(Beijing) The last module of the Chinese space station Tiangong hung there on Tuesday, after its successful launch on Monday, which should allow it to be fully operational, as part of China’s ambitious program in the space.
Posted at 6:37 p.m.
China’s drive to build a space station has been fueled in part by the US refusal to accept Chinese in the International Space Station (ISS) program, a collaboration between the United States, Russia, Canada, the Europe and Japan.
baptized Mengtian (“dream of the heavens”), the module was launched at 3:27 p.m. (7:27 GMT) by a Long March 5B rocket from the tropical island of Hainan (south), according to public television CCTV.
From a beach near the Wenchang launch center, amateur photographers and space enthusiasts immortalized the event.
“The experimental module Mengtian entered the predefined orbit with precision,” a mission manager, Deng Hongqin, told television a few minutes later.
“I declare this launch a complete success,” said Mr. Deng, surrounded by enthusiastic colleagues in the control room.
Mengtian is the third and final major component of the T-shaped Tiangong Space Station.
About 1 p.m. later, in the early hours of Tuesday, Chinese time, Mengtian clung to Tiangong, the state-run New China news agency reported, citing the Chiniose space agency.
Tiangong (“Heavenly Palace”), similar in size to the defunct Russian-Soviet Mir station, is expected to have a lifespan of at least 10 years.
It must enable China to maintain a long-term human presence in space.
Its assembly required a total of eleven missions. The last one on Monday made it possible to transport cutting-edge scientific equipment.
Delay made up
“The first cold atomic clock” was notably sent into space, welcomed the official news agency New China.
The device should ultimately allow for more precise time measurement.
Since June, three astronauts, including a woman, have been on the Chinese space station for a mission of about six months.
Even if China does not plan international cooperation for its station, Beijing has assured that it is open to foreign collaboration.
The Asian giant has been investing billions of dollars in its space program for several decades, which has enabled it to make up most of its delay against the Americans and the Russians.
Monday’s launch is “very important,” Go-Taikonauts.com analyst Chen Lan told AFP, as it “concludes China’s 30-year space plan, which began in 1992.”
“With the completion of its space station, China is now on a level playing field with the United States, Russia and Europe in space, which also gives it significant political influence,” he said. added.
China sent its first astronaut into space in 2003.
She then placed a machine on the far side of the Moon in 2019, a world first.
In 2020, the country had brought back samples from the Moon and finalized Beidou, its satellite navigation system-rival of the American GPS.
The following year, he landed a small robot on Mars.
China plans to put men on the moon by 2030.