China plans to launch its first station into orbit in the second half of this year. And this apparatus is considered by the Celestial Empire only as a rehearsal before the launch of two more similar single-module stations and, finally, the construction of a long-term multi-module outpost.
The firstborn of the Chinese space stations, "Celestial Palace No. 1" (Tiangong 1), was supposed to enter orbit in 2010, but the launch was postponed. The new term is autumn 2011.
According to Space.com, the Tiangong-1 module weighs 8.5 tons. The station is 10.5 meters long, and its maximum diameter is 3.4 m.
In October 2011, an unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou 8 is to go to Tiangong. It will dock with a station under control from Earth.
In 2012, the Chinese plan to send the manned missions Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10 to their first space station. Each of the ships will carry three taikonauts. They must work on board the "palace" for some time.
The next step in the program will be the launch of space stations Tiangong 2 and Tiangong 3 in 2013 and 2015, respectively.
The Chinese did not disclose details, but at a press conference in Beijing at the end of April, Chinese officials said that several temporary crews are planned to be sent to these two flying laboratories. At the same time, Tiangong 2 will be able to receive three taikonauts for 20 days, and Tiangong 3 - 40 days.
These stations will help China develop technologies for air and water recovery on board, as well as air and fuel replenishment with the help of arriving ships.
And all three "heavenly palaces" will serve as proving grounds for various nodes and technologies that China is going to use during the deployment of its long-term station. It should be noted that it will be only the third multi-module orbital station in history (after Mir and the ISS).
The name of this orbital house has not yet been chosen (officials asked everyone to suggest options). But it is known that the station will consist of a base and two laboratory modules.
The main block will be 18.1 meters long, and its maximum diameter will be 4.2 m. The laboratory modules are a little more modest: 14.4 m in length with the same diameter. Each of the three modules should weigh about 20 tons, and the entire station, respectively, about 60 tons.
According to Yang Liwei, the "Chinese Gagarin" and deputy head of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, China plans to assemble the permanent station in space around 2020.
Both manned and cargo ships will regularly fly to it. The latter is already being developed based on Shenzhou. It will weigh about 13 tons with a maximum diameter of 3.35 meters.
It is assumed that a permanent crew of three will work at such a large station. This space laboratory should work for 10 years. China intends to conduct experiments on it in the field of radiobiology, astronomy, and so on.
Apparently, the orbital station will serve as a real support for the development of manned astronautics in China. It is no coincidence that the squad of taikonauts is being expanded with might and main in the Celestial Empire. Currently, 21 Chinese astronauts, including two women, have been trained for flights.
Obviously, China is following the path traveled by the USSR (Russia) and the United States. But the gradual opening of space for the Chinese is not at all an empty copy of the achievements of the past. Ultimately, with such a slow pace, they can go the farthest. The Chinese, by the way, report that they are developing heavier launch vehicles than they have at their disposal now. In addition, another cosmodrome will be built in the Hainan province.
At the same time, China intends to expand international cooperation in space with might and main. Jiang Guohua, a professor at the Beijing Taikonauts Research and Training Center, said, “We will pursue a policy of being open to the outside world. We believe that some of the scientific experiments at the station will be selected from other countries, which should facilitate international exchange."
