(ORDO NEWS) — China is not participating in the ISS project. The country decided to build its own orbital station to conduct various research in space. According to sources, Tiangong is ready for a full-fledged launch.
The docking of the Mentian module with the Tianhe base module was carried out on November 1. This is the third and final part of the station that China planned to join.
What is known
- The Mengtian module launched the Long March-5V launch vehicle into orbit.
- The launch of the Long March-5B heavy-class rocket at the Wenchang Cosmodrome took place at 3:37 local time on October 31.
- After 25 minutes, the module disengaged and entered low Earth orbit.
- Turning on his own shunting engines, he went to rendezvous with the Tiangong space station, which is located approximately 380-387 kilometers from the Earth’s surface.
- The docking took place at 16:27, as announced by the Space Agency CMSA.
This block is intended for conducting scientific experiments inside and outside the station.
Here, taikonauts (as astronauts are called in China) will conduct biomedical research, as well as experiments in fluid physics, materials science, and aerospace medicine.
The module, almost 18 meters long and weighing 23 tons, consists of four compartments: a workspace with racks for experiments, a payload storage compartment, a depressurized airlock compartment, with which astronauts can place experiments on suspended platforms outside the station without going into outer space, and the service compartment, where solar panels are located and equipment for communication with the Earth is installed.
Also, with the help of the new airlock, China will be able to launch small satellites into space. The mission was a success, with the entire procedure, from launch to docking, lasting less than 13 hours.
The Mengtian will soon be moved to the docking ring to give the station its planned T-shape. The Wentian module took its place in September.
The total weight of the Tiangong station, located at an altitude of 400 kilometers, will be about 90 tons. The service life is about 10 years
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