Tiangong-3

Tiangong-3 (Chinese: 天宫三号; pinyin: Tiāngōng sānhào; lit.: 'Heavenly Palace 3') was a proposed Chinese space station, part of the Tiangong space station program. The China National Space Agency was originally expected to launch Tiangong-3 around 2015, following the launch of the Tiangong-2 test laboratory, originally planned for 2013.[1] The goals for the Tiangong-2 and Tiangong-3 laboratories were eventually merged, and the latter was therefore not ordered.[2]

Tiangong-3
天宫三号
Station statistics
Crew3
Mission statusCancelled
Mass22,000 kilograms (49,000 lb)
Length18.1 meters (59 ft)
Diameter4.2 meters (14 ft)

Development

In 2008, the China Manned Space Engineering Office published a brief description of Tiangong-2 and Tiangong-3, indicating that several crewed spaceships would be launched in the late 2010s to dock with Tiangong-3.[3] The first Tiangong module, Tiangong-1, was launched in September 2011, and docked with the uncrewed Shenzhou 8 spacecraft in November 2011, marking China's first orbital docking.[4]

Specifications

Tiangong-3's 22-metric-ton core module was expected to be around 18.1 metres (59 ft) long and have a maximum diameter of 4.2 metres (14 ft).[5] It was expected to provide:

  • Unaided 40-day habitability for three astronauts.[1]
  • Testing for regenerative life-support technology, and verification of methods of orbital replenishment of propellant and air.[1]
  • A multi-docking berthing mechanism,[5] allowing up to four spacecraft to dock with it simultaneously.

See also

References
  1. David, Leonard (2011-03-11). "China Details Ambitious Space Station Goals". Space.com. Retrieved 2011-03-09. China is ready to carry out a multiphase construction program that leads to the large space station around 2020. As a prelude to building that facility, China is set to loft the Tiangong-1 module this year as a platform to help master key rendezvous and docking technologies.
  2. "脚踏实地，仰望星空—访中国载人航天工程总设计师周建平". Chinese Government. Retrieved 2017-04-22.
  3. "future plan of space laboratory system (in Chinese)". 2008-09-29. Archived from the original on September 28, 2008.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  4. "Chinese spacecraft dock in orbit". BBC News, 2011-11-02.
  5. Branigan, Tania; Sample, Ian (2011-04-26). "China unveils rival to International Space Station". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2011-04-27. China often chooses poetic names for its space projects, such as Chang'e – after the moon goddess – for its lunar probes; its rocket series, however, is named Long March, in tribute to communist history. The space station project is currently referred to as Tiangong, or "heavenly palace".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.