Tiangong program
Tiangong is a space station program of the People's Republic of China, with the goal of creating a modular space station, comparable to Mir. This program is independent and unconnected to any other international space-active countries. The program began in 1992 as Project 921-2.
, China moved forward on a large multiphase construction program that will lead to a large space station around 2020.
China launched its first space laboratory, Tiangong-1, on September 29, 2011. Following Tiangong-1, a more advanced space laboratory complete with cargo ship, dubbed Tiangong-2, was launched on September 15, 2016. The project will culminate with a large orbital station, which will consist of a 20-ton core module, 2 smaller research modules, and cargo transport craft. It will support three astronauts for long-term habitation and was scheduled to be completed by 2020 just as the International Space Station was at that time scheduled to be retired, but this has since slipped to 2024.
Background
After the United States threatened to use nuclear weapons during the Korean War, Chairman Mao Zedong decided that only a nuclear deterrent of its own would guarantee the security of the newly founded PRC. Thus, Mao announced his decision to develop China's own strategic weapons, including associated missiles. After the launch of mankind's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1 by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957, Chairman Mao decided to put China on an equal footing with the superpowers, using Project 581 with the idea of putting a satellite in orbit by 1959 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the PRC's founding. However, it would not be until 24 April 1970 that this goal would become a reality.in Shenzhou 5
Mao and Zhou Enlai began the PRCs crewed space program on 14 July 1967. China's first crewed spacecraft design was named Shuguang-1 in January 1968. Project 714 was officially adopted in April 1971 with the goal of sending two astronauts into space by 1973 aboard the Shuguang spacecraft. The first screening process for astronauts had already ended on 15 March 1971, with 19 astronauts chosen. The program was soon cancelled due to political turmoil.
The next crewed space program was even more ambitious and was proposed in March 1986 as Project 863. This consisted of a crewed spacecraft used to ferry astronaut crews to a space station. Several spaceplane designs were rejected two years later and a simpler space capsule was chosen instead. Although the project did not achieve its goals, it would ultimately become the 1992 Project 921, encompassing the Shenzhou program, the Tiangong program, and the Chinese space station.
On the 50th anniversary of the PRC's founding, China launched the Shenzhou 1 spacecraft on 20 November 1999 and recovered it after a flight of 21 hours. The country became the third country with a successful crewed space program by sending Yang Liwei into space aboard Shenzhou 5 on October 15, 2003 for more than 21 hours. It was a major success for Chinese space programmes.
Project history
In 1999, Project 921-2 was finally given official authorization. Two versions of the station were studied: an 8-metric ton "space laboratory" and 20-metric ton "space station".In 2000, the first model of the planned space station was unveiled at Expo 2000 in Hanover, Germany. This was made up of modules derived from the orbital module of the Shenzhou spacecraft. Overall length of the station would be around 20 m, with a total mass of under 40 metric tons, with possibility of expansion through addition of further modules.
In 2001, Chinese engineers described a three-step process toward the realization of Project 921. The original target date for the fulfillment of the project was 2010.
- First, crewed flight itself ; this successfully occurred in 2003.
- Second, the orbiting of a space laboratory that would only be crewed on a short-term basis and left in an automated mode between visits.
- The third phase would involve the launch of a larger space laboratory, which would be permanently crewed and be China's first true space station.
On September 29, 2008, Zhang Jianqi, Vice Director of China crewed space engineering, declared in an interview of China Central Television it is Tiangong-1 that will be the 8-ton "target vehicle", and Shenzhou 8, Shenzhou 9, and Shenzhou 10 will all be spaceships to dock with Tiangong-1 in turn.
On October 1, 2008, Shanghai Space Administration, which participated in the development of Shenzhou 8, stated that they succeeded in the simulated experiments for the docking of Tiangong-1 and Shenzhou 8.
On June 16, 2012, Shenzhou 9 was launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Inner Mongolia, China, carrying a crew of three. The Shenzhou craft successfully docked with the Tiangong-1 laboratory on June 18, 2012, at 06:07 UTC, marking China's first crewed spacecraft docking.
On June 11, 2013, China launched Shenzhou 10 with a crew of three headed for the Tiangong-1.
The full 60-metric ton "space station" has been delayed to ~2020–2022, and will support three astronauts for long-term habitation.
Details
Space laboratory phase
Chinese efforts to develop LEO space station capabilities will begin with a space laboratory phase, with the launch of three Tiangong test vehicles.Tiangong-1 "target vehicle"
The Chinese docking target consists of a propulsion module and a pressurized module for experiments, with a docking mechanism at either end. The docking port of the experiment section supports automated docking. Its length is, diameter is, with a mass of. Launched on September 29, 2011, it was intended for short stays of a crew of three. The second docking port, on the propulsion module, was kept screened from press photography inside and outside the module. It re-entered and burned up in the atmosphere on April 2, 2018, at 00:16 UTC.Tiangong-2 "space laboratory"
A second and a third test station were originally planned to precede the eventual modular station. These would be long, with a diameter of, and weigh up to. The second one would provide life support for a crew of 2 for 20 days, and the third one a crew of 3 for 40 days. However, all the objectives of these two stations were later merged into one project, and the size scaled down to less than.The resulting Tiangong-2 space laboratory was launched on September 15, 2016. The station made a controlled reentry on 19 July 2019 and burned up over the South Pacific Ocean.
Tiangong-3
A third space station proposed but later cancelled in favor of advancing to the new large modular station.Large orbital station
China plans to build the world's third multi-module space station, to follow Mir and the ISS. This was dependent upon the date of OPSEK's separation from the ISS but after a statement in September 2017, the head of Roscosmos Igor Komarov said that the technical feasibility of separating the station to form OPSEK had been studied and there were now "no plans to separate the Russian segment from the ISS”. The previous separate components will be integrated into a space station, arranged as:- Core Cabin Module – based on the Tiangong-3 "space station" and analogous to the Mir Core Module. The 18.1-meter-long core module, with a maximum diameter of 4.2 meters and a launch weight of 20 to 22 tons, will be launched first.
- Laboratory Cabin Module I and Laboratory Cabin Module II – based on Tiangong-2 "space laboratory". Each laboratory module is 14.4 meters long, with the same maximum diameter and launch weight of the core module.
- Shenzhou – crewed vessel
- Tianzhou – a cargo craft based on Tiangong-1 that will have a maximum diameter of and a launch weight less than, intended to transport supplies and experiments to the space station. The craft will have three versions: pressurized, unpressurized, and a combination of the two. It was first launched on the new Long March 7 rocket from Wenchang on April 20, 2017.