China's Space Station Project to Enter Construction Period

A milestone of China's space development, the space station project is about to enter the construction period, Zhao Xiaojin, a political advisor, said at the annual sessions of China's top legislative and political advisory bodies.

China Academy of Space Technology's staff members work on the assembly of a Shenzhou carrier rocket. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

Zhao, also senior vice-president of the China Academy of Space Technology, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), said that an overall assessment of the space station's key technology verification will be carried out this April when the crew of the Shenzhou XIII spacecraft return after their six-month space station excursion. The project will enter the construction period once the assessment results are proved to meet requirements.

He explained that six spacecraft including the Tianzhou 4 and 5 robotic cargo spaceships, the Shenzhou XIV and Shenzhou XV spaceships, and the Wentian and Mengtian experimental modules, are scheduled to be launched during the construction period. In addition, the Wentian and Mengtian experimental modules and the Tianhe core module will conduct docking while there are crew members in space. The successful docking will mark completion of the construction of the T-shaped space station. More in-orbit tests of its functions will be carried out before the station starts operation.

Zhao said that once operational, the 110-cubic-meter space station will be equipped with six areas for sleep and can support long-term use by three crew members or short-term use by six crew members.

Two extravehicular exits are provided for the core module and the Wentian experimental airlock module, and one cargo airlock module will be set at the Mengtian experimental module. What's more, one large mechanical arm and one small mechanical arm will be available to assist the astronauts and the cargo to leave the modules and to undertake extravehicular installation missions.

In addition to the space station construction, research and development of carrier rockets are also progressing.

Jiang Jie, a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and chief engineer of CASC's China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, pointed out that key technology of the new generation manned carrier rockets is now under argumentation. He expressed his optimism that China will have the ability to send astronauts to the moon by 2030, which will lay a foundation for future scientific research and development of the moon, deep space exploration and space resource utilization.

A Long March 8 carrier rocket, China's new-generation rocket, carrying 22 satellites, is launched on Feb 27, 2022. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

According to Jiang, the company has developed a highly-efficient mode to build safe and reliable carrier rockets with advanced performance and at the same time, the rockets can meet demands for manned lunar detection and low-Earth space station operation.

He also introduced recent achievement of China-made rockets.

On Feb 27, a Long March 8 carrier rocket sent 22 satellites aloft on its debut flight, setting a record for the most satellites launched by a single Chinese rocket. The rocket is able to shoulder commercial launch missions and meets most of the market demands.

Reusing of the rocket is regarded as a key foundation to build a recyclable space transport system. It is expected to improve the country's ability to enter space and return to Earth as well as use space resources. It will also play a role in lowering launch costs and boosting technological development. Jiang also mentioned that technologies related to reusable rockets are underway.

The heavy-lift carrier rocket is also a main player in increasing China's space capacity. With a 100-metric-ton carrying capacity in low-Earth orbit and 50-ton carrying capacity in the Earth-moon transfer orbit, China will be able to carry out more space activities in wider areas such as moon landings, manned Mars exploration and inspection of the marginal areas of the solar system.

Jiang said that the heavy-lift carrier rocket has an intergenerational value and its development normally takes eight to 10 years.

(Executive editor: Niu Yilin)