''Tianhe'' (),
officially the ''Tianhe'' core module (), is the first module to launch of the
Tiangong space station
Tiangong (), officially the ''Tiangong'' space station (), is a permanently crewed space station constructed by China and operated by China Manned Space Agency. Tiangong is a modular design, with modules docked together while in low Earth o ...
. It was launched into orbit on 29 April 2021,
[ as the first launch of the final phase of ]Tiangong program
The Tiangong program () is China's space program to create a modular space station, comparable to Mir. This program is independent and unconnected to any other international space-active countries. The program is part of the China Manned Spac ...
, part of the China Manned Space Program
The China Manned Space Program (CMS; ), also known as Project 921 () is a space program developed by the People's Republic of China and run by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) under the Equipment Development Department of the Central Militar ...
( Project 921).[
''Tianhe'' follows the earlier projects ]Salyut
The ''Salyut'' programme (, , meaning "salute" or "fireworks") was the first space station programme, undertaken by the Soviet Union. It involved a series of four crewed scientific research space stations and two crewed military reconnaissa ...
, Skylab
Skylab was the United States' first space station, launched by NASA, occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three trios of astronaut crews: Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4. Skylab was constructe ...
, Mir
''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...
, International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...
, Tiangong-1
Tiangong-1 () was China's first prototype space station. It orbited Earth from September 2011 to April 2018, serving as both a crewed laboratory and an experimental testbed to demonstrate orbital rendezvous and docking capabilities during it ...
and Tiangong-2
Tiangong-2 () was a Chinese space laboratory and part of the Project 921-2 space station program. Tiangong-2 was launched on 15 September 2016. It was deorbited as planned on 19 July 2019.
Tiangong-2 was neither designed nor planned to be a ...
space stations
A space station (or orbital station) is a spacecraft which remains in orbit and hosts humans for extended periods of time. It therefore is an artificial satellite featuring habitation facilities. The purpose of maintaining a space station vari ...
. It is the first module of a third-generation Chinese modular space station. Other examples of modular station projects include the Soviet/Russian Mir
''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...
and the International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...
. Operations will be controlled from the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center.[
In 2018, a fullscale mockup of ''Tianhe'' was publicly presented at ]China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition
China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition (), also known as the Airshow China () and Zhuhai Airshow (), is a biennial international aerospace trade expo held in Zhuhai, Guangdong, since 1996. It is the largest airshow in China.
Hi ...
in Zhuhai
Zhuhai; Yale romanization of Cantonese, Yale: ''Jyūhói''; Chinese postal romanization, also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern ...
.[ In October 2020, China selected 18 new astronauts ahead of the space station construction to participate in the country's space station project.
]
Functions and systems
The core module provides life support and living quarters for three crew members, and provides guidance, navigation, and orientation
Orientation may refer to:
Positioning in physical space
* Map orientation, the relationship between directions on a map and compass directions
* Orientation (housing), the position of a building with respect to the sun, a concept in building des ...
control for the station. The module also provides the station's power, propulsion, and life support systems. The module consists of three sections: the habitable living quarter, the non-habitable service section, and a docking hub.[ Overall, the living quarters has a volume of 50 cubic meters of habitable space for three people, compared to only 15 m3 for ]Tiangong-1
Tiangong-1 () was China's first prototype space station. It orbited Earth from September 2011 to April 2018, serving as both a crewed laboratory and an experimental testbed to demonstrate orbital rendezvous and docking capabilities during it ...
.
The living quarters will include a kitchen and toilet, fire control equipment, air processing and control equipment, computers, scientific apparatus, and ground communications equipment.[ The station has a bigger robotic arm, so it can move subsequent modules or resupply vehicles to different ports of the core module as a backup.] Also, this ″Chinarm″ had modern mobility, can be elongated and features 7 axes of motion to crawl. According to the latest reports, its ability is similar to Canadarm 2.
Electrical power
Electric power is the rate of transfer of electrical energy within a electric circuit, circuit. Its SI unit is the watt, the general unit of power (physics), power, defined as one joule per second. Standard prefixes apply to watts as with oth ...
is provided by two steerable solar power
Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to c ...
arrays, which use photovoltaic
Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially ...
cells to produce electricity. Energy is stored to power the station when it moves into the Earth's shadow. Tianzhou resupply ships will replenish fuel for the module's propulsion engines for station-keeping to counter the effects of atmospheric drag
In fluid dynamics, drag, sometimes referred to as fluid resistance, is a force acting opposite to the direction of motion of any object moving with respect to a surrounding fluid. This can exist between two fluid layers, two solid surfaces, or b ...
. There are 4 ion engines for propulsion.
Structure
Wang Wenbao, director of the human spaceflight agency China Manned Space Agency
China Manned Space Agency (abbreviated as CMSA) is a government agency of China responsible for the administration of China Manned Space Program, the Chinese human spaceflight program. The agency is under the Equipment Development Department ...
(CMSA), said China has established "a good working relationship" with space agencies in Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and other countries.
The forward docking hub allows the core module to be docked with four other space station visiting spacecraft, including two experimental modules, Wentian module and Mengtian module, a cargo ship Tianzhou spacecraft, and a Shenzhou spacecraft
Shenzhou (, ; see ) is a Chinese spacecraft developed for the nation's crewed space program. Its design was based on Russia's Soyuz, but larger and modernized. Like Soyuz, Shenzhou is a single-use vehicle composed of three modules; a descent ...
