China launched the third and final module to complete its permanent space station on Monday, the culmination of more than a decade of efforts to maintain a constant presence of crew members in orbit.
The module, named Mengtian, was launched into space at 3:39 p.m. (07:39 a.m. in Lisbon) from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in China’s southernmost island province of Hainan.
A large crowd of amateur photographers and space enthusiasts watched the liftoff from an adjacent beach. Many waved Chinese flags and wore T-shirts emblazoned with the country’s name in Chinese characters, reflecting the deep national pride invested in the space program and the technological progress it represents.
Mengtian, or “Heavenly Dream,” joins Wentian as the station’s second laboratory module, collectively known as Tiangong, or “Heavenly Palace.”
Both are connected to the central module, called the Tianhe, where the crew lives and works.
Mengtian was launched aboard a Long March 5B Y4 carrier rocket.
The module must spend 13 hours in flight before reaching Tiangong, which is inhabited by a crew of three astronauts, including two men and one woman, according to the China Manned Space Agency.
Chen Dong, Cai Xuzhe and Liu Yang arrived in early June for a six-month stay on board, during which they will complete station assembly, spacewalking and various experiences.
After Mengtian’s arrival, another unmanned freighter is expected to dock at the station next month, with another manned mission scheduled for December. The crews must overlap for a few weeks, as the Tiangong has enough space to accommodate six astronauts.
The Mengtian weighs about 20 tons and is 17.9 meters long and 4.2 meters in diameter. This module will provide space to conduct science experiments in zero gravity, an air chamber for exposure to the vacuum of space, and a small robotic arm to support additional vehicular loads.
The 23-ton laboratory was designed for scientific and biological experiments and is heavier than any other single-module spacecraft currently in space.
Next year, China plans to launch the Xuntian Space Telescope, which, while not part of Tiangong, will orbit in sequence with the station and may occasionally dock with the space station for maintenance.
In total, the station will have about 110 cubic meters of pressurized interior space.
China’s manned space program officially completed three decades this year, but it actually began in 2003, when China became the third country after the United States and Russia to put a human in space.
The program is administered by the Communist Party’s military wing, the People’s Liberation Army, and has proceeded methodically and almost entirely without outside support. The United States excluded China from the International Space Station due to military ties.
Before launching the Tianhe module, China’s Manned Space Program launched a pair of single-module stations that briefly functioned as test platforms.
The permanent Chinese station will weigh about 66 tons, a fraction of the size of the International Space Station, which launched its first module in 1998 and weighs about 465 tons.
China has also had success with unmanned missions, and its lunar exploration program has included launching a probe to the far side of the Moon, which is not visible from Earth.
Another Chinese probe is looking for evidence of life on Mars. Authorities are also considering carrying out a manned mission to the Moon.
China is still developing a highly secret space plane.
Source: TSF
