China's Mystery Spacelab

[Ryan Ruck]

China's Mystery Spacelab

Jan 20, 2010

We could be less than a year away from the launch of Tiangong-1, China's first space laboratory. We've been expecting this launch for years, but relatively little is still known about this mission.

We have grown used to seeing computer-generated artwork of this small, stubby laboratory module, not much larger than the Shenzhou crew-carrying spacecraft that will dock with it. China Central Television has also broadcast short video clips showing the module undergoing assembly, and periodically, a short news report on the mission pops up in the Chinese media.

Beyond this, not much is really known about Tiangong. We don't even know if the launch will take place this year or in 2011. The Chinese themselves probably don't know for sure at this stage.

Tiangong doesn't have to meet any launch windows for reaching planets, so the Chinese can afford to take their time with the launch. As with any new spacecraft, there's probably a lot of debugging to perform, then more testing. It would not be surprising if the laboratory didn't take off before the end of 2010.

What do we know for sure? Tiangong seems to consist of a short, cylindrical pressurized module, with not much more internal volume for the crew than a Shenzhou spacecraft. To the rear of this is a service module, containing two solar panel wings, a propulsion system and other gear. The service module has a slightly smaller diameter than the pressurized module.

Tiangong also boasts a Russian-derived APAS-style docking system, with three guidance "petals" at its front to interlock with an identical docking collar. Artwork and video footage of Tiangong also reveals a cylindrical device pointing outwards from the rear of the pressurized module.

This is almost certainly some type of optical telescope, probably for an Earth observation camera. There is also a large parabolic dish antenna bolted to the side of the service module, presumably for communications with a satellite in geostationary orbit. China has already used such a satellite-to-satellite system to communicate with Shenzhou.

After several garbled Chinese media reports, China eventually confirmed that the next Shenzhou launch, Shenzhou 8, will be an unmanned flight sent to dock with Tiangong-1. Shenzhou 8 will carry an experiment package, including payloads from Germany. After an unspecified time, it will undock from Tiangong and return to Earth.

The primary purpose of this mission seems to be testing the rendezvous and docking procedures that will later be used to send astronauts to Tiangong. When Shenzhou 9 launches, it will carry three astronauts to dock with Tiangong and live aboard it.

Obviously, neither of the aforementioned Shenzhou missions can launch before Tiangong has flown. But we do not know when they will launch, or how long each flight will last. The requirements of each mission, however, give some insight into their lengths.

Shenzhou 8 has the potential to be a fairly long flight. It will not take long to verify the docking procedures. China may elect to perform several dockings and undockings over a few days. But the experiments carried on board could require longer flight times to be effective. Even the long-term operation of the Shenzhou spacecraft itself is an experiment.

China could want to demonstrate the longevity of the spacecraft for long-term missions and lifeboat service on future Chinese space stations. With no crew on board, engineers can afford to take greater risks. It's possible that the mission could last several weeks or even months!

China could elect to dock Shenzhou 8 to Tiangong, then generally power it down into "sleep" mode. During this time, telemetry and other functions could be performed by Tiangong. Then, Shenzhou could be awakened from hibernation before undocking and returning to Earth.

Is this a likely scenario? We don't really know, but we have no evidence to reject it.

Shenzhou 9 is likely to be a much shorter mission for a simple reason - logistics. Three astronauts will ride aboard this mission. The combined volume of Shenzhou and Tiangong could not accommodate the food, water and other supplies that would be needed for a long flight.

It seems possible to extend the mission for roughly two weeks, but going beyond this would be difficult.

This would still be a fairly long space mission, comparable to a contemporary Shuttle flight. It will provide ample opportunity for the astronauts to perform many tasks. What will they do?

Much of the time will probably be spent experimenting upon themselves, given the fact that these astronauts will spend longer in weightlessness than any Chinese astronauts before them.

There will also be ample use of the Earth observation camera system, for a variety of purposes. Some other experiments will also be carried, and the astronauts will also probably make television broadcasts back to Earth. Some experiments on board Tiangong will probably run automatically while the station is unoccupied. The astronauts may simply need to retrieve samples from them before they return.

It would be good to know more about Tiangong, and we should hopefully see more details emerge in the months ahead.

[Ryan Ruck]

Countdown Begins For Space Station Program

April 26, 2011

Authorities in charge of the manned space program unveiled plans on Monday to build a 60-ton space station, made up of three capsules, and develop a cargo spaceship to transport supplies.

The China Manned Space Engineering Office said at a news conference that it also wants the public to get involved by suggesting names for the space station, due to completed around 2020.

According to documents provided by the office, the space station, weighing about 60 tons, is composed of a core module and two others where experiments will be conducted.

A cargo spaceship to transport supplies will also be developed.



The 18.1-meter-long core module, with a maximum diameter of 4.2 meters and a launch weight of 20 to 22 tons, will be launched first.

