China launches final module of its own space station 'Tiangong'... Successful orbital insertion

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] China announced that it has launched and successfully docked the final module of its independent space station, "Mengtian." The goal is to dock all remaining parts and modules into orbit by the end of the year to complete the construction of the space station.

On the 31st, the China Manned Space Agency launched Mengtian aboard the Long March-5 Yao-4 rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan at approximately 3:37 PM local time. About 15 minutes after the rocket launch, the agency confirmed that Mengtian successfully separated from the rocket and entered the planned orbit, declaring the launch mission a complete success.

China's space station "Tiangong" is structured around the core module "Tianhe," with two laboratory modules, Wentian and Mengtian, attached on either side. After launching Tianhe in April last year, China launched Wentian in July and docked it with Tianhe, completing the basic structure. Wentian primarily serves as a laboratory but is also equipped with living facilities such as a sleeping room, restroom, and kitchen, allowing it to be used as a crew cabin.

The newly launched Mengtian is a dedicated laboratory module equipped with facilities for experiments in microgravity, physics, aerospace technology, and various other fields. Following Mengtian, China plans to launch the cargo spacecraft Tianzhou 5 and the manned spacecraft Shenzhou 15 by the end of the year to complete the space station construction within this year.

Tiangong measures 37 meters in length and weighs 100 tons, making it about one-third the size and one-fifth the weight of the International Space Station (ISS). Its orbit has an average altitude of 390 km, slightly lower than the ISS's 410?420 km. The Chinese government plans to support Tiangong's operations by launching two manned spacecraft and two cargo spacecraft annually.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.