.[ The axial (forward-facing) and nadir (Earth-facing) port of the module will be fitted with rendezvous equipment. A mechanical arm similar to the Russian Lyappa arm used on the ]Mir
''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...
space station will be fitted to each of the future experiment modules. The axial port on the docking hub will be the primary docking port. When new modules arrive, they will first dock here, then the mechanical arm will attach and move the module to a radial port. Crew and supply ships from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC; also known as Shuangchengzi Missile Test Center; Launch Complex B2; formally Northwest Comprehensive Missile Testing Facility (); Base 20; 63600 Unit) is a Chinese space vehicle launch facility ( spacep ...
will dock to either of the axial ports of the module, as well as the nadir port. The zenith
The zenith (, ) is the imaginary point on the celestial sphere directly "above" a particular location. "Above" means in the vertical direction (Vertical and horizontal, plumb line) opposite to the gravity direction at that location (nadir). The z ...
(space facing) port has been modified to act as the station’s extravehicular activity
Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable atmosphere of Earth, Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environme ...
(EVA) hatch, as the spherical docking hub is also the EVA airlock.[
The first generation space stations such as ]Salyut
The ''Salyut'' programme (, , meaning "salute" or "fireworks") was the first space station programme, undertaken by the Soviet Union. It involved a series of four crewed scientific research space stations and two crewed military reconnaissa ...
1 and NASA's Skylab stations were not designed for re-supply, while Salyut 6
Salyut 6 () was a Soviet orbital space station, the eighth station of the Salyut programme, and alternatively known DOS-5 as it was the fifth of the Durable Orbital Station series of civilian space stations. It was launched on 29 September 19 ...
, Salyut 7
Salyut 7 (), also known as DOS-6 (Durable Orbital Station 6) was a space station in low Earth orbit from April 1982 to February 1991. It was first crewed in May 1982 with two crew via Soyuz T-5, and last visited in June 1986, by Soyuz T-15. Va ...
and Mir had more than one docking port and were designed to be resupplied routinely during crewed operation. The TCM as a modular station can allow the mission to be changed over time, and new modules can be added or removed from the existing structure, allowing greater flexibility. It is designed for replenishment of consumables and has a service life of at least 10 years.
The length of the module is . It is cylindrical with a maximum diameter of and an on-orbit mass of .[
]
Launch
On 14 January 2021, CMSA announced the beginning of the construction phase for China's three-module space station. The core module, ''Tianhe'', passed a flight acceptance review. This core module provides living space and life support for astronauts and houses the outpost's power and propulsion elements.[
''Tianhe'' launched on 29 April 2021, at 03:23:15 ]UTC
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...
atop a Long March 5B launch vehicle
A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistage ...
from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site
The Wenchang Space Launch Site ( zh, 文昌航天发射场, links=no) is a rocket launch site located in Wenchang on the island of Hainan, in China.
Formally a suborbital test center, it currently serves as China's southernmost spaceport. ...
. After the core module was put into orbit, the empty first stage of its launch vehicle entered a temporary, uncontrolled failing orbit. Some concerns were raised over possible damage from debris of the uncontrolled re-entry: observations showed the rocket was tumbling, which complicates predictions about an eventual landing area, although the most likely outcome was a maritime impact. Parallels were made with respect to a previous launch in May 2020 which reportedly caused some damage in the Côte d'Ivoire
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...
. The rocket re-entered over the Arabian peninsula on 9 May at 02:24 UTC,[ landing in the Indian Ocean west of the ]Maldives
The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...
according to the CMSA, with much of it having reportedly burned up prior to impact. United States Space Command
United States Space Command (USSPACECOM or SPACECOM) is a unified combatant command of the United States Department of Defense, responsible for military operations in outer space, specifically all operations 100 kilometers (62 miles) and greater ...
confirmed the re-entry location.[
The first spacecraft scheduled that visited the ''Tianhe'' core module was the ]Tianzhou 2
Tianzhou 2 () was a mission of the Tianzhou (spacecraft), Tianzhou-class uncrewed cargo spacecraft. The launch took place at 29 May 2021, 12:55:29 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC. The spacecraft successfully docked with the Tiangong space stati ...
cargo resupply spacecraft on 29 May 2021, followed by Shenzhou 12
Shenzhou 12 () was a Chinese spaceflight to the Tiangong space station, launched on 17 June 2021. It carried three People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps (PLAAC) taikonauts on board a Shenzhou spacecraft. The mission was the seventh crewed ...
, carrying a crew of three to the station on 17 June 2021.[ Tianzhou 3 and ]Shenzhou 13
Shenzhou 13 () was a Chinese spaceflight to the Tiangong space station, launched on 15 October 2021. It carried three People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps (PLAAC) taikonauts on board a Shenzhou spacecraft. The mission was the eighth crew ...
were launched to the station on 20 September 2021 and 15 October 2021 respectively.
Dockings
Maneuvers
On 1 July 2021, the space station performed a maneuver in response to a possible close encounter with the Starlink
Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by Starlink Services, LLC, an international telecommunications provider that is a wholly owned subsidiary of American aerospace company SpaceX, providing coverage to around 130 countries ...
-1095 communications satellite.[ Another maneuver was carried out on 21 October of the same year in response to a possible collision with ]Starlink
Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by Starlink Services, LLC, an international telecommunications provider that is a wholly owned subsidiary of American aerospace company SpaceX, providing coverage to around 130 countries ...
-2305.
See also
* China Manned Space Program
The China Manned Space Program (CMS; ), also known as Project 921 () is a space program developed by the People's Republic of China and run by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) under the Equipment Development Department of the Central Militar ...
* Wentian module
* Mengtian module
* Xuntian Space Telescope
Notes
References
External links
Chinese Manned Space Agency website
by China Manned Space Engineering Office
China Manned Space Agency (abbreviated as CMSA) is a government agency of China responsible for the administration of China Manned Space Program, the Chinese human spaceflight program. The agency is under the Equipment Development Department o ...
{{2021 in space
Chinese space stations
Spacecraft launched in 2021
2021 in China