce up to 105 sleds per year.
"I would be very proud if Chinese athletes can ride the homegrown bobsleds, speeding down the ice track and obtaining good scores at the Winter Olympic Games," Zhou said.