China launches first module capable of accommodating humans in space
The Tianhe central module, the future home of astronauts, was propelled by a Long-March 5B rocket from the Wenchang launch center on April 29, 2021. AP
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The Tianhe module, the future home of Chinese astronauts, was propelled by a Long-March 5B rocket from the Wenchang launch center, on the tropical island of Hainan.
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China, America's great rival in the space race.
This is again the demonstration wanted by Beijing with the launch of the first of the three elements of its future space station (CSS), called in Mandarin "Tiangong" ("Heavenly Palace").
The central Tianhe module ("Heavenly Harmony") was launched this Thursday, April 29 from the launch center in Wenchang, on the island of Hainan (south), according to public television CCTV.
It is the largest that China has ever made, over 16 meters long, 4 meters in diameter.
Tianhe weighs around 22 tons and will have to stay in orbit for more than a decade.
Around ten missions until the end of 2022
Then come other modules: Tianzhou which will dock automatically on Tianhe. Then Shenzhou-12 which is due to take astronauts aboard this CSS under construction in June. The construction will require around ten missions until the end of 2022. The identity of the crew members is not confirmed at this time. They will likely stay three months in Tianhe, setting a new orbit time record for Chinese astronauts.
The objective of this mission is to significantly increase their experience with a permanent human presence in space.
Around ten missions are planned by the end of 2022 to put these different modules into orbit.
China is investing billions of euros in its space program, in particular with the desire to carry out manned flights to the moon.
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