Tiangong Space Station

China launches new mission to space station

26Oct

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China launches new mission to space station

[ad_1] China sent a fresh crew to its Tiangong space station on Thursday, in the latest mission for a growing space programme that plans to send people to the Moon by 2030.The Shenzhou-17 blasted off from the Jiuquan launch site in northwest China at 11:14 am (0314 GMT), carrying a three-astronaut team with the youngest average age since the space station's construction. At a farewell ceremony, hundreds of supporters waving the Chinese national flag and clutching yellow flowers cheered on the three astronauts -- wearing white and blue spacesuits -- as they were introduced to the crowds. The patriotic song "Ode to the Motherland" was sung as the space travellers walked slowly down a short pathway between the crowds, smiling and waving goodbye before boarding a bus to the launch site.Capt...

China to double size of space station, touts alternative to NASA-led ISS

6Oct

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China to double size of space station, touts alternative to NASA-led ISS

[ad_1] China plans to expand its space station to six modules from three in coming years, offering astronauts from other nations an alternative platform for near-Earth missions as the NASA-led International Space Station (ISS) nears the end of its lifespan.The operational lifetime of the Chinese space station will be more than 15 years, the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), a unit of China's main space contractor, said at the 74th International Astronautical Congress in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Wednesday. That would be more than the 10 years previously announced. China's self-built space station, also known as Tiangong, or Celestial Palace in Chinese, has been fully operational since late 2022, hosting a maximum of three astronauts at an orbital altitude of up to 450 km (280 miles)....

Chinese mission with first civilian reaches space station

31May

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Chinese mission with first civilian reaches space station

[ad_1] China sent three astronauts to its Tiangong space station on Tuesday, putting a civilian into orbit for the first time as it pursues plans to send a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030.The world's second-largest economy has invested billions of dollars in its military-run space programme in a push to catch up with the United States and Russia. The Shenzhou-16 crew took off atop a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China at 9:31 am (0131 GMT), AFP journalists saw. They docked at the space station's Tianhe core module on Tuesday afternoon, more than six hours after taking off, state broadcaster CCTV said.The launch was a "complete success" and the "astronauts are in good condition", said Zou Lipeng, director of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Cen...

China says will train foreign astronauts for trips to Tiangong space station

1Mar

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China says will train foreign astronauts for trips to Tiangong space station

[ad_1] China says it will soon begin training foreign astronauts for trips to its newly completed orbiting space station.Long a source of national pride and symbol of technological advancement, the Chinese space program is taking on a new diplomatic and political role, much in the way the United States and former Soviet Union leveraged theirs. Multiple countries have asked for rides to the Tiangong space station, program official Chen Shanguang said in an interview with state broadcaster CCTV that aired Saturday. “We will soon begin to select candidates from those nations for joint flights to our space station, and they will be able to work with our astronauts to carry out scientific tasks in space,” Chen, deputy chief planner of China's manned space programs, said in the interview tha...

Europe won’t send astronauts to China’s Tiangong space station

18Feb

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Europe won’t send astronauts to China’s Tiangong space station

[ad_1] Europe is not sending its astronauts to China's space station, at least in the near future, despite having prepared astronauts for potential visits to China's Tiangong space station, according to European space station's director general, reported New York-based global news media NTD. The European Space Agency manages Europe's space program and it has been training its astronauts with their Chinese counterparts. In 2017, it said the goal was to fly European astronauts on the Chinese space station from 2022. The current international space station is slated to retire in 2030. It involves five members, the U.S., Russia, Japan, Europe, and Canada, but Russia is going to pull out in 2024 to set up its own space station, NTD reported. Though China invited a lot of countries to...

7Jan

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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 7 January 2023: 2 Space Stations in Earth Orbit

[ad_1] NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day is a breathtaking picture of the two Space Stations in Low Earth Orbit. The International Space Station (ISS), which is the largest modular space station in low Earth orbit was launched back on 20 November 1998. Since then, the ISS has been occupied by astronauts carrying out multiple experiments. Now, China has built its own space station named Tiangong on 29 April 2021. It is lying in low Earth orbit between 340 and 450 km above the surface of the Earth. NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day represents these two Space Stations in low Earth orbit in a spectacular presentation with a starry background.NASA explains about the image, “On January 3, two space stations already illuminated by sunlight in low Earth orbit crossed this dark predawn sky...

Five space exploration missions to look out for in 2023

30Dec

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Five space exploration missions to look out for in 2023

[ad_1] It's been an eventful year for space exploration, with successes including the completion of Nasa's Artemis 1 mission (finally), the inauguration of the James Webb Space Telescope, and the completion of China's Tiangong space station.2023 is set to be another busy year. Here are five of the most exciting missions to watch out for. Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer In April, the European Space Agency (Esa) is set to launch the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice), in what will be Europe's first dedicated robotic mission to Jupiter. Juice is due to reach the planet in July 2031 after performing an incredible flight path through the Solar System. The mission will enter into orbit around Jupiter and perform numerous flybys of its large icy moons: Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.After four year...

China’s new space station opens for business as space race heats up

12Dec

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China’s new space station opens for business as space race heats up

[ad_1] China’s new space station opens for business in an increasingly competitive era of space activity The International Space Station is no longer the only place where humans can live in orbit.On Nov. 29, 2022, the Shenzhou 15 mission launched from China's Gobi Desert carrying three taikonauts – the Chinese word for astronauts. Six hours later, they reached their destination, China's recently completed space station, called Tiangong, which means “heavenly palace” in Mandarin. The three taikonauts replaced the existing crew that helped wrap up construction. With this successful mission, China has become just the third nation to operate a permanent space station. China's space station is an achievement that solidifies the country's position alongside the U.S. and Russia as one of the...

China astronauts return from Tiangong space station

5Dec

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China astronauts return from Tiangong space station

[ad_1] Three Chinese astronauts safely returned to Earth on Sunday after six months aboard the Tiangong space station. Three Chinese astronauts safely returned to Earth on Sunday after six months aboard the Tiangong space station, state media quoted the country's space agency as saying, with their mission deemed a "complete success."The team, which had been aboard the station since early June, touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in Inner Mongolia at 8:09 pm Beijing time (1209 GMT), Xinhua news agency said, citing the China Manned Space Agency. Medical personnel said they were in good health, the report said. The Tiangong space station is the crown jewel of Beijing's ambitious space programme -- which has landed robotic rovers on Mars and the Moon, and made the country the third ...

China astronauts reach Tiangong space station

30Nov

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China astronauts reach Tiangong space station

[ad_1] Chinese astronauts on Wednesday arrived at the Tiangong space station, where they completed the country's first-ever crew handover in orbit, state news agency Xinhua reported.The trio blasted off aboard a Long March-2F rocket at 11:08 pm (1508 GMT) from the Jiuquan launch centre in northwestern China's Gobi desert, Xinhua said, citing the China Manned Space Administration (CMSA). The vessel -- carrying veteran Fei Junlong and first-time astronauts Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu -- successfully docked with the station early Wednesday, the agency said, according to Xinhua. They then joined three other astronauts who had been aboard the Tiangong space station since early June.Fei, 57, is returning to space after 17 years, having commanded the Shenzhou-6 mission in 2005.The mission's ma...