The two experiment modules will then blast off to dock with the core module. Each laboratory module is 14.4 meters long, with the same maximum diameter and launch weight of the core module.

"The 60-ton space station is rather small compared to the International Space Station (419 tons), and Russia's Mir Space Station (137 tons) which served between 1996 and 2001," said Pang Zhihao, a researcher and deputy editor-in-chief of the monthly magazine, Space International.

"But it is the world's third multi-module space station, which usually demands much more complicated technology than a single-module space lab," he said.

The office also said that China will develop a cargo spaceship, with a maximum diameter of 3.35 meters and a launch weight less than 13 tons, to transport supplies and lab facilities to the space station.

Pang said it is the first time that the office confirmed plans to build a cargo spaceship, which is vital for long-term space missions.

The public is being asked to submit suggestions for names and symbols to adorn the space station.

"Considering past achievements and the bright future, we feel that the manned space program should have a more vivid symbol and that the future space station should carry a resounding and encouraging name," Wang Wenbao, director of the office, said at the news conference.

China previously named the space lab "Tiangong" meaning heavenly palace, and the spacecraft to transport astronauts was named "Shenzhou", divine vessel. Its moon probes were named after the country's mythical Moon Goddess "Chang'e". But the names were selected without public input.

"We now feel that the public should be involved in the names and symbols as this major project will enhance national prestige, and strengthen the national sense of cohesion and pride," Wang said.

The public is welcomed to submit suggestions for the space station and its three modules, as well as symbols for the China Manned Space Engineering Program and the space station.

Suggestions should be submitted between Monday and July 25 via websites including www.cmse.gov.cn or e-mailed to kongjianzhan@vip.qq.com. The result will be decided before the end of September.

Suggested names for the cargo spaceship, however, should be submitted far earlier - between Monday and May 20. The result will be announced before the end of June, Wang said.

According to Zhou Jianping, chief designer of the manned space program, the different deadlines are "due to time schedules for various projects", which indicated that the cargo spaceship project could soon begin development.

China is now in the second phase of its manned space program.

According to the schedule, a space module Tiangong-1 and the Shenzhou VIII spacecraft will be launched in the latter half of this year in the first unmanned rendezvous and docking mission. Shenzhou IX and Shenzhou X will be launched next year to dock with Tiangong-1.

But problems in ensuring long-term missions for astronauts need to be overcome.

Wang Zhaoyao, spokesman for the program, said that developing technology needed to guarantee mid-term missions in space (a stay of at least 20 days), and developing cargo supply technology will be among the tasks to be met during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) period.

The manned space program will lay the foundation for possible missions in future, such as sending men to the moon, according to the office's documents.

[vector7]

China to put 'Heavenly Palace' in space next week

Launch of unmanned module marks next step toward Chinese space station


China Manned Space Engineering Office China is getting set to launch the first piece of a full-fledged space station, called Tiangong ("Heavenly Palace"). This graphic shows components of the space station docking in orbit.



BEIJING — China will launch an experimental craft next week to pave the way for its first space station, an official said on Tuesday.

The launch would bring the growing Asian power closer to matching the United States and Russia with a long-term manned outpost in space.

The Tiangong 1, or "Heavenly Palace," will blast off from a site in the Gobi Desert around Sept. 27-30, adding a high-tech sheen to China's National Day celebrations on Oct. 1, the Xinhua news agency said.

The small, unmanned "space lab" and the Long March rocket that will heave it skyward have been readied on a pad at Jiuquan in northwest Gansu province, Xinhua said, citing an unnamed representative for the country's space program.

It will be the latest show of China's growing prowess in space, and comes while budget restraints and shifting priorities have held back U.S. manned space launches.

The big test comes weeks after its launch, when the eight-ton craft attempts to join up with an unmanned Shenzhou 8 spacecraft that China plans to launch.

"The main task of the Tiangong 1 flight is to experiment in rendezvous and docking between spacecraft," said the Chinese representative, who added that this would "accumulate experience for developing a space station."

China's government will hope to set a successful Tiangong mission alongside other trophies of its growing technological prowess, including the launch of a trial aircraft carrier. And the launch, just before China's National Day holiday, is sure to come accompanied by a blaze of proud publicity.

"I would say there's a lot of political pressure to make sure that it's launched before the birthday party," said Morris Jones, a space analyst based in Sydney. "The real test of Tiangong doesn't come with its flight as a solo mission. The real objective of this mission will come later on when it tries to dock with another spacecraft.

"Without rendezvous and docking, you really cannot run an advanced space program. You're confined to launching small spacecraft that just operate by themselves," he told Reuters.

Test bed for bigger ambitions
Russia, the United States and 13 other countries jointly operate the International Space Station, an effort in which China does not participate. But the United States will not test a new rocket to take people into space until 2017, and Russia has said manned missions are no longer a priority for its space program, which has struggled with delays and glitches.Beijing is still far from catching up with space superpowers. The Tiangong launch is a trial step in Beijing's plans to eventually establish a space station.

