|
|
The first public appearance of China's space station concept. Credit: CCTV |
COLORADO SRINGS,
Colo. ? China is planning to launch three spacecraft between 2011 and 2016 to
form the basis of a manned space station, the director of the Chinese Manned
Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) said Wednesday.
China plans to launch
its first space station module, Tiangong 1, during
the first half of 2011, said Wang Wenbao, CMSEO
director general, addressing an audience of American and international space
industry workers here at the 26th National Space Symposium.
The endeavor is part
of an ambitious space program for China, which is only the third nation, after
Russia and the United States, to independently launch humans to space. The
country?s third manned spaceflight, the Shenzhou 7
mission in 2008, featured China?s
first spacewalk.
?Space is the common
resource of all humankind,? Wenbao told SPACE.com. ?The basic curiosity, desire to explore the unknown, are all the same
universal human nature.?
During the second
half of 2011, China intends to launch the unmanned Shenzhou 8 mission, which will meet up with Tiangong 1 in space, performing China?s first in-flight
rendezvous and docking.
Then, China plans to
follow up with two more missions ? Shenzhou 9 and 10
? in the first and second halves of 2012 respectively, to ?make breakthroughs
and master the necessary technologies of rendezvous and docking,? Wenbao said through a translator.
The Shenzhou spacecraft are designed to carry three
astronauts, or taikonauts. But these subsequent
rendezvous and docking flights will only be manned if the first unmanned foray
goes well.
?For Shenzhou 9 to be manned or unmanned depends on Shenzhou 8,? Wenbao told
SPACE.com.
The most challenging
aspect of planning for this feat has been designing the docking mechanism and
the ?training of astronauts to maneuver and masterfully control the spacecraft
on orbit,? Wenbao said.
The Tiangong 1module is intended as the cornerstone of a
Chinese space outpost that will host research in the life sciences, materials
sciences, and agriculture, including the cultivation of seeds in space.
The second module of
the Chinese
space station, Tiangong 2, is set to debut during
a 2013 liftoff. Tiangong 3 will follow sometime in
2014 to 2016. Then China will continue constructing the space station between
2016 and 2022. Once established, the laboratory should run for about three
years.
?Astronauts can stay
in the space station for long term and carry out space experiments on a large
scale,? Wenbao said.
To supply this
orbiting laboratory, China is developing a cargo-carrying spacecraft that will
hold no less than 5.5 tons (5,000 kg), Wenbao said.
That?s about twice as much cargo capacity as Russia?s Progress unmanned
spacecraft, which currently services the International Space Station (ISS), and
a little less than the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV), which also flies
to the ISS.
?Our cargo spacecraft
will be developed on the basis of our manned spacecraft and space lab,? Wenbao said.
China?s launch into
to the field of human spaceflight began in 2003, with the successful
launch of a Shenzhou spacecraft carrying
astronaut Yang Liwei into orbit. A second
spaceflight, this time with two astronauts aboard, followed in 2006.
China?s Shenzhou spacecraft are derived from the three-module Soyuz
spacecraft built by Russia. They consist of an orbital module, a crew capsule
and a propulsion module. But unlike Russia?s Soyuz, the Shenzhou?s
orbital module has its own solar arrays, allowing it to linger in orbit for
months after its crew has returned to Earth.
China is also looking
to foster closer relationships with the space programs of other nations, he
said. He invited the representatives of the world?s space agencies to come
visit China?s space facilities ?to discuss cooperation with our experts in the field
of manned space and together to promote the development and the progress of
space technology.?
- Making
History: China's First Human Spaceflight
- NASA's
Most Memorable Space Missions
- China's
First Women Astronauts Must Be Married
