Tiangong-3
Tiangong-3 was a proposed Chinese space station, part of the Tiangong space station program. The China National Space Agency was originally expected to launch Tiangong-3 around 2015, following the launch of the Tiangong-2 test laboratory, originally planned for 2013. The goals for the Tiangong-2 and Tiangong-3 laboratories were eventually merged, and the latter was therefore not ordered.Development
In 2008, the China Manned Space Engineering Office published a brief description of Tiangong-2 and Tiangong-3, indicating that several crewed spaceships would be launched in the late 2010s to dock with Tiangong-3. The first Tiangong module, Tiangong-1, was launched in September 2011, and docked with the uncrewed Shenzhou 8 spacecraft in November 2011, marking China's first orbital docking.Specifications
Tiangong-3's 22-metric-ton core module was expected to be around long and have a maximum diameter of. It was expected to provide:
- Unaided 40-day habitability for three astronauts.
- Testing for regenerative life-support technology, and verification of methods of orbital replenishment of propellant and air.
- A multi-docking berthing mechanism, allowing up to four spacecraft to dock with it simultaneously.
