- The Chinese space station is expected to be built by the end of 2022
- Shenzhou-14 astronauts will monitor the arrival of the last two modules
- Space station to commemorate the permanent Chinese inhabitation of space
BEIJING, June 5 (Reuters) – China on Sunday sent three astronauts on a six-month mission to monitor a key period in the construction of its space station, whose final modules are due to be launched in the coming months.
The space station, when completed by the end of the year, will place an important milestone in China’s three-decade space program, first approved in 1992 and initially codenamed “Project 921”. This will also mark the beginning of China’s permanent inhabitation of space.
Completion of the structure, about one-fifth of the International Space Station (ISS) in mass, is a source of pride among ordinary Chinese and limits President Xi Jinping’s 10 years as leader of the ruling Communist Party.
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The Long March-2F rocket, which was used to launch China’s first space flight with a crew on the Shenzhou-5 mission in 2003, took off from the Jiuquan satellite launch center in the Gobi Desert in northwestern China at 10:44 a.m. ( 02:44 GMT) with the Shenzhou-14 spacecraft, or “Divine Court”, and its three astronauts, showed a live broadcast on state television.
“I watched the launch of Shenzhou-5 when I was a primary school student, and now we have Shenzhou-14,” Zana Zhang, a social media developer, told Reuters.
“Of course I’m super excited and I’m as proud as a Chinese. We’re one step closer to becoming a space superpower,” said the 25-year-old.
Construction began in April last year with the launch of the first and largest of its three modules – Tianhe – the living quarters of visiting astronauts. The Wentian and Mengtian laboratory modules should be launched in July and October, respectively.
Shenzhou Mission Commander Chen Dong, 43, and his teammates Liu Yang, 43, and Cai Suji, 46, all of China’s second group of astronauts, will live and work on the space station for about 180 days before return to Earth in December with the arrival of the Shenzhou-15 crew.
“AGAINST BATTLE”
Former Air Force pilot Chen Liu, who became China’s first female astronaut in space a decade ago, and Kai space mission debutante will oversee the meeting, docking and integration of Wentian and Mengtian with the core module.
They will also install equipment inside and outside the space station and conduct a number of scientific studies.
“The Shenzhou-14 mission is a key battle in the construction phase of the Chinese space station,” Chen told a news conference in Jiuquan on Saturday. “The task will be more difficult, there will be more problems and the challenges will be greater.”
When completed, the T-shaped space station can hold up to 25 laboratory cabinets, each of which is a micro-laboratory that can be used to conduct experiments. Wentian will be equipped to support life research, while Mengtian will focus on microgravity experiments.
Wentian will also have an airlock cabin for off-road travel, as well as short-term accommodation for astronauts during crew rotations.
The space station has been designed for life for at least a decade.
Its ability to accommodate only three astronauts in the long term, compared to seven on the ISS, does not prevent China from inviting foreign astronauts in its ambition to internationalize the space station.
The three-module station could be expanded to a four-module cross-configuration in the future, the space station’s deputy designer told Chinese media last year.
Reflecting the ISS, spacecraft and modules launched by other nations are also welcome to join and become a long-term member of the Chinese station. A commercial human space flight to the station is also being studied.
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Report by Ryan Wu and Ella Kao; Edited by William Mallard and Muralikumar Anantaraman
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