Page 4 - Spec Tech Vol 1 Issue 07
P. 4
China launches final module to complete
Tiangong space station
Image credit: Space.com
The Mengtian module launched to Earth orbit crew members for a brief time during crew
atop a Long March 5B heavy-lift rocket from handovers. Tiangong's first crew handover
Wenchang, south China, at 3:37 a.m. EDT is expected before the end of the year when
(0737 GMT and 3:37 p.m Beijing time) on the ongoing Shenzhou 14 mission
Monday (Oct. 31), according to the state-run astronauts welcome aboard the
outlet Xinhua News. Mengtian arrived at new Shenzhou 15 crew, who will launch on
Tiangong as planned about 13 hours after a Long March 2F rocket from the Gobi
liftoff, according to the China Manned Space Desert. Ahead of this, China will launch the
Agency. The launch marked China's ninth Tianzhou 5 cargo mission to Tiangong in
space station-related mission since sending November to deliver supplies to support the
the Tianhe core module into orbit in April last new crew expedition.
year. Mengtian, whose name means Tiangong has so far hosted three crewed
"Dreaming of the Heavens," is a 58.7-foot-long missions, starting with the three-month
(17.9 meters) and roughly 48,500-pound (22 Shenzhou 12 mission from June to
metric tons) spacecraft designed mainly to September 2021. The Shenzhou 13 crew
host an array of science racks and launched in October that year, returning to
experiments. Equipment installed on board Earth on April 16. Shenzhou 14 astronauts
Mengtian will be used for experiments related Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe have
to microgravity, fluid physics, materials been in orbit since June 5, and have been
science, combustion science, fundamental aboard to receive both the Wentian and
physics and more. The docking of Mengtian Mengtian science modules.
with Tiangong marks the end of the space
station's assembly phase and the start of full There are also more plans for Tiangong,
operations, Chinese space officials have said. alongside hosting science programs and
Mengtian's arrival allows China to realize a official astronauts. The space station will
vision for a space station approved way back also support a powerful survey space
in 1992. telescope named Xuntian that China plans
to launch as soon as late 2023. The
The Tiangong space station consists of Hubble-class observatory will operate in a
Tianhe, Mengtian and a module called similar orbit to that of Tiangong, meaning it
Wentian. The T-shaped Tiangong will host will be able to dock at the station for
three astronauts for six months at a time, or six
refueling, upgrades and repairs.
Space Explorer 2022 4
