Update 24 Jul 2022: China launches Wentian module to Tiangong space station
China on Sunday launched Wentian, the first lab module of its space station. The new module will function both as a backup of the core module and as a powerful scientific experiment platform. The Wentian module is 17.9 meters long, has a maximum diameter of 4.2 meters and a takeoff mass of 23 tonnes, almost the size of a subway car in Beijing. It is the heaviest single-cabin active spacecraft in orbit in the world, according to Liu Gang, deputy chief designer of the China manned space program's space station system with the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST).
The Wentian module consists of a work cabin, an airlock cabin and a resource cabin. The Long March-5B Y3 carrier rocket, carrying Wentian, blasted off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on the coast of the southern island province of Hainan at 2:22 p.m. (Beijing Time), according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). About 495 seconds later, Wentian separated from the rocket and entered the planned orbit. The launch is a complete success, the CMSA declared.
This is the 24th flight mission since the country's manned space program was approved and initiated. The construction of China's Tiangong space station is expected to be completed this year. It will then evolve from a single-module structure into a national space laboratory with three modules -- the core module Tianhe, and lab modules Wentian and Mengtian. The Tianhe module was launched in April 2021, and the Mengtian module is set to be launched in October this year.
China launches space station core module Tianhe
The Long March-5B Y2 rocket, carrying the Tianhe module, blasts off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province, April 29, 2021. China on Thursday sent into space the core module of its space station, kicking off a series of key launch missions that aim to complete the construction of the station by the end of next year. (Xinhua/Ju Zhenhua)
The Long March-5B Y2 rocket, carrying the Tianhe module, blasted off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on the coast of the southern island province of Hainan at 11:23 a.m. (Beijing Time). About 494 seconds later, Tianhe separated from the rocket and entered the planned orbit. At 12:36 p.m., its solar panels unfolded and started to work properly. The successful launch of the core module marks that China's space station construction has entered the full implementation stage, which lays a solid foundation for the follow-up tasks, said Chinese President Xi Jinping in a congratulatory message.
Tianhe will act as the management and control hub of the space station Tiangong, meaning Heavenly Palace, with a node that could dock with up to three spacecraft at a time for short stays, or two for long, said Bai Linhou, deputy chief designer of the space station at the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Tianhe has a total length of 16.6 meters, a maximum diameter of 4.2 meters and a takeoff mass of 22.5 tonnes, and is the largest spacecraft developed by China. The space station will be a T shape with the core module at the center and a lab capsule on each side. Each module will be over 20 tonnes. When the station docks with both manned and cargo spacecraft, its weight could reach nearly 100 tonnes. The station will operate in the low-Earth orbit at an altitude from 340 km to 450 km. It has a designed lifespan of 10 years, but experts believe it could last more than 15 years with appropriate maintenance and repairs.
China launches Tianhe space station core module into orbit
Liftoff of the Long March 5B rocket carrying the Tianhe core module for the Chinese Space Station. Credit: CCTV
China successfully launched a 22-metric-ton module April 29, beginning an intense period of missions for constructing the nation’s own space station. A Long March 5B heavy-lift rocket lifted off from the coastal Wenchang spaceport at 11:23 p.m. Eastern. The Tianhe space station core module separated from the first stage after 490 seconds of flight. Solar array deployment occurred just over an hour after launch. Li Shangfu, chief commander of the China Manned Spaceflight Program, announced launch success shortly after.
Tianhe, or “harmony of the heavens,” is now expected to raise its orbit to around 370 kilometers above the Earth. The uncrewed Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft is slated to rendezvous and dock with Tianhe in mid-late May, ahead of the visit of three astronauts aboard Shenzhou-12 in June. The missions will be the first three of 11 launches scheduled for 2021 and 2022 to build the planned 66-ton, three-module orbital outpost. A Long March 2F rocket and Shenzhou spacecraft will also be on standby at all times at Jiuquan to perform emergency rescue missions to the space station, a senior space official stated in March. Tianhe, a much larger upgrade on China’s smaller, 8-ton Tiangong testbed space labs, is equipped with a multi-docking hub to facilitate construction of the space station and allow crew to embark on extravehicular activities. The 16.6-meter-long, 4.2-meter-diameter Tianhe will provide regenerative life support and the main living quarters for astronauts as well as propulsion to maintain orbital altitude.
