This Tiangong station is the permanently-crewed result of those tests and could stay operational for more than 15 years, with crew living onboard in 6-month shifts. The first phase was to successfully send and return astronauts from space, and the second phase included smaller space stations used to test docking, spacewalks, and other necessities for a permanent installation. The Tiangong station represents the third phase of China’s crewed space program, which began in 1992.
Image created by CGTN, a state-owned Chinese news service. The Tianhe core module, which is 16.6 meters long with a maximum diameter of 4.2 meters and a takeoff mass of 22.5 tonnes, is the largest spacecraft China has ever developed. In comparison, the International Space Station has nearly four times the habitable space, calculated at 13,696 cubic feet. The core module launched in April is named Tianhe, or “harmony of the heavens.” Later modules will permanently attach onto Tianhe to expand the station for scientific experiments, building out the station’s habitable space to 3,884 cubic feet. Subsequent crews will live on board for six months at a time. The first crewed mission is scheduled for next month, in June 2021, and astronauts will live aboard the core module for three months. These launches are happening in rapid succession: China is preparing to send the first shipment of cargo to the station just three weeks after the station’s launch, which will refuel the station and deliver supplies needed to keep astronauts alive in space. The China Manned Space Agency aims to complete the space station by the end of 2022, which will mean at least 10 more launches over the next 18 months to send up supplies. The International Space Station is no longer the only research vessel orbiting the Earth.Īfter a successful launch on April 29, 2021, the core module of China’s Tiangong (translation: “celestial palace”) space station is now in orbit and has passed initial tests for rendezvous and docking maneuvers.
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