The upcoming first launch of China’s space station
The new colonial movement: Later this month, on April 29th, China will use its Long March 5B rocket to launch the first module of its space station, dubbed Tianhe, thus beginning the assembly over the next year or so of their first space station, with ten more launches planned in that short time span.
The T-shape, 100-metric-ton CSS [Chinese Space Station] will comprise three major modules: the 18-meter-long core module, called Tianhe (“Harmony of the Heavens”), and two 14.4-meter-long experiment modules, called Wentian (“Quest for the Heavens”) and Mengtian (“Dreaming of the Heavens”), which will be permanently attached to either side of the core. As the station’s management and control center, Tianhe can accommodate three astronauts for stays of up to six months. Visiting astronauts and cargo spaceships will hook up to the core module from opposite ends. Both it and Wentian are equipped with robotic arms on the outside, and Mengtian has an airlock for the maintenance and repair of experiments mounted on the exterior of the station. Tianhe has a total of five docking ports, which means an extra module can be added for future expansion. The station is designed to operate for more than 10 years.
Much of the work on this station will be similar to the scientific research done on ISS. One additional science project linked to the station however is far more impressive:
China plans to launch a Hubble-size telescope that will operate in the same orbit a few hundred kilometers away. As a part of the CSS, the China Sky Survey Telescope (also called Xuntian) will have 300 times Hubble’s field of view and will address a wide range of science in the near-ultraviolet and optical wave bands. The observatory will investigate cosmology, the large-scale structure of matter in the universe, and galaxy and stellar science, as well as dark matter and dark energy. It is designed to dock with the space station for servicing if needed, offering an easy, fuel-efficient and “better way to engage astronauts to ensure the performance of the telescope,” Gu says.
That telescope will be the first general observatory optical telescope launched since Hubble. While western astronomers continue to build ground-based telescopes that have to peer squint-eyed through the atmosphere and also have to increasingly deal with giant satellite constellations, China has done the right thing, leaping off the Earth to do its astronomy above the atmosphere. It will still have those satellite constellations in its way, but building an orbital telescope merely paves the way for telescopes much farther out, free from any such interference.
Make no mistake. Though the Chinese are selling this station as just another space laboratory for research, its primary goal is really their first attempt to build an interplanetary space ship. It is very similar in concept to the Soviet Union’s Mir station, which from the start was conceived as exactly that, with the goal of later upgrades or follow-ons that would be able to leave Earth orbit.
China is not fooling around. They plan to use what they learn on CSS so that they can build that manned interplanetary ship, as soon as possible.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
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The new colonial movement: Later this month, on April 29th, China will use its Long March 5B rocket to launch the first module of its space station, dubbed Tianhe, thus beginning the assembly over the next year or so of their first space station, with ten more launches planned in that short time span.
The T-shape, 100-metric-ton CSS [Chinese Space Station] will comprise three major modules: the 18-meter-long core module, called Tianhe (“Harmony of the Heavens”), and two 14.4-meter-long experiment modules, called Wentian (“Quest for the Heavens”) and Mengtian (“Dreaming of the Heavens”), which will be permanently attached to either side of the core. As the station’s management and control center, Tianhe can accommodate three astronauts for stays of up to six months. Visiting astronauts and cargo spaceships will hook up to the core module from opposite ends. Both it and Wentian are equipped with robotic arms on the outside, and Mengtian has an airlock for the maintenance and repair of experiments mounted on the exterior of the station. Tianhe has a total of five docking ports, which means an extra module can be added for future expansion. The station is designed to operate for more than 10 years.
Much of the work on this station will be similar to the scientific research done on ISS. One additional science project linked to the station however is far more impressive:
China plans to launch a Hubble-size telescope that will operate in the same orbit a few hundred kilometers away. As a part of the CSS, the China Sky Survey Telescope (also called Xuntian) will have 300 times Hubble’s field of view and will address a wide range of science in the near-ultraviolet and optical wave bands. The observatory will investigate cosmology, the large-scale structure of matter in the universe, and galaxy and stellar science, as well as dark matter and dark energy. It is designed to dock with the space station for servicing if needed, offering an easy, fuel-efficient and “better way to engage astronauts to ensure the performance of the telescope,” Gu says.
That telescope will be the first general observatory optical telescope launched since Hubble. While western astronomers continue to build ground-based telescopes that have to peer squint-eyed through the atmosphere and also have to increasingly deal with giant satellite constellations, China has done the right thing, leaping off the Earth to do its astronomy above the atmosphere. It will still have those satellite constellations in its way, but building an orbital telescope merely paves the way for telescopes much farther out, free from any such interference.
Make no mistake. Though the Chinese are selling this station as just another space laboratory for research, its primary goal is really their first attempt to build an interplanetary space ship. It is very similar in concept to the Soviet Union’s Mir station, which from the start was conceived as exactly that, with the goal of later upgrades or follow-ons that would be able to leave Earth orbit.
China is not fooling around. They plan to use what they learn on CSS so that they can build that manned interplanetary ship, as soon as possible.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Sort of like the /Tsien/ from Clarke’s 2010: Odyssey Two, then?
I am no communist, ( even tho I am considered such from some folks ;-) , but it has to be mentioned that with the Chinese continuity of govenence, and their liking for 5, 10, and even 25 year plans, and also given their massive uptick in economy in the last couple of decades, they are probably in the best position to lead the new “space race” right now. Capitalism is biting on their heels, but even though a free market approach will be more sustainable in the end, a government willing to throw enough funds at an end goal, and without the hinder of elections and changes of policy… I’ve said before her, the next pair of boots on the Moon, and indeed Mars , could very well be Chinese. I guess it doesn’t really matter in the end, whatever our political differences, it’s still humanity moving off the planet. I just hope that “Western” nations are involved in the mix!
Read “Made Poorly in China “. Their industrial base is geared towards making built in manufactured defective products. Space Stations and interplanetary vehicles require a high level of QA/QC. The current Chinese industrial base is not up to this task.
U-2
“Seconds”
https://youtu.be/XSl0W-NsL98
3:10
The current Chinese industrial base is not up to this task.
While I generally agree with you, it would nieve to believe that the Chinese are incapable of adapting to meet the QA/QC demands required for a robust space program. As Robert says, “China is not fooling around.” If high-quality iPhones can be built in China, it is at least within their capability to build other technology to such exacting standards.
Could you bi-ling uals convert the following into Mandarin?
“Mir 2, proudly funded by Wal-Mart!”
Don’t forget the potential military applications .
@Barry Lewis, that kind of thinking is what will leave the US trailing in the current space race… Underestimate China at your peril… Remember when crappy toys were made in Japan? It’s not the same world now. A lot of rubbish is still made in China, but as I’ve said elsewhere, under their communist regime, LONG term plans are uninterrupted, their space tech is undoubtedly up to scratch, and to underestimate China is not only foolish, but also their goal. As I’ve also mentioned, I would not be surprised if the next pair of boots on the moon are made in China…
Agreed. They have a work ethic that is a world beater. The individual behind the Verity weld analysis system worked outdoors all day and poured over textbook all night. It’s called “want-to” and it cannot be taught except by the best coaches like Saban-who defines maturity as “doing things you don’t want to do-and not doing things you want to do.”