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QINGDAO TODAY
在线翻译:
szdaily -> China -> 
More details of country’s space station unveiled
    2020-05-19  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

THE country’s space station Tiangong, expected to be completed around 2022, will operate in the low-Earth orbit at an altitude of 340-450 kilometers for more than 10 years, supporting large-scale scientific, technological and application experiments, according to a report in the People’s Daily.

The space station Tiangong, meaning Heavenly Palace, will be able to accommodate three astronauts in normal circumstances and up to six during a crew replacement.

The station will be a T shape with the core module at the center and a lab capsule on each side. Each of the modules will be over 20 tons, with the total mass of the station about 66 tons, said Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China’s manned space program.

If China’s Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2 space labs are like one-bedroom apartments, the space station is equivalent to an apartment with three bedrooms, a living room, a dining room and a storage room, said Zhu Guangchen, deputy chief designer of the space station from China Academy of Space Technology (CAST).

The core module of the station, named Tianhe, has a total length of 16.6 meters, a maximum diameter of 4.2 meters and a takeoff mass of 22.5 tons, and is currently the largest spacecraft developed by China.

The Tianhe core module will be the management and control center and the main living space of the crew, and will support some scientific and technological experiments.

The living space in the core module is about 50 cubic meters. Combined with the two lab capsules, the whole living space could be up to 110 cubic meters, according to CAST.

The core module has two berth ports connecting to the two lab capsules, and three docking ports for the crew spacecraft, cargo and other craft. It also has an exit for astronauts to conduct extravehicular activities.

The first lab capsule, named Wentian, will be mainly used for scientific and technological experiments, as well as working and living space and shelter in emergency.

This capsule is equipped with a special airlock chamber to support extravehicular activities and a small mechanical arm for automatic installation and operation of extravehicular instruments.

It possesses some key functions of the core module, which means it can perform the management and control of the space station if needed, according to CAST.

The second lab capsule, named Mengtian, has functions similar to the first lab capsule. It is equipped with a special airlock chamber to support the entry and exit of cargo and instruments with the help of astronauts and mechanical arms.

(Xinhua)

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