China’s third and last module on Tuesday superior a greater than a decade-long effort to keep up a relentless crew presence in orbit with its everlasting area station, as its competitors with the US mounts. State broadcaster CCTV, citing China’s manned area company, mentioned the Mengtian module arrived on the Tiangong station on Tuesday morning.
Mengtian was flown into area on Monday afternoon from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center within the southern island province of Hainan. The flight and docking mission was anticipated to take roughly 13 hours to finish. A big crowd of novice photographers, area fanatics and others watched the elevate from an adjoining seaside. Many waved Chinese flags and wore T-shirts with Chinese characters, reflecting the deep nationwide pleasure invested within the area program and expertise. represents progress.
“The space program is a symbol of a leading country and promotes the modernization of China’s national defense,” mentioned Ni Lexiong, a professor at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, outlining this system’s shut navy ties. “It also promotes the faith of the Chinese people while igniting patriotism and positive energy,” Ni mentioned. Mengtian, or “Celestial Dream”, joins Wentian because the second laboratory module for the station, identified collectively because the Tiangong, or “Celestial Palace”.
Both are related to the Tianhe core module the place the crew lives and works. Like its predecessors, Mengtian was launched on a Long March-5B service rocket, a member of China’s strongest household of launch automobiles. According to the China Manned Space Agency, Tiangong at the moment has two male and one feminine astronauts.
Chen Dong, Kai Xuze and Liu Yang arrived on board in early June for a six-month keep, throughout which they might full meeting of the station, carry out area walks and conduct further experiments. After the arrival of Mengtian, there’s a further uncrewed Tianzhou cargo craft. It is because of dock with the station subsequent month, with one other crewed mission scheduled for December, at which era the crew could overlap as Tiangong has sufficient area to accommodate six astronauts.
Mengtian weighs about 23 tons, is 17.9 meters (58.7 ft) lengthy and has a diameter of 4.2 meters (13.8 ft). It would supply area for science experiments in zero gravity, an airlock for publicity to the vacuum of area, and a small robotic arm to assist further payloads. The already orbiting 23-ton Ventian, or “heavenly quest” laboratory is designed for science and biology experiments and is heavier than another single-module spacecraft at the moment in area.
Next yr, China plans to launch the Xuntian area telescope, which isn’t part of Tiangong, will orbit in sequence with the station and should sometimes dock with it for upkeep. No different future additions to the area station have been publicly introduced. In complete, the station could have roughly 110 cubic meters (3,880 cubic ft) of pressurized inside area, together with 32 cubic meters (1,130 cu ft) added by Mengtian.
China’s manned area program formally turns three a long time outdated this yr, with the Mengtian launch being its twenty fifth mission. But it actually began in 2003, when China grew to become the third nation after the US and Russia to ship people into area utilizing its assets. The program is run by the ruling Communist Party’s navy wing, the People’s Liberation Army, and proceeded systematically and virtually solely with none outdoors assist. The US kicked China out of the International Space Station due to the navy ties to its program.
Despite this, China is collaborating with the European Space Agency on experiments on the Mengtian, and with France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Pakistan and the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) on a spread of initiatives starting from aerospace medication to microgravity. doing. Physics in line with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Before launching the Tianhe module, China’s manned area program launched a pair of single-module stations, constructed briefly as check platforms.
The everlasting Chinese station will weigh about 66 tons—a fraction of the scale of the International Space Station, which launched its first module in 1998 and weighs about 465 tons. With a lifespan of 10 to fifteen years, Tiangong could at some point discover itself the one area station nonetheless working, if the International Space Station follows its 30-year operation plan.
China has additionally chalked up successes with uncrewed missions, and its lunar exploration program created media buzz final yr when its Yutu 2 rover was described by some as a “mystery hut”. The footage taken have been despatched again, however most definitely solely a rock. The rover is the primary to be positioned on the little-explored far aspect of the Moon. China’s Chang’e 5 probe returned lunar rocks to Earth in December 2000 for the primary time for the reason that Nineteen Seventies, and one other Chinese rover is looking for proof of life on Mars. Officials are additionally contemplating a crewed mission to the Moon.
The program has additionally raised controversy. In October 2021, China’s international ministry rejected a report that China had examined a hypersonic missile two months earlier, saying it had solely examined whether or not a brand new spacecraft could possibly be reused. might. China can be reportedly creating a extremely secret area airplane. China’s area program has proceeded cautiously and largely with out a hitch. However, there have been complaints in opposition to China twice for permitting the primary rocket levels to fall to Earth uncontrollably. NASA final yr accused Beijing of “failing to meet responsible standards with respect to its space debris” when elements of a Chinese rocket landed within the Indian Ocean.
China’s rising area capabilities are additionally proven within the newest Pentagon Defense Strategy launched on Thursday. In addition to increasing its standard forces, the PLA is quickly advancing and integrating its area, counterspace, cyber, digital and knowledge warfare capabilities to assist its holistic strategy to joint warfare. he mentioned. The US and China are at loggerheads over a spread of points, most notably the self-governing island of Taiwan, which Beijing threatens to annex by pressure. China responded to a go to by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan in September by firing missiles on the island, staging struggle video games and a mock blockade.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