The construction phase of China’s space station begins nearly 30 years after the project was first approved, back in 1992. Across this period China has developed and tested the Shenzhou spacecraft and Long March 2F for human spaceflight, Tianlian relay satellites, rendezvous and docking technologies, refueling in microgravity, new launch vehicles and the coastal Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in order to proceed with the project. The CSS is expected to operate in orbit for at least ten years. Experiment modules named Wentian and Mengtian, expected to launch in 2022, will host a plethora of experiments in areas including astronomy, space medicine, space life science, biotechnology, microgravity fluid physics, microgravity combustion and space technologies.
China launches first module of new space station
The Tianhe module was launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre
China has launched a key module of a new permanent space station, the latest in Beijing's increasingly ambitious space programme. The Tianhe module - which contains living quarters for crew members - was launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre on a Long March-5B rocket. China hopes to have the new station operational by 2022.
The only space station currently in orbit is the International Space Station, from which China is excluded. China has been a late starter when it comes to space exploration. It was only in 2003 that it sent its first astronaut into orbit, making it the third country to do so, after the Soviet Union and the US. So far, China has sent two previous space stations into orbit. The Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2 were trial stations though, simple modules that allowed only relatively short stays by astronauts.
The new, 66-tonne, multi-module Tiangong station is set to be operational for at least 10 years. Tianhe is the core component of it. It is 16.6m long and 4.2m wide. It will provide power and propulsion and contains the life support technologies and living quarters required by visiting astronauts. Beijing plans to have at least 10 more similar launches, carrying all the additional equipment into orbit, before the completion of the station next year. It will orbit Earth at an altitude of 340 to 450km (210-280 miles).
Tianhe, the core of the Chinese Space Station
Tianhe launched on April 29, 2021. The 24-ton space station blasted off from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on the Chinese island of Hainan aboard a Long March 5B rocket
China has long had its sights set on establishing its own space station in low-Earth orbit. The country, which is not an International Space Station partner, has spent the last few decades making preparations, even launching two space labs — Tiangong-1 in 2011 and Tiangong-2 in 2016. Though both space stations were eventually destroyed upon re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, they provided critical information for future modules that would form a much larger space station.
That’s where Tianhe comes in. Tianhe — which means “harmony of the heavens" — is literally and figuratively at the core of China’s space station. As the foundational module, it will provide life support and living quarters for 3 crewmembers. It will also host a control center and docking hub, which will allow Tianhe to link with yet-to-be-launched science modules.
China's first space station core module Tianhe
The Tianhe core module is the largest and most complicated spacecraft independently developed by China.
It can support astronauts carrying out different scientific and technical experiments in space.
The Tianhe core module is the basis, while the next two modules will be assembled later in orbit to form the complete Chinese space station.
Tianhe core module
Rendering of Tianhe core module with the robotic arm at docking position
Tianhe (Chinese: 天和; pinyin: Tiānhé; lit. 'Harmony of the Heavens'), officially the Tianhe core module (Chinese: 天和核心舱), is the first module to launch of the Tiangong space station. It was launched into orbit on 29 April 2021, as the first launch of the final phase of Tiangong program, part of the China Manned Space Program (Project 921).
Tianhe follows in the footsteps of Salyut, Skylab, Mir, International Space Station, Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2 space stations. It is the first module of a third-generation Chinese modular space station. Other examples of modular station projects include the Soviet/Russian Mir, Russian OPSEK, and the International Space Station. Operations will be controlled from the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center.
In 2018, a fullscale mockup of Tianhe was publicly presented at China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai. In October 2020, China selected 18 new astronauts ahead of the space station construction to participate in the country's space station project.
China space station: What is the Tiangong?
China launched a 23-tonne research lab module to its newly built space station Tiangong on Sunday 24 July. The lab Wentian, or "Quest for the Heavens", is expected to carry out biological and life science research
Tiangong space station, or "Heavenly Palace", is China's new permanent space station. The country has previously launched two temporary trial space stations, named as Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2.
The new lab Wentian is the second of three key modules to Tiangong. The first key module Tianhe - which contains living quarters for crew members - was sent into orbit in April 2021. The other key module, Mengtian science lab, is due to be launched by the end of 2022.
China has big ambitions for Tiangong. The station will have its own power, propulsion, life support systems and living quarters. It is also designed to provide refuelling power to China's new space telescope, called Xuntian, which will fly close to the space station next year.
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