FX.co ★ PRC: the manned space station and other space projects

The Tiangong 2 space lab launched on Thursday, September 15, on top of the Long March 2F T2 rocket. The length of the station, that is able to rise above 380 km, is about 18 meters. Note that this is the second Chinese space station. The first - "Tiangong-1" - was launched 5 years ago, and now the connection with it is lost.

The following month, the astronauts will arrive on the spacecraft "Shenzhou-11" to the "Tiangong-2". They will stay in space for almost a month and conduct research related to the cultivation of crops and the effect of weightlessness on the heart. Next year, a cargo ship will be docked to the station. In general, the mission period is two years.

After four years, China plans to build a large space station, consisting of several modules. As a result, a new station "Tiangong-3" with two research modules will appear on the orbit. If that happens, it will be considered the second multimodularity Space Station after ISS.

The Chinese are serious about space exploration. Chinese engineers are busy creating spacecraft "Shenlun". Also in China the moon is studying: three years ago, the Chinese lunar rover "Yuytu" landed on it, and in 2018, China plans to launch another rover. After 2020, China plans to send astronauts to the moon, and in the 2030's to take soil samples from the Martian surface.