Posts: 51422 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 11-06-2018 09:05 PM
Please use this thread for comments and questions about China's first multi-module space station.
SpaceAholic Member
Posts: 5301 From: Sierra Vista, Arizona Registered: Nov 1999
posted 11-06-2018 09:07 PM
China unveiled on Tuesday (Nov. 6) a replica of its first crewed space station.
The 17-metre (55-foot) core module was a star attraction at the biennial Airshow China in the southern coastal city of Zhuhai, the country's main aerospace industry exhibition...
Three astronauts will be permanently stationed in the 60-tonne orbiting lab, which will enable the crew to conduct biological and microgravity research.
Assembly is expected to be completed around 2022 and the station would have a lifespan of around 10 years.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 51422 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 11-06-2018 09:13 PM
Xinhua photos of the the Tianhe ("Harmony of the Heavens") core module replica:
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 51422 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 04-28-2021 10:05 PM
CGTN video
A Long March-5B Y2 rocket carrying Tianhe, the core module of China's first permanent space station, is blasting off from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province. CGTN brings you the latest on one of the most important missions in China's aerospace history.
SkyMan1958 Member
Posts: 1338 From: CA. Registered: Jan 2011
posted 04-29-2021 03:38 PM
Congratulations to the Chinese for the successful launch of the core module of their space station.
dom Member
Posts: 1062 From: Registered: Aug 2001
posted 04-29-2021 04:22 PM
Interesting that its design is based on the old Soviet Mir station, whose back-up Mir 2 got recycled as part of the ISS...
SkyMan1958 Member
Posts: 1338 From: CA. Registered: Jan 2011
posted 04-29-2021 06:30 PM
It's not particularly surprising that the design is based on Mir. Much of the Chinese space program is based on Soviet/Russian designs from technology transfers started in the mid 1990's. Sometimes the Chinese paid for the technical transfer, and sometimes they did straight intellectual property theft.
One thing that I find interesting about the politics of the Chinese Space Station (CSS), is that Roscosmos asked the CSNA to increase the inclination of the CSS (from 41 or 42 degrees) to at least the ISS inclination of 51 degrees, so that Russian spacecraft could dock with it. The Chinese said no. Interestingly this means that the US could in theory dock with the CSS, but not the Russians.
issman1 Member
Posts: 1115 From: UK Registered: Apr 2005
posted 04-30-2021 10:10 AM
A bit surprised the CSS is inclined in a low equatorial orbit, meaning it's not visible from my location.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 51422 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 05-21-2021 10:57 AM
From journalist Andrew Jones (via Twitter):
Images from China's Tianhe space station core module showing the Earth, solar arrays, and the interior. Credit: CMSA
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 51422 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 12-07-2022 07:15 PM
China is considering adding more modules to its recently completed Tiangong space station, reports SpaceNews.
China recently completed construction of its three-module, T-shaped Tiangong space station and conducted its first crew handover, seeing the Shenzhou-14 mission astronauts welcome aboard three new astronauts from Shenzhou-15.
The potential next phase would be adding a new core module, Wang Xiang, commander of the space station system at the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST).
"Following our current design, we can continue to launch an extension module to dock with the forward section of the space station, and the extension module can carry a new hub for docking with the subsequent space vehicles," Wang told CCTV following the return to Earth of the Shenzhou-14 crew Dec. 4.
SkyMan1958 Member
Posts: 1338 From: CA. Registered: Jan 2011
posted 12-07-2022 11:54 PM
Given the sort of years long planning necessary to model/create new space station orbital segments, I'm guessing the Chinese already had a plan up their sleeve to expand the CSS and are just starting to drip, drip, drip the info out there. It will be interesting to see how they plan to stabilize and periodically reboost the CSS, as clearly a new segment would cause issues with the current CSS parameters in these two areas.
In any case, there is one, I'll call it free floating segment, that is currently already scheduled to be deployed, the Xuntian section, or as known in the West, as the Chinese Survey Space Telescope. In theory it will launch December 2023. While the majority of the time it will be in a slightly different orbital phase than the CSS, it will periodically dock with the CSS for servicing etc.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 51422 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 11-29-2023 10:37 AM
When the Shenzhou 16 crew departed in October, they photographed the complete Tiangong space station in orbit:
posted 11-06-2018 09:05 PM
advertisement