Technology: What does it sound like- building our own space station? Sounds fantastic Nah? Suppose, you have your own space station or you are building that in outer space, miles from Earth, sounds very dramatic, right. But we all know about the ISS- International Space Station same like the country China is constructing their own Space Station in outer space.
China has launched a spacecraft carrying 3 astronauts to the Chinese space station, a Long March-2F rocket transporting then Shenzhou-14 to complete the construction of CSS. It was expected to take seven hours to reach the space station. It is supposed to be completed by the end of the year. It was begun last year with the launch of the first and largest of its 3 modules.
- Tianhe- the living quarters of visiting Astronauts
- Wentian- yet to be launched
- Mengtian- yet to be launched
These 2 modules will be launched in July and October.
Shenzhou 14 mission commander- Chen dong, 43, and teammates Liu Yang, 43, and Cai Xuzhe, 46, are all from China’s second cohort of astronauts, they will live and work on the construction part of the space station for 6 months before returning to Earth in December, with the arrival of Shenzhou-15 crew in December.
China’s first female Astronaut and Air force pilot- Chen and Leu, and space mission debutant Cai who is on his first space mission, will see the docking and integration of Wentian and Mangtian with the core module. They will install the equipment inside and outside of the space station.
The Shenzhou 14 mission has a vital role in the construction stage of the Chinese space station. This is a very tough task, to build a space station in outer space, also more and more challenges will come.
The space station will operate the LEO- lower earth orbit, at an altitude of 340-450 kilometers. It will have a lifespan of over 10 years but if maintained and repaired then it will long more than 15-20 years.
Two other crewed missions have been launched earlier in the space station and returned back safely to Earth.
China’s first step was in 2003 to send astronauts and returned back safely to Earth, the launches of Shenzhou 5 in 2003 and Shenzhou 6 in 2005 have fulfilled it.
And the second step was to test the technologies that would be needed for a permanent space station that including, extra vehicular activity, orbital docking, and in-orbit propellant refueling.
And the final step is to assemble and operate the crewed space station, which will achieve new heights in china’s space technology.
The main feature of the space station that is under construction is the two robotics arm, one long arm, which the US has previously shown the concern about its ability to grab objects from space.
So, now they have entered the final stage of the station, and they have launched 3 astronauts to complete this mission. Few hours after the launch of the orbit Shenzhou 14, which later separated from the rocket and entered in orbit.
China has launched many manned spacecraft, one cargo spacecraft, Tiangong-1, and Tiangong-2 sent more than 11 astronauts into space and completed the first two steps of the manned space program.
Once the Chinese space station is ready, it will be the only country to have its own space station till now, and the ISS- the international space station of Russia is a collaborative project with some countries. The CSS will be the sole in the space after retires the ISS in the coming years.
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