China’s third module crewed orbiting outpost has successfully arrived at Tiangong space station.
On October 31 at 3:37 a.m. (EST), a Long March 5B rocket was launched from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center and within 25 minutes of launch, the Mengtian module was in low Earth orbit and the mission was declared to be successful.
Mengtian docked with a forward port on Tiangong’s docking hub a little under 13 hours after launch at 4:27 p.m. (EST) by using its own propulsion to match orbit and rendezvous with the Tiangong space station, which is presently in orbit measuring about 380 by 387 kilometres.
The Tianhe core module and the Wentian experiment module are joined by the third new experiment module. To finish the T-shaped configuration of the space station, Mengtian will soon be moved to the port docking ring. In late September, Wentian was moved to the starboard docking ring.
Mengtian, which translates to “dreaming of the heavens,” is a 17.9-meter-long, 4.2-meter-diameter, and roughly 22-ton module, and is formed to host various science experiments, intended to house a variety of scientific investigations in different fields such as fluid physics, combustion, materials science, and space technology. According to CMSA, it has a volume of roughly 110 cubic meters overall, with around 32 cubic meters available for astronauts.
The 5.2-meter-long robotic arm that was launched with the Wentian module can grasp science instruments and attach them to payload adapters on the outside of the module thanks to Mengtian’s payload airlock. Up to 100 kilos of CubeSats or other tiny spacecraft can be launched into orbit using the on-orbit release mechanism.
The Shenzhou-14 mission’s crew of three astronauts watched the events unfold from Tiangong while waiting for Mengtian to arrive. The ninth of 11 missions planned for Tiangong’s development and testing was launched on Monday. This phase will be finished by the end of the year with the launch of a cargo spacecraft and a separate personnel launch.
On October 11, a Long March 7 rocket reached Wenchang where it would be put together to launch the Tianzhou-5 cargo mission. Tianzhou-5’s launch, which would deliver supplies for the upcoming Shenzhou-15 crewed mission, could occur in the first half of November. Prior to these missions, the Tianzhou-4 spacecraft will undock from Tiangong and be deorbited. After the arrival of Tianzhou-5 at Tiangong, Shenzhou-15 will launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert on a Long March 2F rocket as early as late November.
The start of the space station’s operational phase will start with the arrival of Shenzhou-15 at Tiangong and with the official handover of China’s first crew. China intends to keep Tiangong busy for at least ten years by conducting scientific research, including international research through a partnership with UNOOSA. Future foreign astronauts might be accommodated as well.
In the future, China will upgrade Tiangong’s capabilities. Another launch is anticipated for the Xuntian optical module, a co-orbiting, a ‘Hubble-class’ space survey telescope, in late 2024 or early 2024. A two-meter aperture and a 2.5-gigapixel camera are features of Xuntian. Over the course of ten years, it hopes to survey around 40% of the sky using its broad field of view. It will also possess the ability to dock with Tiangong for upkeep and repairs. Chinese space officials claim that the space station may be extended to three to six modules, with expectations of other countries joining hands as well.
The first stage of the rocket, as with previous Long March 5B launches, entered orbit and will probably conduct an uncontrolled return over the next week or so. This assumption is made based on the previously recorded reentries of the rockets entering orbit and making uncontrolled reentries during other Long March 5B missions, The previous flight sent the Wentian module into orbit, and less than a week later, the first stage reentered the atmosphere over Southeast Asia.
The Long March 5B’s manufacturer, China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), declined to comment on the earlier occurrences, however, it has claimed that in accordance with international standards, it performs the ‘passivation of expended stages’, including venting out any leftover batteries that use up propellant.
In research published on July 11 in Nature Astronomy, the larger problem of uncontrolled rocket body reentries is evaluated, where, according to this estimate, there is a 10% risk that uncontrolled reentries over the course of ten years will result in one or more casualties.
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