China launched the primary module of its “Heavenly Palace” space station on Thursday, a milestone in Beijing’s ambitious plan to establish a permanent human presence in space.
Billions of dollars have been poured into space exploration as China seeks to reflect its rising global stature and growing technological might, following in the footsteps of the United States, Russia and Europe.
The Tianhe core module, which houses life support equipment and a living space for astronauts, was launched from Wenchang in China’s tropical Hainan province on a Long-March 5B rocket on Thursday, state television showed.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called the space station a key step in “building a great nation of science and technology” in a congratulatory message Thursday.
The Tiangong area station, whose identify means “Heavenly Palace”, is expected to be operational by 2022 after around 11 missions to deliver more modules and assemble them in orbit.
Live footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed space programme employees cheering as the rocket powered its way through the atmosphere billowing flames from the launch site.
Crowds wearing sunhats and wielding smartphone cameras gathered under the coconut trees of a nearby beach to watch the launch as a band played in photos published by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
“A palace in the sky will no longer be just a romantic fantasy of the ancients,” the CCTV anchor stated.
The accomplished station might be just like the Soviet “Mir” station that orbited Earth from the 1980s until 2001.
The Chinese space station is expected to remain in low orbit at between 400 and 450 kilometres above Earth for a lifespan of around 15 years.
The completed station, weighing little more than 90 tons, will be around a quarter the size of the International Space Station.
The station will have two other modules for scientific study and will be equipped with solar panels as well as experimental equipment including an ultracold atomic experiment apparatus, according to the Chinese Society of Astronautics.
The core module will give three astronauts 50 cubic metres of living space, equipped with advanced telecommunications equipment that will allow astronauts to browse websites “no differently from normal people using the internet and phones on Earth”, Bai Linhou, deputy chief designer of the area station, informed CCTV.
China launched the Tiangong-1 lab, its first prototype module meant to put the groundwork for the completely crewed station, in September 2011.
The lab disintegrated on re-entry into the Earth’s ambiance in 2018, two years after it ceased functioning.
A second lab, the Tiangong-2, was launched into orbit in 2016.
The International Space Station — a collaboration between the US, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan — is because of be retired after 2024, though NASA has stated it might probably stay purposeful past 2028.
With the retirement of the ISS, which acquired its first crew in 2000, China’s Tiangong might turn into the one area station in Earth’s orbit.
Beijing doesn’t have particular plans to make use of its area station for worldwide cooperation just like the ISS, however Chinese area authorities have stated they’re open to overseas collaboration, though the scope of that cooperation is as but unclear.
The European Space Agency has despatched astronauts to China to obtain coaching as a way to be able to work contained in the Chinese area station as soon as it’s launched.
China additionally stated in March it was planning to construct a separate lunar area station with Russia.
The facility, deliberate for both the floor or the orbit of the Moon, would home experimental analysis amenities and can be Beijing’s largest worldwide area cooperation venture thus far.
The nation has come a good distance since its first satellite tv for pc in 1970.
It put the primary Chinese “taikonaut” in space in 2003 and landed the Chang’e-4 robot on the far side of the Moon in 2019 — a historic first.
The Chinese space programme sent a probe into Mars’ orbit earlier this year.
The wheeled probe is expected to touch down on the surface of Mars in mid-May.
Read all of the Latest News and Breaking News right here
