Just months after its completion, Chinese officials have announced plans to expand the now-operational Tiangong Space Station. Currently consisting of three modules, Tiangong or ‘Sky Palace’, was completed in November 2022 and is the culmination of more than three decades of research and development by the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA). Despite the station’s operational…
After several years and multiple missions, China has finally completed its self-developed space station and is the only space-going nation that has sole control of a crewed orbital craft. The country’s national space agency announced it had successfully docked the third and final module of its space station, Tiangong, in late October. Blasted into space…
Chinese astronauts have successfully grown rice aboard the Tiangong Space Station. The young seedlings could offer tremendous insight into how food could be grown in space on a larger scale, so as to support longer crewed missions and even off-planet colonies, said officials at the Chinese National Space Agency (CNSA). Plants and flowers have been…
China has successfully launched the penultimate module for its space station. In late July, the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) released a statement to the press confirming one of two laboratory modules entered orbit and is meeting up with the almost-complete Tiangong space station. The launch comes while the US space agency, NASA, and its…
Three Chinese astronauts have successfully blasted off into space aboard the Shenzhou-14 spacecraft. This is what they will call the home for the final six months of its construction. During their 180-day stay, the astronauts will conduct several experiments and oversee the rendezvous and docking of two crewless modules later this year. The launch took…
China’s Shenzhou 13 mission has successfully docked with its space station. The three-person crew will spend six months aboard the vessel, testing core technologies and conducting several experiments. The crew launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu Province at roughly 18:23 (CAT) and docked with the Tianhe core module at 23:56, according to…
The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) recently outlined plans to construct a kilometres-long spacecraft. The five-year project aims to address the “urgent need” to build the massive vessel; included are plans to assess the viability of building large vessels while in space and the development of lightweight structures for the craft. The massive…
China’s prolific space program continues, this time with its first manned space mission for half a decade. The launch was declared a success, safely jettisoning three elite astronauts into space, to connect with China’s space station. In front of a throng of well-wishers, the Shenzhou-12 mission launched into outer orbit from the Jiuquan site in…