China launched the third and final module for its permanent space station on Monday, culminating a decade-long effort to maintain a permanent crewed presence in orbit.
Monday at 3:39 p.m. local time (3:39 a.m. EDT), Mengtian was launched into space from the seaside Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on the southern tropical island province of Hainan.
On the adjacent beach, a large number of amateur photographers, space enthusiasts, and bystanders witnessed the launch.
Many waved Chinese flags and wore T-shirts printed with Chinese characters, showing the profound national pride invested in the country’s space program and the scientific advancements it represents.
Mengtian, also known as “Celestial Dream,” is the second laboratory module for the Tiangong, or “Celestial Palace,” space station. Both are linked to the Tianhe core module, where the crew resides and performs their duties.
Similar to its predecessors, Mengtian was launched atop a Long March-5B Y4 carrier rocket – a member of China’s most powerful family of Hainan-based launch vehicles.
According to the China Manned Space Agency, Mengtian was scheduled to spend 13 hours in flight before arriving at Tiangong, which is inhabited by a crew of two male and one female astronauts.
Chen Dong, Cai Xuzhe, and Liu Yang landed in early June for a six-month mission during which they will assemble the space station, conduct spacewalks, and conduct additional experiments.
After Mengtian’s arrival, an additional uncrewed Tianzhou cargo vehicle is slated to dock with the station the following month, and another crewed mission is scheduled for December, at which time crews may overlap – Tiangong has space for six people.
Mengtian is approximately 20 tons in weight, 58.7 feet in length, and 13.8 feet in diameter. It will provide space for zero-gravity experiments, an airlock for exposure to the space vacuum, and a small robotic arm for supporting extravehicular payloads.
The 23-ton Wentian laboratory is designed for research and biological investigations and is now the heaviest single-module spacecraft in orbit.
China plans to deploy the Xuntian space observatory in 2020, which, despite not being a component of Tiangong, will orbit in tandem with the station and will occasionally dock for maintenance.
The station will have approximately 3,880 cubic feet of interior capacity that is pressurized.
This year, China’s manned space program officially turns 30 years old. In 2003, China became only the third nation after the United States and Russia to launch a human into space using its own resources.
The People’s Liberation Army, the military component of the ruling Communist Party, has executed the program meticulously and nearly totally without outside assistance. Due to its military ties, the U.S. barred China from the International Space Station.
Prior to launching the Tianhe module, China’s Manned Space Program launched two single-module test platforms that were crewed briefly.
The permanent Chinese station will weigh approximately 66 tons, a quarter of the size of the International Space Station, whose first module was launched in 1998 and weighs over 465 tons.
Tiangong, with a lifespan of 10 to 15 years, might become the sole space station remaining operational if the ISS keeps to its 30-year operating plan.
China has also had success with unmanned missions, and its lunar exploration program made headlines last year when its Yutu 2 rover sent back images of what some referred to as a “mystery hut” but was most likely just a rock. The rover is the first to be deployed on the moon’s rarely visited far side.
Chang’e 5 returned lunar pebbles to Earth in December 2000 for the first time since the 1970s, and another Chinese rover is seeking for signs of life on Mars. Also under consideration is a manned expedition to the moon.
The scheme has also been met with opposition. China’s Foreign Ministry dismissed a report that China had tested a hypersonic missile two months earlier in October 2021, stating that the country had just examined the reusability of a new spacecraft.
According to reports, China is also developing a top-secret spaceplane.
China’s space program has progressed with caution and has been mainly successful.
However, China has been criticized for letting rocket stages to fall to Earth uncontrolled twice previously. Parts of a Chinese rocket landed in the Indian Ocean in 2012, prompting NASA to accuse China of “failing to achieve responsible norms regarding their space debris.”