"Tiangong 1 is, I think, primarily a technology test bed," Joan Johnson-Freese, an expert on China's space program at the U.S. Naval War College on Rhode Island, said in emailed answers to questions.

"Technically, it has been compared to where the U.S. was during the Gemini program," she added, referring to NASA's manned spaceflights in the mid-1960s.

Over the next two years, China will probably attempt a Tiangong mission piloted by astronauts only after two initial missions, said Gregory Kulacki, the China Project manager for Union of Concerned Scientists.

That feat will be followed by the launch of the Tiangong 2 and 3 space labs in following years, and preparations for a space station weighing 60 to 70 tons, wrote Kulacki.

"The real story is that when they eventually get around to building a space station it will look nothing like Tiangong," said Jones, the Australian expert. "It's a test of a spacecraft that will one day be used as a cargo carrying vessel to a larger space station."

Long-range, long-distance plans
This month, NASA unveiled plans for a deep-space rocket to carry astronauts to the moon and Mars. President Barack Obama has called for a human expedition to an asteroid by 2025 and a journey to Mars in the 2030s.

China launched its second moon orbiter last year after it became only the third country to send its astronauts walking in space outside their orbiting craft in 2008.

It plans an unmanned moon landing and deployment of a moon rover in 2012, and the retrieval of lunar soil and stone samples around 2017.

Scientists have talked about the possibility of sending a man to the moon after 2020.

China is also jostling with neighbors Japan and India for a bigger presence in space, but its plans have faced international wariness. Beijing says its aims are peaceful.

"With most space technology dual-use — of value to both civil and military communities -- anything done by China in space will have spillover to the military, much the same as NASA's technical advancements do in the U.S.," said Johnson-Freese, the expert from Rhode Island. "Tiangong is not going to immediately or directly provide China any military capabilities."

[vector7]

China Launches Spacecraft as Next Step Toward Making Its Own Space Station

• Posted on November 1, 2011 at 9:00am by Liz Klimas

• Comments (4)

BEIJING (The Blaze/AP) — China’s unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou 8 blasted off Tuesday morning, in the latest step of what will be a decade-long effort by the country to place a manned permanent space station in orbit.

Watch the Reuters video of the launch:

China launched its own space station program after being rebuffed in its attempts to join the 16-nation International Space Station, largely on objections from the United States. The U.S. is wary of the Chinese program’s military links and the sharing of technology with its chief economic and political competitor.

Earlier Chinese news reports did not specify a launch date for Shenzhou 8. Chinese space officials rarely speak to foreign media.
The Guardian has more:

“Mastering the technology of rendezvous and docking will lay a firm foundation for China to build a space station,” Zhou Jianping, the chief designer of China’s manned space engineering project, told Xinhua, [the official Chinese news agency].

“Once we have mastered this technology, we will possess the basic technology and capacity to build a space station, and this will open up possibilities for even larger activities in space.”
But he added: “Since we have never conducted a similar test before and the system is so complicated, we have many unknowns.”

The Shenzhou 8 will attempt to dock with an experimental module, carrying out maneuvers to couple with the Tiangong 1 module now in orbit. The 8.5-ton, box car-sized Tiangong 1 launched last month.

Following Shenzhou 8, two more missions — at least one of them manned — are to meet up with the module next year for further practice, with astronauts staying for up to one month.

Plans call for launching two other experimental modules for more tests before the actual station is launched in three sections between 2020 and 2022.

At about 60 tons when completed, the Chinese station will be considerably smaller than the International Space Station, which is expected to continue operating through 2028.
(H/T: The Guardian)

[Ryan Ruck]

Chinese Space Station Set To Crash-Land On Earth's Surface Within Months

October 13, 2017

A Chinese space station has begun its out-of-control descent towards Earth's surface and is expected to crash-land within a few months.

Launched in 2011, the 8.5-ton Tiangong-1 space laboratory had originally been a symbol of Beijing's ambitious scientific bid to become a space superpower.

However, last year Chinese officials confirmed the country's first orbiting space station had to be scrapped after its functions failed following two years in space.

Since then, the space station known as "Heavenly Palace" has been gradually decaying and, in recent weeks, has accelerated its descent into the Earth's atmosphere.

Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist from Harvard University, told The Guardian in an interview published Friday that he anticipated Tiangong-1 to hit Earth's surface sometime between this month and April.

While much of the craft is expected to burn up in Earth's atmosphere, McDowell also reportedly said that some parts weighing as much as 100 kilograms could crash-land to Earth with scientists unable to predict where they will come down until only hours beforehand.

China's equivalent of NASA, the China National Space Administration (CNSA), has informed the United Nations that the space station had begun its descent and would be carefully monitoring its final plunge.

The chance that anyone would be harmed by Tiangong-1's debris is considered highly unlikely.