China will have a national space station in low-Earth orbit. Yesterday, April 29, the press service of the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) reported that the launch vehicle "Changzheng-5B" successfully put into orbit the base module of the future space station.
"Sixty years after Yuri Gagarin made his first space journey, China has launched the main capsule of its space station, officially starting the creation of one of the largest and most complex space objects of mankind»,- reported in the press service of the CNSA.
Launch of the Changzheng-5B rocket with the Tianhe module»
Image source: cnsa.gov.cn
The base module "Tianhe" ("Harmony of the Heavens") of the future orbital station "Tiangong" ("Heavenly Palace") has a mass of 22.5 tons and a volume of 50 cubic meters. The Changzheng-5B launch vehicle was launched from the Wenchang Space Center on Hainan Island at 11: 25 Beijing time (06: 25 Moscow time).
The" construction " of the orbital station will continue for about another year. During this time, it is planned to dock two space laboratories to the main module, deliver the station personnel, as well as carry out several cargo deliveries.
When fully assembled, the station will have a mass of about 70 tons. "Tianhe "is designed to work for fifteen years. Seventeen countries have already confirmed their participation in nine scientific projects at the Chinese space station.
