China is making progress in building its first outpost in space. A Long March 5B launch vehicle carrying the second of three modules took off from Hainan Island on Sunday. As planned, the 23-ton laboratory module Wentian (“Searching for Heaven”) was detached ten minutes after launch.
Wentian is almost 18 meters long and intended for scientific experiments. In addition, the module has an airlock for exit from space and can permanently accommodate three astronauts.
The Mengtian module (“Dreams of the Heavens”) is expected to follow in October, state broadcaster CCTV reports. Both Mengtian and Wentian are designed to interface with the Tianhe module. Tianhe, the center of the planned space station, has been in orbit since April 2021.
Currently, Commander Chen Dong and his colleagues Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe are aboard the Tianhe (“Harmony of Heavens”). They are replaced by a new team at the end of the year after the completion of the space station and return to Earth.
The completed space station is shaped like a “T”. It will be about a fifth the mass of the International Space Station (ISS). ISS is supported by the US, Russia, Japan, Canada and European countries. The United States has prevented China from joining the ISS.
Source: Krone
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