China on Thursday launched the first module of its new space station, state television showed, a milestone in Beijing’s ambitious plan to place a permanent human presence in space. The Tianhe core module, which houses life support equipment and a living space for astronauts, was launched from Wenchang in China’s tropical Hainan province on a Long-March 5B rocket.
The space station is expected to become fully operational in 2022 after around 10 missions to bring up more parts and assemble them in orbit. Billions of dollars have been poured into space exploration as China seeks to reflect its rising global stature and growing technological might, following in the footsteps of the United States, Russia and Europe. The Tianhe core module, which houses life support equipment and a living space for astronauts, was launched from Wenchang in China’s tropical Hainan province on a Long-March 5B rocket on Thursday, state television showed. The Tiangong space station, whose name means “Heavenly Palace”, is expected to be operational in 2022 after around 11 missions to deliver more modules and assemble them in orbit. Once completed, the Chinese space station is expected to remain in low Earth orbit at between 400 and 450 kilometres above Earth for 15 years.
