Video: China launches the central block of its space station into space

Published:

29 abr 2021 03:40 GMT

The Asian nation plans to complete the construction of the space station by the end of 2022.

This Thursday China sent the main module for the construction of its space station into space, starting a series of launches and seeking to complete the work by the end of next year.

The block was named Tianhe and flew on a Long March-5BY2 rocket from the Wensang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan Island in the south of the country. At 16.6 meters long and 4.2 meters in diameter, it is the largest spacecraft ever built by China.

The capsule will be the management and control center for the Beijing space station in Tiangang or ‘Heavenly Palace’ in Chinese, and can dock three spacecraft simultaneously for a short time, or two spacecraft if planned to stay for a long time.

The letter D-shaped station contains a core block in the center and laboratory capsules on both sides. It runs in low Earth orbit at an altitude of 340 to 450 kilometers. Among other details, each block was reported to weigh more than 20 tons.

The lifespan of the Asian country space station is 10 years, although with proper maintenance and repairs Chinese experts believe it could exceed 15 years.