Tag: Mengzhou

China outlines plans for manned space program

10:26 am

China’s state-run press today outlined a short update on the status of its manned space station program as well as its planned manned lunar landing, still targeting a 2030 launch.

For the space station, these are its upcoming plans:

China is scheduled to launch two crewed missions and one cargo spacecraft mission for its space station operation in 2026, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). An astronaut from the Hong Kong or Macao special administrative region is expected to carry out a space station flight mission as early as this year, the CMSA noted.

One astronaut from the Shenzhou-23 crew will conduct a year-long in-orbit stay experiment, the CMSA said.

I am willing to bet that China is planning an even longer station mission that will break Valeri Polyakov’s 14.5 month record mission, set in the 1990s on Mir.

As for China’s lunar landing plans, nothing new was announced:

China is targeting a crewed lunar landing by 2030. The development of major flight products, including the Long March-10 carrier rocket, the Mengzhou crewed spacecraft, and the Lanyue lunar lander, is proceeding smoothly. Key tests have been completed, including the zero-height abort test for the Mengzhou spacecraft, the landing and takeoff test for the Lanyue lunar lander, the static fire test and the low-altitude demonstration and validation test for the Long March-10 rocket system, and the maximum dynamic pressure escape test for the Mengzhou spacecraft system.

In 2026, the country will intensify efforts to advance the construction of supporting facilities and equipment for the lunar mission at the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in southern Hainan Province, as well as the development of ground support systems.

China has not yet outlined a program of missions leading up to that lunar landing. Like Apollo and now Artemis, it makes sense to do low orbit rendezvous and docking tests of these various spacecraft before heading to the Moon. It also makes sense to do these same tests first in lunar orbit, before landing. Expect China to announce such a program soon, for launch in the 2027-2029 timeframe.

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China completes launch abort test of Mengzhou capsule; also vertically lands Long March 10A 1st stage in ocean

7:50 am

Long March 10A 1st stage splashing down softly on test flight
Click for source.

China today completed a major test for its future manned lunar program. In launch for the first time the first stage of its new Long March 10A, it not only succeeded in completing a launch abort of its next generation Mengzhou manned capsule — intended not only for its space station but for its manned lunar program — the first stage successfully completed a vertical soft splashdown in the ocean.

The uncrewed vessel took off from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Centre on the southern island of Hainan aboard a Long March-10 prototype test rocket at 11am on Wednesday.

The Mengzhou vessel separated from the rocket shortly after launch, before splashing down in the ocean at its designated landing spot, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).

The first stage of the Long March-10 rocket also safely splashed down in its designated ocean landing spot, CASC said. The state-owned aerospace contractor developed both the rocket and the crewed spacecraft.

Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay, video of the launch can be seen here. Jay also found two additional images, one showing the stage just before splashdown standing vertical (as shown in the picture to the right) and the other of the stage floating in the water just before it was picked up by a recovery vessel. According to comments at these tweets, it is speculated that the interstage unit that connected the capsule to the stage was either ejected at landing or was torn off when the stage hit the water.

This is a major achievement for China. It gets it closer to being able to use Mengzhou for longer missions to places like the Moon.

The modular Mengzhou spacecraft has two variants: a seven-astronaut near-Earth model designed to support the country’s Tiangong space station and a model with a smaller crew capacity for missions to the moon. The latter is expected to work in tandem with the Lanyue lunar surface lander, designed to carry two astronauts to the moon’s surface.

The soft splashdown of the Long March 10A first stage also gets China closer to its first reuse of a rocket.

I must note that this success is part of a larger story about China’s space industry that is not so hopeful.
» Read more

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China will launch its upgraded manned Mengzhou-1 capsule in 2026

8:01 am

Mengzhou as of 2023
Mengzhou mock-up from 2023. Click for source.

China this week revealed that it plans the first flight of its new larger Mengzhou-1 manned capsule next year, launching from its coastal Wengchang spaceport on its new Long March 10 rocket.

Mengzhou features a modular design consisting of a return capsule and a service capsule and will operate as the primary link between Earth and the space station.

The first flight of Mengzhou-1 will utilize the Long March-10A rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan, targeting a docking with the space station’s core module radial port. This debut mission will validate the craft’s systems while transporting environmental monitoring devices, technical payloads, astronaut supplies, and experimental gear for science and technology demonstrations.

Both capsule and rocket are intended as China’s future mainstays for its manned program, both in Earth orbit and beyond. Mengzhou is intended as the manned capsule that will get its astronauts to lunar orbit, where its Lanyue lunar lander will take them to and from the surface. Both will be launched separately by the Long March 10 rocket.

Long March 10 has been in development since 2017, and will have the ability to place 70 tons in low Earth orbit and 27 tons to lunar orbit. It is thus comparable to SLS, but costing far less with its first stage incorporating recovery and reuse. It will also be capable of launching much more frequently and at a much faster pace.

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China’s plan to land astronauts on the Moon

9:31 am

Mengzhou as of 2023
Click for source.

The new colonial movement: China’s state-run press yesterday revealed the basic flight plan its space program will use to land astronauts on the Moon in 2030.

China’s first manned lunar mission will begin with the launch of the Lanyue lunar lander aboard the country’s new heavy carrier rocket [the Long March 10], and Lanyue will then await the subsequent arrival of the Mengzhou manned spacecraft in space. Mengzhou will be poised for its rendezvous with Lanyue in lunar orbit, at which time the astronauts will transfer into the lander.

The lander will then separate and descend to the moon’s surface. Upon the completion of their lunar exploration, the astronauts will return to lunar orbit in the lander’s ascent stage. This stage will involve re-docking with the spacecraft, and will mark the beginning of the astronauts’ journey back to Earth.

This plan is a variation of the Apollo approach, but rather than sending the ascent/descent capsule and lunar lander on the same rocket, China will launch them separately and have them rendezvous in lunar orbit.

Mengzhou is intended to be a larger and reusable replacement for the Shenzhou capsules China is presently using to transport its astronauts to and from its Tiangong-3 space station. Unlike Shenzhou, which appears to be an upgrade of Russia’s Soyuz capsules, Mengzhou instead appears more conelike, as shown by the mockup image to the right, first revealed in 2023.

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