In a few days, China plans to launch three astronauts to the Tiangong space station, which is still under construction. The country has these plans with the space station.
The first part of Tiangong (Chinese for Heavenly Palace) was launched last April. That is a tube almost 17 meters long and just over 4 meters wide. There the three astronauts have to live, eat, sleep, exercise, work and do research.
It is also not the first time that taikonauts, or space travelers from China, go to the space station. The first group left for Tiangong in October. They spent a total of six months on board the space station.
During their stay, the astronauts made spacewalks and carried out checks on the so-called living module. They also tested an existing robot arm and sorted supplies for new missions. In the future, it is planned that they will conduct technological and scientific experiments.
Modules must be linked together
China hopes to complete Tiangong by the end of the year. To do this, however, two other components must first be linked to the first module. This is expected to happen in July and October. Once all modules are linked, there are four resupply missions to take place.
Each module weighs approximately 20,000 kilograms, bringing the total weight of the space station to 60,000 kilograms. Tiangong has a lifespan of ten years.
Once construction is complete, there will be room for six astronauts on board. They will then have a total of more than 110 cubic meters at their disposal. The space station will also contain three large supply hatches: two for astronauts and one for delivering cargo.
China is not a partner of the ISS space station
When Tiangong is completed, China will be the only country to operate its own space station. China is not a partner of the ISS space station, which includes Europe, the United States and Russia. The country is therefore dependent on its own station.
Until now, China has hardly or not at all cooperated with other countries in space travel. When the space station is ready, that may change. “In the near future, we will see both Chinese and foreign astronauts together on the Chinese space station,” said a director of the Chinese space program.
The country has even more big plans in the field of space travel. Last year it already put down a rover on Mars and in 2033 it also wants a manned landing on the ‘red planet’ to carry out† In 2019, China became the first country to ever land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon.
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