Contemporary off reaching one other milestone in its space station program, China might find yourself enlarging the orbiting complicated and maybe use it to assist consider applied sciences wanted for potential human exploration of the moon.
China is in place to additional promote building of its Tiangong space station sooner or later, defined Wang Xiang, space station system commander on the China Academy of Area Expertise (CAST).
“As a space station, we’re initially of our software and improvement,” Wang told China Central Television (opens in new tab) (CCTV).
Associated: The latest news about China’s space program
Extension module?
China launched two modules to the T-shaped Tiangong this 12 months, supposedly completing the three-module orbiting complex. However Wang stated that an “extension module” could possibly be launched to dock with the forepart of Tiangong. That module would go away extra space for incoming autos to dock and supply a bigger and extra comfy surroundings for crew members.
This evolving design would additionally present extra space for scientific experiments, each inside and out of doors the station, Wang stated.
“For instance, if we will perform manned lunar exploration sooner or later, then we’ve a few of the spacecraft applied sciences — even a few of the new technology of spaceship applied sciences — that may be verified in outer space,” Wang informed CCTV.
Following the plan
China’s future station ambitions have been bolstered by the latest return to Earth of the Shenzhou 14 mission, which spent six months aboard Tiangong.
The Shenzhou 14’s return capsule, carrying astronauts Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe, parachuted into the Dongfeng touchdown website in north China’s Interior Mongolia on Sunday (Dec. 4).
“We accomplished the in-orbit missions following the plan. The astronauts all went out of the cabin in good well being and all the things was carried out as deliberate. The complete manned flight was good, with none abnormality,” Shao Limin, deputy technological supervisor of manned spacecraft techniques at CAST, told CCTV (opens in new tab).
Stable basis
Xu Chong, director of the China Astronaut Analysis and Coaching Heart, stated that the Shenzhou 14 crewmembers are all in fine condition, each mentally and bodily, after their 183-day mission.
“Their return and touchdown had been clean, too. So it has laid a strong basis for the follow-up work on medical assure, medical and well being monitoring and the entire technological system all through the space station operational interval,” Xu informed CCTV.
The Shenzhou 14 crew flew to the space station on June 5. Throughout their stint in space, they oversaw 5 rendezvous and dockings, carried out three spacewalks and performed a wide range of science and expertise experiments.
Many firsts
Whereas in Earth orbit, the Shenzhou 14 trio chalked up many firsts in China’s space historical past — for instance, the primary rendezvous and docking between two 20-ton-level spacecraft and the primary in-orbit transposition of a space station module. Additionally they set a report of creating three spacewalks on a single mission.
Earlier than departing for Earth, Shenzhou 14 additionally carried out China’s first-ever crew handover, passing command of Tiangong to the newly arrived Shenzhou 15 astronauts. The Shenzhou 15 crew – commander Fei Junlong, together with Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu — arrived at Tiangong on Nov. 30.
“In accordance with the requirements of the mission define, the Shenzhou 14 manned mission was a whole success,” Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the China Manned Area Company (CMSA), told CCTV (opens in new tab).
“With the Shenzhou 14 and Shenzhou 15 ending the in-orbit rotation and Shenzhou 14 returning to the Earth safely, our deliberate mission of constructing the space station has accomplished,” Lin concluded.
Leonard David is writer of the guide “Moon Rush: The New Space Race (opens in new tab),” revealed by Nationwide Geographic in Might 2019. A longtime author for Area.com, David has been reporting on the space business for greater than 5 a long time.Observe us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or on Facebook (opens in new tab).
