Astronauts training for space station
Print Edition
CHINA said yesterday a cohort of astronauts is training for four crewed missions this year as the country works to complete its first permanent orbiting space station.
The station’s core module, christened Tianhe, is slated to be launched for the first half of this year, according to the China National Space Administration. The massive Long March-5B Y2 rocket and its payload were moved into place last month at the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in tropical Hainan Province for assembly and testing.
That launch would be the first of 11 missions over the next two years to finish constructing the station by the end of 2022. Two other modules will be launched later, along with four Tianzhou cargo supply mission and the four Shenzhou crewed missions.
The successful launch of China’s Long March-5B carrier rocket in May 2020 inaugurated the “third step” of China’s manned space program, which is to assemble and operate a fully-functional space station around 2022, according to a statement released by China Manned Space Engineering Office yesterday.
Besides the Long March-5B rocket, more types of Long March carrier rockets will be used to support the construction, Jiang Jie, a rocket expert with China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, said on Wednesday.
The Long March-7 rocket will launch the Tianzhou-2 and Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft, and the Long March-2F will launch the Shenzhou-12 and Shenzhou-13 manned spacecraft into space, said Jiang.
As the construction of the space station entails multiple docking missions, the rocket launch time should be precisely calculated, a challenge for the Long March-5B and Long March-7 rockets, Jiang added.
CNSA listed 12 astronauts training for the crewed missions, including veterans of previous Shenzhou flights, newcomers and women, though it wasn’t clear if there were others selected.
Up to three crew members will reportedly live at a time in the core module, which has docking ports to allow the attachment of scientific modules launched later.
China has already launched two smaller experimental space stations to test measures for rendezvous, docking and life support aboard. Once completed, the permanent space station will allow for stays of up to six months, similar to the International Space Station. The Chinese station reportedly is intended to be used for 15 years and may outlast ISS, which is nearing the end of its functional lifespan.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
