New Celestial Palace – China presents a module of the future space station

The Airshow China unveiled the center module of a permanent manned space station that could replace the International Space Station in the future. It is 17 meters long, weighs 54 tons and can accommodate a crew of three.

The central module of the future space station is headed The highlight of the Airshow China aerospace industry exhibition, which ra takes place in the coastal city of Zhuhai. The module on display is part of the Tiangogn – Heavenly Palace. Tiangong-1 prototype laboratory, kt The spacecraft, which was launched in 2011, crashed earlier this year in the Pacific Ocean after authorities lost control of it.

In orbit is another orbital module, the Tiangong-2, which re destined for experiments involving the Shenzhou manned spacecraft and the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft. It’s also part of preparations for a permanent Chinese orbital station. The central module on display is exactly the same as the one orbiting the Earth and the one that ry fell into the Pacific Ocean.

Ultimately, the permanent station is to consist of several such modules ith solar panels. It is to be about 17 meters long The spacecraft will weigh about 60 tons and be able to accommodate three astronauts . Assembly of the station is expected to be completed by 2022, and engineers have put its lifespan at about 10 years.

The International Space Station is slowly completing its mission. The US government will end its funding in 2024. If China by then places its j Celestial Palace in orbit, it will be the only orbital station, although much smaller than the ISS, which he central module of the future space station is a large space module with solar panels spread out, occupying an area of about a football field and weighing about 400 tons.

Chinese authorities have announced that the future space station will be open to all countries . Research institutes, universities and private companies have been invited to submit a project . According to state media, about 40 projects have been received ith 27 countries in the world. The European Space Agency has sent an astronaut to China for training in order to be ready to work on the Chinese space station after its launch.

– China will use its station in a similar way b how ISS partners are using their yard ka: research, technology and a step towards space exploration,” said Chen Lan, an analyst with GoTaikonauts, in an interview with AFP.com, a website specializing in China’s space program.

– Many countries and university In addition, there are many private companies with space programs, but they cannot afford to build their own space station. The possibility of placing cargo in and experiment on the space platform is extremely valuable, said Bill Ostrove, an analyst with U.S. firm Forecast International.

The United States remains the most dominant power in space today, but Beijing has been spending huge sums on its j space program. The plans of the Middle Kingdom are ambitious. They want to land on the dark side of the moon, although the first date was announced for this year. They plan to send a probe to Mars by 2020. Space plans include r Also, by 2036, the first Chinese astronaut will be on the surface of the Silver Globe. There are also plans to support lunar base project with the European Space Agency and NASA. And it was recently reported that China is considering a breakneck mission to capture an asteroid and bring it into lunar orbit. After extracting valuable minerals from it in could be used as a base for a future space station. Although this last idea should rather be perceived in terms of interesting visions without the possibility of realization. At least currently.

– The most likely scenario for the future is that China will become one of the major of the space forces – admitted Ostrove. But, he added, Russia, Europe, Japan and India will continue to make a large contribution to space exploration. You also have to take into account private companies, who t is very important in today’s world to.

– The space market is becoming more and more zr The number of documents that can be managed is limited, so it will be difficult for one or two people to manage them The space market is becoming more and more traditional b as the United States and the Soviet Union did during the Cold War – added Ostroje.