Crew boards Chinese space station
Tiangong is still under construction with more crew flights planned
China’s new permanent space station, Tiangong, received its first crew on 17 June. The three-person crew will remain on the station for at least 33 days, setting a new record for Chinese spaceflight. During this time, the team will verify the station’s life support systems, as well as conduct a spacewalk using suits brought up by a previous cargo flight.
“We need to set up our new home in space and test a series of new technologies,” says Nie Haisheng, the mission’s commander.
Currently, the station only has one module – the core module, Tianhe – meaning the crew will be living and working in a space just 16.6m-long and 4.2m-wide. Two more science modules will be sent to the station in 2022 and these will be installed by future crews. http://en.cmse.gov.cn/