China wants to make its Tiangong space station bigger and better

China has been operating the completed Tiangong orbital outpost for nearly two years and is seeking to expand its capabilities with new modules and spacecraft.

Three-module, T-shaped Tiangong Space Station was fully assembled in November 2022, with the arrival Mengtian Science Module. However, the station looks set to grow again.

“In the future, we will try to upgrade our capacity,” said Li Ming, chairman of the science and technology committee of the Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST), speaking at a plenary session on human spaceflight at the International Astronautical Congress in China. Milan, Italy, October 17. CAST designed and manufactured modules for Tiangong.

upgrades to Tiangong According to Lee, this will happen in several stages. The first will be upgrading the core module of China’s Tianhe space station to be able to accept additional modules.

Connected: Chinese Tiangong Space Station: A Complete Guide

“To this end, we are trying to modernize the space station from a T-shape. It is currently a T-shape to a future cross-shape, or you can also call it a Double T shape,” Lee said. He added that this will allow China to send more testbeds for space science experiments and large-scale experiments in outer space, and generally expand the scale of operations aboard the Tiangong.

“Another upgrade is the development of a renewable spacecraft,” Li said. The versatile spacecraft, called Mengzhou, will be available in two variants: one for sending a crew to the moon and another one for Tiangong.

“With this spacecraft, we will be able to support three astronauts for lunar missions, as well as seven astronauts for missions on the new space station,” Lee said.

In 2020, China conducted a typical test flight of the spacecraft, meaning a flight without life support or other systems. Its full debut flight is expected around 2027, and it will fly at low earth orbit (LEO) option in development Long March 10 rocket. The new spacecraft will also be partially reusable.

Long March 10, like the spacecraft, will have two variants: one for LEO, the other for moon. Both Long March 10 and the new spacecraft are integral to China’s deployment plan. astronauts on the moon by 2030.

China currently sends its astronauts to LEO on its Shenzhou spacecraft, which is similar to but larger than Russia’s. Union spacecraft. next mission to Shenzhou in Tiangong is scheduled to launch on October 30.

a large telescope with two wing-like solar panels in orbit above the Earth

Artist’s rendering of the Chinese Space Station telescope, also known as Xuntian. (Image credit: NAOC)

The latest update will be a huge addition to global astronomy efforts.

“The latest (update) is CSST, Chinese space station telescopewhich is equipped with really large optical cameras that provide both a large field of view and high image quality,” said Lee. “It is also open to the international community, especially in the area of data analytics.”

Also called XuntianCSST is a Hubble-class space telescope that will share orbit with Tiangong. It will be able to dock with the space station for maintenance, repairs and even upgrades.

The bus-sized Xuntian will have a primary mirror with a diameter of 2 meters (6.6 feet), slightly smaller than Hubble’s. However, its field of view will be approximately 300 times larger, meaning it will be able to conduct extensive research. Xuntian will scan and map about 40% of the celestial sphere over its planned 10-year lifespan with a 2.5 billion pixel camera.

Li said China is committed to expanding international cooperation related to Tiangong, both in terms of scientific experiments and crew members.

“We are now ready to welcome international astronauts to join China’s space station program based on the principles of mutual respect, mutual benefit, inclusiveness and equality,” Li said.

China is keen to maintain Tiangong, which is about 20% smaller in size than China. International Space Station – inhabited and operated for at least 10 years. Thus, Tiangong could become the only space station in orbit once the ISS reaches the end of its long existence in 2030 or so.

China wants to make its Tiangong space station bigger and better

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