China on Sunday launched a new three-person mission to complete assembly work on its permanent orbiting space station. The Shenzhou 14 crew will spend six months on the Tiangong station, during which they will oversee the addition of two laboratory modules to join the main Tianhe living space that was launched in April 2021.

Their spaceship blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert at 10:44 am (02:44 GMT) atop the crewed space flight programme's workhorse Long March 2F rocket. Fifteen minutes later, it reached low Earth orbit and opened its solar panels, drawing applause from ground controllers in Jiuquan and Beijing. [1]

Figure 1. China Launches Shenzhou 14 Capsule to Complete Tiangong Space Station

Figure 1 shows during their time in orbit, the trio will conduct a variety of scientific experiments and educational outreach activities, perform several spacewalks and install some new equipment inside and outside Tianhe, Chinese space officials have said. [2] Wentian and Mengtian will attach on either side of Tianhe, forming a T-shaped orbiting outpost about 20% as massive as the International Space Station (ISS).

The station will operate in low-Earth orbit at an altitude between 340 to 450 kilometres. Once completed, it will have a lifespan of 10 years, but experts believe it could last more than 15 years with appropriate maintenance and repairs, according to Chinese state media. [3] The crew for Shenzhou 14 comprises three trained pilots from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) air force: Liu Yang, the first Chinese woman in space, experienced astronaut and commander Chen Dong, and pilot Cai Xuzhe, who is on his first space mission.

Space ambitions

The world's second-largest economy has poured billions into its military-run space program, with hopes of having a permanently crewed space station by 2022 and eventually sending humans to the moon.

In addition to a space station, Beijing is also planning to build a base on the moon, and the country's National Space Administration said it aims to launch a crewed lunar mission by 2029.

China has been excluded from the International Space Station since 2011, when the United States banned NASA from engaging with the country. While China does not plan to use its space station for global cooperation on the scale of the ISS, Beijing has said it is open to foreign collaboration. The ISS is due for retirement after 2024, although NASA has said it could remain functional until 2030. [4]

References:

1. https://gadgets360.com/science/news/china-shenzhou-14-crew-tiangong-space-startion-complete-assembly-launch-3041603
2. https://www.space.com/china-shenzhou-14-mission-arrives-tiangong-space-station
3. https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/china-successfully-launches-crewed-mission-to-complete-space-station-construction-101654423363215.html
4. https://www.voanews.com/a/china-sends-3-astronauts-to-complete-space-station-/6603916.html

Cite this article:

Thanusri swetha J (2022 China Launches Shenzhou 14 Capsule to Complete Tiangong Space Station, Anatechmaz, pp. 70