First lab space station module launched
CHINA yesterday launched Wentian, the first laboratory module of its space station. The new module will function both as a backup of the core module and as a powerful scientific experiment platform.
The Wentian module is 17.9 meters long, has a maximum diameter of 4.2 meters, and a takeoff mass of 23 tons, according to Liu Gang, deputy chief designer of the China manned space program’s space station system with the China Academy of Space Technology.
The Wentian module consists of a work cabin, an airlock cabin and a resource cabin.
The Long March-5B Y3 carrier rocket, carrying Wentian, blasted off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on the coast of the southern island province of Hainan at 2:22pm, the China Manned Space Agency said.
About 495 seconds later, Wentian separated from the rocket and entered the planned orbit. The launch is a complete success, the CMSA declared.
Hundreds of people gathered on nearby beaches to take photos of the launcher rising through the air in a plume of white smoke.
This is the 24th flight mission since the country’s manned space program was launched.
Construction of China’s Tiangong space station is expected to be completed this year. It will then evolve from a single-module structure into a national space laboratory with three modules — the core module, Tianhe, and two lab modules, Wentian and Mengtian.
The Tianhe module was launched in April 2021, and the Mengtian module is set to be launched in October this year. The Wentian module has three sleeping areas and space for scientific experiments.
It will dock with the existing
module in space, a challenging operation that experts said will require several high-precision manipulations and the use of a robotic arm.
“This is the first time China has docked such large vehicles together, which is a delicate operation,” said Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
He said until the next module arrives, the space station will have a “rather unusual L-shape” which will take a lot of power to keep stable.
“These are all technical challenges that the USSR pioneered with the Mir
station in the late 1980s, but it’s new to China,” he said. “But it will result in a much more capable station with the space and power to carry out more scientific experiments.”
Wentian will also serve as a backup platform to control the space station in the event of a failure.
China has made large strides in catching up with the United States and Russia, where astronauts and cosmonauts have decades of experience in space exploration.
“The CSS (Chinese Space Station) will complete its construction ... in one and half a year which will be
the fastest in history for any modular space station,” said Chen Lan, analyst for the site Go-Taikonauts. com, which specializes in China’s space program. “In comparison, the constructions of Mir and the International Space Station took 10 and 12 years, respectively.”
China’s space program has already landed a rover on Mars and sent probes to the Moon.
In addition to a space station, China is also planning to build a base on the Moon and send humans there by 2030.