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Wenchang (dpa) - China has started building its own space station.
A rocket of the “Long March 5B” type was launched with the core module of the space station from the Wenchang space station on the southern Chinese island of Hainan.
The 22-tonne “Tianhe” (Heavenly Harmony) module is to form the main part of the space station, which is to be completed “around 2022”.
Ten minutes after launch, the module successfully separated from the missile, which triggered loud applause in the control center.
A little later, "Tianhe" also reached its predetermined orbit, as reported by the Chinese state media.
China's Prime Minister Li Keqiang watched the launch from the Beijing Space Center.
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Almost three decades after the first plans to build a Chinese space station, the young space travel nation begins to fulfill its dream of its own outpost in space.
"In general, a space station demonstrates the breadth of space technology in a country," said the former German astronaut Reinhold Ewald, now a professor at the University of Stuttgart, the German press agency.
"Tianhe" is 16.6 meters long and 4.2 meters in diameter. It is the largest spaceship China has ever built. Three spaceships can dock at the same time - two even for longer periods. The core module provides power and propulsion. It offers accommodation for three astronauts who can stay on board for up to six months. Two similarly sized parts for scientific experiments are to be attached in a T-shape.
In the coming weeks, two more space flights are to follow one after the other.
In May, the cargo spacecraft “Tianzhou 2” could dock with fuel and supplies.
Three astronauts are also preparing to fly to Tianhe on board Shenzhou 12, possibly in June.
The construction phase requires a tight flight plan: a total of eleven flights are planned - three flights with modules, four cargo missions and four manned space flights.
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If the obsolete international space station ISS ceases to operate as planned in the coming years, China would then be the only nation with a permanent outpost in space.
Because of US concerns, China was not invited to participate in the international space station.
China's space station, which will end up being called “Tiangong” (Heavenly Palace), will be less than half the size of the ISS with 240 tons.
"Sky Palace" is more comparable to the former Russian space station "Mir", say experts.
Although the ISS has already been criticized as too big, it said that size offers more space for research, for astronauts and more safety in emergencies.
In addition to scientific experiments in weightlessness, in a vacuum and under radiation, "Tiangong" offers the Chinese space program new opportunities to meet the necessary requirements for further missions into the depths of space.
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"You can test how people can advance into space and what you still need on the way to the moon or Mars," said ex-astronaut Ewald, who was on board the "Mir" in 1997 and who later took charge of the flights of European colleagues to the ISS supported from the ground.
The space station could be used to develop better living conditions in space and new systems for further missions.
With its two previous space laboratories, “Tiangong 1” and “Tiangong 2”, China has slowly worked its way up to the complex project that was first specifically considered in 1992 in the planning for the space program.
In addition to rendezvous and refueling maneuvers, the first Chinese space walks were practiced during the flights.
The construction of the space station was actually supposed to start earlier, but problems with the new, particularly powerful launcher caused delays.
The program has now been condensed so that it will be completed in 2022 as originally planned.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210429-99-397376 / 2
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